Sustained Market Performance by HMH in H1 2015

Hotels under HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings held on strong during the first half of 2015 despite the various market challenges. The group’s hotels were at par – and often out- performed the competition in terms of occupancy and RevPAR.

Commenting on the performance, Laurent A. Voivenel, CEO of HMH, said, “HMH - Hospitality Management Holdings is a robust company with strong brands, highly experienced international team and clearly defined objectives. The economic environment continues to vary dramatically from one region to another. However, our 2015 H1 results demonstrate our capacity to deliver on our objectives with determination and discipline despite very challenging market conditions and a slow summer. The CIS crisis, weakening of Euro, political turmoil and instability in different parts of the Middle East, oversupply of rooms in some key cities, competition from cheaper destinations - all put pressure on demand and rates”.

Laurent added, “We operate across 15 cities in the MENA region. Each destination is unique. This summer has been a rather tough one given the market conditions. Let’s not forget Ramadan fell right in the middle of summer, which traditionally sees a drop in travel in the region. However, we had a strong pick-up during Eid with some hotels closing at 95 per cent”.

In order to boost performance in markets under stress HMH has deployed a series of strategic measures. Laurent stressed, “We have got multiple demand drivers in key source markets. In addition, we are aggressively promoting our properties in emerging markets such as China and India. To drive new markets a series of strategic road shows and sales initiatives are being combined with digital optimization, targeted marketing campaigns and brand partnerships”.