(Posted 24th October 2023)
· 2023 revenue, room nights and total stays now all higher than 2019 year to date (YTD)
· Total revenue doubled YTD compared to 2022 and hits US$1.7 billion
· Q3 revenues up 41% versus Q3 2022, and room nights up 31%
· GHA DISCOVERY hits 25 million members in loyalty programme milestone
· Spain, Thailand and Italy deliver highest room revenue in 2023 YTD
· Cross-brand revenues pick up 55% to $79 million in Q3 compared to Q3 2022
· DISCOVERY Dollars (D$) redemptions rocket 90% compared to Q3 2022
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, with 800 hotels across 40 brands in 100 countries, is on track for a record year, with 2023 room revenues, room nights and total domestic and international stays year-to-date (YTD) all consistently higher than its previous best year, 2019.
Robust Q3 results are proving a major contributor to GHA’s 2023 gains, with hotel revenues 41% higher than in Q3 2022 and room nights up 31% year-on-year for Q3. The total revenue 2023 YTD has hit US$1.7 billion, which is 101% higher than in 2022 YTD.
With new GHA DISCOVERY enrolments surging 46% in Q3 versus Q3 2022, the award-winning programme reached a major milestone, with total membership topping the 25 million mark during the period.
“It’s been a remarkable year for GHA, with all key performance indicators peaking in Q3, buoyed by incredible summer demand in every key market where our hotel brands operate,” said GHA CEO Chris Hartley before adding: ‘This unbridled appetite for travel, combined with more than 21 new properties across 14 brands joining GHA since the start of the year, has made our loyalty programme even more compelling, spurring huge growth in GHA DISCOVERY membership to reach more than 25 million.‘
The top three countries driving 2023 room revenue gains YTD are Spain, Thailand and Italy, with Singapore and the UAE coming in a close fourth and fifth, reflecting the portfolio strength and popularity of GHA hotel brand properties in these markets.
Breaking it down by hotels generating the highest revenue from stays made by members of the GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme in Q3: Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort in St. Lucia, topped the rankings, followed by two Singapore properties – PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering and PARKROYAL Collection Marina Bay, respectively. These two properties also ranked in the top three for total room night stays made by members in Q3, with the Marina Bay property ranking first and Pickering hotel taking the third slot. The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences, just outside of Delhi, India, was the second most popular property with GHA DISCOVERY members in terms of total room nights.
Q3 highlights also included a significant 90% increase in D$ rewards currency redemptions compared to Q3 2022.
With GHA DISCOVERY members empowered to earn D$ at one hotel and redeem them at any property or brand in the alliance, total cross-brand revenue reached $79 million in Q3, up 55% versus Q3 2022.
This builds on the $135 million total cross-brand revenue generated in H1 2023, with GHA on track to outperform its 2022 cross-brand total, which was already 25% ahead of the 2019 figure. GHA is currently forecasting to hit $280 million by year end.
“With D$1 equal to US$1, our rewards currency, which is flexible, transparent and easy to understand and use, puts more money into the pockets of GHA DISCOVERY members and delivers significant incremental revenue to our hotel brands,” added Hartley before concluding: “We anticipate further spikes in redemptions before the end of the year as travel-hungry members use their D$ against winter vacations, topping them up with incremental spend to give Q4 a boost, bringing a record 2023 to a busy conclusion.”
