Accor Defies Travel Industry Struggles With Impressive Q1 Earnings Beat

While airlines ground forecasts and competitors face Wall Street’s downgrade gallows, hospitality powerhouse AccorAC

is checking into the penthouse suite. The Fairmont and Sofitel owner posted a 9.2% jump in Q1 sales to €1.35B ($1.54B), surpassing analysts’ forecasts and driving shares up 3% on Friday. This jump comes as the travel industry faces mounting headwinds after major airlines withdrew their financial projections, signaling Americans are cutting back on travel spending.

• According to Visible Alpha, while Accor celebrated “sustained demand” with the company opening 45 hotels by 2025, the AdvisorShares Hotel ETFBEDZ
  experienced a more than 16% year-to-date plunge.
• Meanwhile, Goldman SachsGS
  downgraded HyattH
  , HiltonHLT
  , and MarriottMAR
  amid “increasingly muddied” travel demand.

Size matters: With the French giant’s revenue per available room rising 5% from last year — compared to American hotels’ 0.4% forecast (Goldman Sachs) — CEO Sebastian Bazin touts a “diversified geographic footprint.” Notably, Accor’s luxury segment posted a 17.9% year-over-year increase in per-room revenue, mirroring the outperformance seen among ultra-premium fashion labels. However, Bank of AmericaBAC

analysts noted that lodging companies experienced slowing domestic bookings in March, with US lodging expenditures declining in Q1. As competitors prepare for earnings, they might want to request an upgrade — because, in this market, location (and affluent clients) are everything.