H WORLD GROUP LTD earnings calls

room revenue trend for Q3 and full year

Q (Lydia Ling · Citi): They asked how RevPAR performed during the summer holiday and what management now expects for third quarter and the full year, given volatile travel and a higher base.

A: Management said leisure travel demand is still steadily growing and the government supports tourism. They noted July weather hurt some regions but August is recovering, they are cautiously optimistic, and they left their full-year RevPAR view unchanged.

"For the full year of 2026, we maintain our view for the overall RevPAR unchanged." — Hui Jin (CEO)

hotel openings and Hanting 4.0 performance

Q (Dan Chee · Morgan Stanley): First, why were first-half hotel openings lower versus last year and is there a change in seasonality or the split between halves? Second, what progress and performance have you seen from Hanting 4.0 and Hanting JI (quantity or operating improvements)?

A: They said second-quarter openings were 498, in line with plan, pipeline grew quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, and they maintain full-year opening guidance. For Hanting 4.0 they said it has market and franchisee recognition, RevPAR is meaningfully better, and Hanting JI in operation and pipeline quickly exceeded 200.

"The new version of Hanting, the RevPAR performance is meaningfully better than the older version." — Hui Jin (CEO)

upper mid-scale supply and Grand JI growth

Q (Jiwei Liu · Citic): They asked about supply-demand balance this year in the upper mid-scale segment and whether the company will speed up expansion. They also asked about Grand JI's recent openings and operating performance.

A: Management said upper mid-scale is a core strategic area and they will keep building the brands and develop this segment. They see demand from consumption upgrade and from traditional upscale hotels, and they will use four flagship brands to grow market share.

Grand JI openings and performance

Q (Jiwei Liu · Citic): They repeated the earlier question: will you speed up expansion in upper mid-scale, and how is Grand JI performing and what is its development roadmap?

A: They said Grand JI is being signed and opened gradually and the pipeline has already exceeded 20 hotels. They are focusing on prime locations, refining the business model, being cautious on quantity, and positive about Grand JI's reputation and future growth potential.

"As of now, the number of Grand JI in pipeline have already exceeded 20 hotels." — Hui Jin (CEO)

membership channels and improvement plan

Q (Ronald Leung · BofA): They asked for the latest breakdown of member acquisition channels and the strategy to optimize the membership system.

A: Management said membership growth and member booking contribution are in line with expectations. OTA contribution is stable at around 20% to 25%; they focus on giving members the best benefits, are launching innovations like a family card, pursuing cross-industry partnerships, and expanding international membership cooperation with Accor to capture inbound and outbound demand.

"Firstly is for the H Reward members, we do emphasize on the best benefit for our members." — Hui Jin (CEO)

profit margin outlook and international profit

Q (Simon Cheung · Goldman Sachs): They asked about EBITDA margin trends, why China margins improved but overseas slipped, and guidance for the second half and full year.

A: They said adjusted EBITDA margin should expand mid- to long-term as they push asset-light strategy. SG&A control was strong, but they will make strategic investments in talent, tech/AI, membership and brand; international was affected by the Middle East conflict but HWI has limited exposure, they are doing cost control, and they maintain the goal of positive profit for HWI this year.

"So for the full year, we maintain our goal of achieving a positive profit for our HWI business." — Arthur Yu (CFO)