Unrest in Hong Kong combined with tensions between the US and China significantly impacted business for Accor last year.
The French hospitality giant reported a 6.1% drop in annual revenue per available room (revpar) in China over the previous 12 months.
“While domestic demand remained strong, trade tensions between China and the United States, combined with the unrest in Hong Kong, continued to cause market conditions to deteriorate,” the company said. “This had a significant impact on business.”
A slowdown in tourism from China affected demand to Australia and the major bush fires that broke out in the country had an “adverse impact” at the end of the year.
The coronavirus outbreak in China struck in the early part of this year and did not impact the record performance Accor reported for 2019.
However, chief executive Sabastien Bazin said: “While these are challenging times for China, our thoughts are with the Chinese people, our teams, our clients and our partners there.
“As we are actively managing the situation in the region, our focus is on the fundamentals, which are the cornerstone of our business model: the excellence of our 300,000-strong workforce, our powerful brands, our top-performing distribution tools and loyalty programmes, our consolidated leadership position in high potential regions, and our highly robust financial position.
“By leveraging these assets, we are confident in our ability to pursue our growth objectives and enhance sustainable shareholder returns.”
Accor echoed rival InterContinental Hotels Group in reporting improved revpar in London but a decline in regions across the UK, blamed on “soft” corporate demand.
The company experienced “considerable differences” between the capital and regional cities.
The increase in revpar in London of 2% reflected the “still-dynamic” domestic tourism market, offsetting a 1.7% decline outside the capital.
Consolidated group profits [ebitda] rose by 15% year-on-year to €825 million based on revenue up from €3.5 billion to €4 billion.
The company is due to issue its first quarter 2020 revenue figures on April 22.