SPECIAL REPORT
HOTELS
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE IN A COVID-RAVAGED WORLD , HOTELS ANNUAL RANKING OF THE WORLD ’ S BIGGEST HOTEL COMPANIES SHOWS THAT — IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS — THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME .
By JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
With the exception of outlier Oyo Rooms , the ebbs and flows of the hotel industry ’ s giants remain steady . A review of the upper echelon of HOTELS annual 325 ranking shows a fair amount of consistency at a moment in time when “ consistent ” is just about the last word on everyone ’ s lips .
But the 325 can offer some longer-term perspective about the state of the industry . Asia-based companies like New Century Hotels & Resorts , The Ascott Ltd . and Greenland Hotel and Tourism Group show impressive growth , while stalwarts Marriott , Hilton , IHG , Wyndham and Accor maintain steady but sure growth .
The question of the day is whether — and how much — COVID-19 will impact next year ’ s list . So far , the bigger management companies and franchisors appear to be holding their own in terms of liquidity . And it is a good thing the 325 does not include property owner-only companies and REITs , as they are where the movement can be expected and may buoy 2020 growth , predominantly via conversion for the big companies that give lenders confidence and smaller owners access to much-needed reservation engines .
Some of the bigger storylines coming out of the ranking based on end-of-year 2019 data include Oyo , which is battling hard to maintain reportedly disgruntled franchisees . The pandemic has taken a toll on the would-be industry unicorn , which likely will need another infusion of capital from its early big investor , SoftBank , to survive . Oyo ’ s goal is to become the world ’ s largest hotel company , and it continues to creep closer . Now we shall see how much staying power a high flyer like this truly has in the most unprecedented of times .
Aimbridge Hospitality was another headline grabber in 2019 , growing by more than 75,000 rooms after its acquisition of chief third-party management rival Interstate Hotels & Resorts . Conversely , RLH Corp . dropped some 18,000 rooms , leaving new CEO John Russell with a big job ahead to restore the brand ’ s image after a big shakeup in the C-suite .
There are stories aplenty to be found inside HOTELS annual list . On the pages ahead , find the movers that continue to grow their portfolios and see if you can identify the strugglers that might become acquisition targets in what could be a very volatile second half of the year .
22 hotelsmag . com July / August 2020