H World Group Limited (simplified Chinese:华住酒店集团; traditional Chinese:華住酒店集團; pinyin:Huázhù Jiǔdiàn Jítuán), formerly Huazhu Hotels Group in English, is a hotel management company in China. In 2010, H World Group was listed on Nasdaq; in September 2020, H World Group achieved a secondary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In January 2023, H World was listed in the Hurun China 500 Most Valuable Private Companies 2022 and ranked No. 126.[2] Its headquarters are in Jiading District, Shanghai.[1]
As of September 2025, H World operates 12,702 hotels with 1,246,240 rooms globally[3], making it one of the world's largest hotel chains.[4]
History
In August 2005, the first HanTing Hotel was built.[5] The first hotel of the group was opened by Kunshan Railway Station for a trial operation in August 2005.[5] Ji Qi (Chinese: 季琦; pinyin: Jì Qí),[6] the founder, stated that he got the idea to start the chain by reading a book discussing Accor.
In January 2010, the first JI Hotel was built.[7] In March 2010, HanTing Hotel Group, Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange.[8] In November 2012, the group's Chinese name was renamed to Huazhu Hotels Group.[9]
In December 2014, signed a long-term strategic alliance agreement with Accor in France,[10] which was finalized in January 2016.[11] In May 2015, former president Jenny Zhang was appointed chief executive officer.[12] In February 2017, the company wholly acquired Orange Crystal Hotel Group, which owns the brands Orange Crystal Hotel and Orange Hotel.[13] In April 2017, the company opened the first Manxin Hotel.[14]
In August 2018, Huazhu Hotels Group announced the completion of its strategic acquisition of the Chinese boutique resort hotel brand, Blossom.[15] In October 2019, the first overseas directly managed shop of JI Hotel was officially opened in Singapore's historic Orchard Road shopping district, as the first overseas hotel of Huazhu Hotels Group.[16] In November 2019, the company announced that one of their subsidiaries purchased Deutsche Hospitality for 700 million euros.[17]
In January 2020, the company completed the acquisition of all equity interest in Deutsche Hospitality, whose hotel brands include Steigenberger, Steigenberger Icons, MAXX by Steigenberger, IntercityHotel and Zleep Hotels.[18] In September 2020, the company achieved a secondary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 1179.HK.[19]
In March 2021, Huazhu and Sunac Cultural and Tourism established a joint venture - Yongle Huazhu Hotel Management Company Limited - to jointly develop the high-end hotel business.[20] In September 2022, the company changed its name to H World Group Limited, or H World.[21]
Corporate affairs
Structure
The group is composed of brands like HanTing Hotel,[5] JI Hotel,[22] Orange Hotel,[23] Hi Inn Hotel,[citation needed] Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Madison International Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Starway Hotel, NiHao Hotel, CJIA Apartment and Suisse Place.[24]
Under franchise agreements with Accor, 300 economy and middle-scale hotels have opened in China, mainly under the Ibis, Novotel, and Mercure brands.[25][bettersourceneeded]
China Lodging Holding Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Huazhu Hotels Group, also acquired 100% equity interest in Deutsche Hospitality,[26] which has since been rebranded to H World International and operates brands such as Steigenberger and IntercityHotel.
Ruetz, David and Macy Marvel. "Budget Hotels: Low Cost Concepts in the U.S., Europe and Asia." In: Conrady, Roland and Martin Buck. Trends and Issues in Global Tourism 2011 (Volume 0 of Trends and Issues in Global Tourism). Springer Science & Business Media, February 4, 2011. Start p.99. ISBN3642177670, 9783642177675.
