July 2026 Asia (China) Hotel Industry Development Report
July 2026 Asia (China) Hotel Industry Overview
01 Global Hospitality Industry Development Trends
According to the latest data from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), global business travel spending will reach a record $1.71 trillion in 2026, and the total number of global business travel trips is expected to exceed 1.84 billion, up from around 1.82 billion in 2025, representing a 1.3% increase. The forecast emphasizes that rising transportation and travel costs are increasingly driving up industry prices, with their impact outpacing the growth in travel volume. By 2030, global business travel spending will exceed $2 trillion, one year later than previously projected, as growth slows after 2026, though it will still be supported by sustained business investment and international commercial activities. The conflict that broke out in Iran and the Middle East in early 2026 has disrupted aviation, trade and energy markets, leading to extended travel times, changes in long-haul transfer points and rising airfare prices. The forecast assumes that the situation will stabilize in the second half of the year, and airline networks will gradually return to normal.
Data released by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) this month also noted the impact of the Middle East on the global hospitality industry. It is estimated that the Middle East will be the only region in the world to record a decline in tourism GDP in 2026, with the sector expected to shrink by 14.5% from $386 billion in 2025 to $330 billion. However, WTTC also pointed out that the outlook for the Middle East features both short-term volatility and long-term resilience. The region is expected to overcome current challenges and remain one of the world's fastest-growing tourism markets. The Middle East is projected to be the fastest-growing tourism region globally between 2026 and 2036, with the sector's GDP forecast to grow at an annual rate of 6.3% to reach $605 billion by 2036.
In July, Saudi Arabia's Black Sand Group signed a development agreement with Marriott International to jointly build 10 hotels with more than 1,300 rooms in Saudi Arabia, covering Marriott's full portfolio of luxury, premium, select-service and extended-stay brands. The first hotel will be located in Riyadh, and the rest will be distributed across multiple cities in Saudi Arabia, expected to create more than 6,000 full-time jobs after operation.
02 Asia-Pacific (China) Market Development Trends
During the peak summer travel season in July, investment enthusiasm in the Southeast Asian resort hotel market continues to rise, with three major international hotel groups accelerating their layout to seize the leisure and vacation market, among which soft-brand hotels and lifestyle hotels have become popular investment projects this month. First, Accor signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Vietnam's Sun Group to further consolidate their long-term partnership, with the two parties planning to jointly develop more than 5,300 guest rooms in total over the next five years.
The new projects are distributed across core tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Phu Quoc and Da Nang, covering urban hotels, resort hotels and serviced apartments. This cooperation will introduce a number of new Accor brands to the Vietnamese market, including Sofitel Residences, Swiss Living Apartments, TRIBE Hotels, and the Ennismore lifestyle brand SO/, while expanding the footprint of mature brands such as MGallery, Grand Mercure and ibis Styles to increase the market share of existing brands. Accor currently operates 45 hotels in Vietnam, making Vietnam Accor's third-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region.
Second, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the grand opening of THE BARAI HUA HIN this month, marking the official entry of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand into the Thai market. The resort is located on the historic Khao Takiap coast of Hua Hin, featuring 98 sea-view guest rooms.
Third, Hilton is accelerating the expansion of its lifestyle hotel portfolio in Southeast Asia, planning to build three new lifestyle hotels in Thailand and the Maldives to meet the growing demand for experiential travel. The hotel group has already signed agreements to open a Hilton Curio Collection in Phuket, and two Hilton Tapestry Collection hotels in Chiang Mai and the Maldives respectively, with the Maldives being a new market entry. These new hotels will help Hilton achieve its ambitious goal of operating more than 250 luxury and lifestyle hotels in the Asia-Pacific region, while more than doubling its hotel presence in Southeast Asia.
03 Personnel Changes in Hotel Groups
In July, six major hotel chains announced key personnel adjustments. International groups continue to strengthen their global development capabilities while focusing on the growth of their resort business, while local hotel enterprises' personnel adjustments place greater emphasis on asset management and financial governance.
Among international enterprises, first, Aman officially announced the appointment of Victor Clavell as Chief Operating Officer of the group. Clavell will be based at Aman's headquarters in Switzerland and report directly to Vlad Doronin, Chairman and CEO of the group. Second, Chedi Hospitality announced the appointment of Milos Nedovic as Chief Asset Investment Management Officer of the group. Milos will lead the group's expanding property portfolio, its investment strategy and asset management, drive financial performance, sustainable growth and long-term value creation, and support the company's ongoing transformation into a fully integrated hospitality solution provider. Third, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the appointment of Eduardo Schutte as Senior Vice President, Commercial Lead for the Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva portfolio, effective July 27, 2026. This appointment aims to further consolidate Hyatt's position in the leisure and all-inclusive segments by building a stronger commercial organization, complementing its scale advantages, operational excellence and strong distribution platform in this field.
