---
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40827623.md"
description: "Huazhu 1Q26 First Take: Overall revenue held up well in Q1, and operating metrics kept recovering after turning positive in H2 last year. That said, with a softer corporate travel rebound, Huazhu stepped up sales spend, which partially weighed on margin release. 1) Revenue growth ticked up QoQ. Total revenue was RMB 6.0bn, up 11% YoY, with a modest sequential acceleration vs. Q4. Franchise revenue rose 20% YoY to RMB 3.0bn, driven by more rooms and RevPAR back in positive territory, lifting single-hotel GMV. Self-operated revenue was ~RMB 2.8bn, down 1.4% YoY with a narrower decline QoQ. Dolphin Research estimates a pickup in Tier-1 city business travel, with premium self-operated brands (e.g., Xiyue, Huajiantang) performing better. 2) RevPAR expanded further YoY. RevPAR rose 2.9% YoY to RMB 214 per night. ADR increased 4.8% YoY, the key driver, helped by mix upgrade from newer versions such as Hanting 3.5/4.0 and All Seasons 5.0. OCC was 75.1%, down 110bps YoY, suggesting robust leisure demand but still-weak corporate travel dragging occupancy. 3) Solid openings with higher-quality growth focus. Net adds were 357 hotels in Q1 (537 openings, 180 closures), keeping a fast pace. Mid-to-upscale brands (Intercity, Orange Crystal, Mercure) remained the core growth engines, while economy brands focused more on refurbishments. Notably, Huazhu accelerated the cleanup of poorly located, aging, loss-making stores to pursue higher-quality growth. 4) Step-up in sales spend: With a higher franchise mix YoY, GPM expanded 580bps to 39%. Amid soft corporate travel and intensifying competition, Huazhu appears to have increased placements on Douyin/Xiaohongshu, lifting the S&M ratio by 30bps to 4.8%, while G&A stayed broadly stable. Adj. EBITDA reached RMB 1.86bn, up 24% YoY. $HWORLD-S(01179.HK)"
datetime: "2026-05-15T13:36:07.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40827623.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/40827623.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/40827623.md)
author: "[Dolphin Research](https://longbridge.com/en/news/dolphin.md)"
---

# Huazhu 1Q26 First Take: Overall revenue held up we…


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