UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), an alliance of over 40 independent hotels brands, has said that its revenue hit US$1.4 billion in 2022, a 60 per cent increase over 2021.
GHA members include the likes of NH Hotel Group, Nikki Beach, Kempinski, and JA Resorts, among others.
Room revenue generated by the 23 million global members of the GHA Discovery loyalty programme exceeded 2019 levels from mid-November onwards, driven by higher average daily rates.
Also, GHA said that repeat stay room revenue was consistently ahead of 2019 levels from June onwards, up almost 80 per cent by the end of 2022. Room nights, which had lagged behind earlier in 2022, surpassed pre-pandemic levels by the end of Q4.
GHA noted that the UAE has retained its top spot as the most preferred stay destination among members, delivering US$32 million in room revenue in Q4 alone. With the recent opening of NH’s first hotel in this market, NH Collection Dubai The Palm, there are now 28 GHA properties in the UAE under nine brands.
Spain took second spot in Q4, generating US$31 million in room revenue, driven by the Madrid-headquartered NH Hotel Group joining GHA in June 2022, bringing with it more than 350 hotels and 10 million loyalty programme members.
In addition to NH Hotels joining the alliance, Sun International, The Set Hotels and Palazzo Versace Dubai also came on board, collectively adding 358 new hotels and 21 new cities, taking the total to more than 800 properties from 40-plus brands in 100 countries.
The top feeder markets in Q4 for GHA properties worldwide were the US, delivering US$43 million in room revenue, with 80 per cent of members in this market travelling internationally, followed by the UK (US$28 million), Spain (US$26 million), Germany (US$24 million) and Australia ($19 million). China, which traditionally leads in outbound traffic, came in sixth place.
With GHA Discovery allowing members to earn and spend their digital rewards currency, DISCOVERY Dollars (D$), at any property globally, Anantara, Kempinski and Pan Pacific Hotels Group took the lead in receiving and sending cross-brand revenues and NH Hotels contributed around US$14 million revenue in stays to other brands after they joined mid-year.
“GHA’s 2022 results are phenomenal, not only for our partner hotel brands, but for the global travel and tourism sector as a whole, with significant improvements across every key performance indicator pointing to a full industry recovery and perhaps the end to pre-pandemic comparisons at last,” said GHA CEO Chris Hartley.