Fourth, The Langham Hospitality Group announced the appointment of Nils-Arne Schroeder as Chief Operating Officer, effective June 22, 2026. Schroeder will be fully responsible for the operation and management of more than 30 hotels and apartment projects under The Langham Hospitality Group, and support the smooth opening and integration of more than 20 projects under construction, including the group's first hotel in Thailand and new hotels opening in China this year.
Among local enterprises, first, the board of Shangri-La (Asia) Co., Ltd. announced that Chua Chee Wee has stepped down from his positions as Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, as well as member of the Executive Committee of the Board, effective July 8. Second, MGM China issued an announcement that Lau Chun Ni, Executive Director of the company, will be appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the company effective August 1, 2026. Lau Chun Ni's responsibilities will include leading the company's financial work, covering financial reporting, treasury operations, cage operations, casino and non-gaming audits, budgeting, investor relations and supply chain management.
04 Hotel Asset Transaction Trends
In July, the ABN Index monitoring directory counted a total of 62 hotel assets in the stages of sale, auction and failed auction, a significant decrease compared to the previous month. There are 21 hotels with auction prices exceeding 100 million yuan, and 3 hotels were successfully transacted this month.
First, the second judicial auction of Guangdong Huizhou Guohui Hotel was completed at a transaction price of 156 million yuan; its first auction failed with a starting price of 192 million yuan. The hotel opened in 2009, was rated as a five-star hotel in 2012, and had its five-star qualification revoked in 2021. Second, the second auction of the real estate and supporting facilities of Sheraton Ningbo Hotel was successfully completed, and Ningbo Lvshun Group won the entire target at the reserve price of 361 million yuan. Third, a villa of Sanya Atlantis Hotel Project (Phase II) was transacted at a price of 34.82 million yuan.
In addition, key hotel auction projects include: Sheraton Jinzhou Hotel failed to be auctioned at 505 million yuan, Crowne Plaza Taizhou failed to be auctioned at 293 million yuan, Holiday Inn Kunshan Huaqiao Zhongcheng failed to be auctioned at 222 million yuan, and Hilton Wuhan Shimao Hotel will be auctioned by the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court of Hubei Province with a starting price of 456 million yuan.
05 Q2 2026 Financial Results of International Hotel Groups
According to the operating data of five international hotel chains in the second quarter of 2026 monitored by ABNData (Asia Bed & Breakfast Data Research Institute), all hotel groups achieved profitability. Overall, the operating performance of international hotel groups did not see substantial growth, but profitability remained stable. Some groups even achieved profit growth under limited RevPAR growth, which was not simply driven by rising average daily rates. Profit growth came more from asset-light expansion, increased management and franchise revenue, and improved operational efficiency.
In terms of financial performance, Marriott International recorded revenue of approximately $7.071 billion, up 4.85% year on year; net profit was approximately $766 million, up 0.39% year on year. Hilton's revenue was approximately $3.341 billion, up 6.5% year on year; net profit attributable to owners was approximately $482 million, up 9% year on year. Wyndham's net income was approximately $375 million, down 5.5% year on year; net profit was approximately $102 million, up 17% year on year. Hyatt's total revenue was approximately $1.829 billion, up 1.16% year on year; net profit attributable to owners was approximately $110 million, turning from loss to profit year on year.
In terms of operating data, Marriott's global RevPAR increased by 3.4% year on year. Affected by the World Cup, system-wide RevPAR in the US and Canada increased by 5% year on year, with luxury brands showing the strongest premium capability, and The Ritz-Carlton's RevPAR growth reached 9.9%. Hilton's system-wide hotel occupancy rate was 74.5%, down 0.5 percentage points year on year; ADR was $166.97, up 2.5% year on year; RevPAR was $125.02, up 3.9% year on year. RevPAR in the US region increased by 5.4% year on year, leading all regions. Wyndham's global hotels recorded a 1% year-on-year decrease in RevPAR to $47.01. Among them, RevPAR of hotels in the US region increased by 2% year on year, RevPAR in international regions (excluding the US) decreased by 6% year on year, and RevPAR in China region was $16.43, down 5% year on year. System-wide comparable hotel RevPAR increased by 5.9% year on year, with luxury and upper-upscale hotels being the main growth drivers, showing strong growth in revenue from leisure individual travelers and group rooms, while the all-inclusive resort portfolio recorded a 1.2% year-on-year decrease in RevPAR. Accor's system-wide comparable hotel RevPAR in the first half of the year increased by 2.2% year on year. After excluding the short-term impact of the Middle East market, global RevPAR growth reached 4.6%, highlighting the resilience of demand in core markets.
It is worth noting that from the perspective of store growth of various groups, the Asia-Pacific region has become a key layout market. Among them, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts signed 100 new hotel projects in the first half of 2026, opened nearly 60 new hotels, added more than 8,800 new rooms, and recorded a 12% year-on-year net room growth. The Greater China region signed nearly 80 new projects, adding more than 8,600 new franchise rooms, hitting the best performance for the same period in history. Hilton recorded a 50% quarter-on-quarter increase in both the number of newly opened hotels and approved projects compared to the first quarter, and the pipeline of projects under construction at the end of this quarter hit an all-time high, introducing its lifestyle brand Tempo by Hilton to the Asia-Pacific market. Accor's net room growth rate in the past 12 months was 3.2%, and the pipeline of rooms to be opened increased by 11.4% year on year. 109 new hotels opened in the first half of the year, adding nearly 14,000 new rooms. Marriott added 17,900 net new rooms globally in the second quarter, with total rooms up 4.5% compared to the end of the second quarter of 2025; the global development pipeline reached 4,186 hotels with 629,000 rooms, up nearly 7% year on year, of which 44% of the pipeline rooms are under construction or undergoing brand conversion.
06 Hotel Opening and Signing Situation in China Market
According to the statistics of monitored brands from ABNData, 240 new hotels opened in July, the same number as the previous month.
Breakdown data shows that 24 high-end hotels (luxury hotels, international high-end hotels, local high-end hotels) opened in July, including 9 international hotel brands and 13 local hotel brands. Cordis Xi'an is the first Cordis hotel in the Western China region (central and western China); The Design Hotels Qingdao Zhanqiao Sometimes Hotel is the first Design Hotels property in the northern region of Greater China. A total of 175 mid-range hotels (upper mid-scale hotels, mid-scale hotels) opened, including 149 local hotel brands and 26 international hotel brands. Six Four Points by Sheraton hotels under Marriott International opened simultaneously, Vienna International under Jin Jiang Hotels (China) and All Seasons under Huazhu Group both opened more than 10 new hotels.
A total of 41 economy hotels opened. Hanting Hotels under Huazhu Group opened 12 new hotels with outstanding performance. GreenTree Inn Express Hotels under GreenTree Hospitality Group opened 7 new hotels simultaneously with good performance.
According to the statistics of monitored brands from ABNData, a total of 123 hotels reached cooperation agreements in July, with the number of signed projects decreasing month on month. In the luxury and high-end hotel sector, 90% of signed hotels are concentrated in international brands, among which Shanghai Jinmen Hotel will be rebranded as Fairmont Hotel, and Sunshine 1 Resort Sanya Haitang Bay will be rebranded as Conrad Sanya Haitang Bay. Regent Hotels & Resorts, the luxury brand under InterContinental Hotels Group, officially entered Chengdu, and Holiday Inn 3.0 completed the signing of 24 hotels. In addition, multiple brands under Yark Hotel Group signed 5 projects this month, including Yalong Resort Hotel at Wuhan Huangpi Ganlushan Cultural Tourism City, Yark Gathering Hotel at Guangzhou Beijing Road, Yark Hotel at Zhenjiang Guanlan, and Yark Resort Hotel at Jiaxing Haining Guanlan.
In the upper mid-scale hotel sector, the number of signed projects of international brands rebounded, with Days Inn by Wyndham signing 5 new hotels; Fairfield by Marriott under Marriott signed 3 new hotels, and Tempo by Hilton under Hilton signed 4 new hotels. Among local brands, All Seasons under Huazhu Group signed 4 new hotels; 7 Days Hotels under Elong Hotel Technology signed 7 new hotels, Mehood Lestie signed 4 new hotels, Mehood Hotel signed 7 new hotels, Mehood Hotel signed 3 new hotels, Tingpo Hotel signed 3 new hotels, and Duolanda Hotel signed 5 new hotels. Yeste Hotel under Yashu Digital Technology signed 7 new hotels, Yeste International Hotel signed 7 new hotels, Yameitu Hotel signed 2 new hotels, and Yasifeier Hotel signed 2 new hotels.
In the economy hotel sector, Huayi Hotel signed 4 new hotels, and UP Huayi Selected Hotel signed 6 new hotels.
July Hotel List Release and Analysis
01 Top 50 Luxury Hotels List
#Comprehensive Analysis#
Luxury hotels enter the "refined operation" stage | In July, Aman Group and The Langham Hospitality Group successively appointed new Chief Operating Officers (COO). This personnel trend is not just a simple management adjustment, but reflects the strategic shift of international luxury hotel groups to focus on operational capabilities, brand consistency and asset value realization after their global expansion enters a new stage. Especially for the Chinese market, the capabilities of global brand management and destination product development are the core keywords for the next stage of luxury hotel competition.
Aman's appointment of Victor Clavell as COO sends a strong signal