Club Med, the premium all-inclusive hospitality brand and global snow holiday leader, which has announced revenues of 1.7 billion euros for 2022 and has already reached its highest ever monthly levels for January and February 2023, will open 17 new resorts in the coming two years as well as extending or renovating 10 existing properties.
Company president Henri Giscard d’Estaing reports that Club Med has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, driven by a strong rebound in Europe and the Americas.
In 2022 Club Med saw its business volume at €1,699 million increase by more than 100 percent compared to that of 2021, recovering to 99 percent of the volume in the same period of 2019. Operating profit amounted to €98 million.
The announcement comes as Club Med undergoes its first rebranding since 2014, unveiling a new brand identity that is guided by high-end positioning. This repositioning is directed towards a more contemporary, premium style defined by three creative principles, namely, Simplicity, Personality, and Exclusivity.
“The year 2022 was an important milestone in our strategy to move upscale,” says Mr Giscard d’Estaing. “Club Med has never had, since its creation in 1950, such an exceptional resort portfolio!
“The premium share of total capacity continued to increase and reached 95 percent. We managed to open seven magnificent resorts in 2022 and in 2023-2025 Club Med will open 17 new resorts, as well as undertaking more than 10 extensions/renovations of existing resorts, while studying other opening opportunities.”
Club Med’s operating profit is above that of 2019, with the company achieving a positive net result, and being able to reduce the level of the financial debt, benefiting from the profound transformation of the business model.
“The outlook for the first half of 2023 is very encouraging, and our strategy should allow Club Med to sustain future profitable growth,” says Mr Giscard d’Estaing.
Club Med’s business sustained and accelerated its recovery in Europe, and the Americas, following the strong rebound in the second half of 2021. Due to the remaining travel restrictions in Asia Pacific countries and Covid-19 resurgence in China, Club Med’s business in the Asia Pacific region was still heavily impacted in 2022.
Club Med Seychelles
The Global ADR (average daily rate: average price per day) amounted to €208, up 15 percent compared with 2021, and up 20 percent compared with 2019.
Resort capacity increased by 62 percent compared with 2021 and recovered to 92 percent of the 2019 level.
“This ADR increase is mainly due to the implementation of upscaling and massive investments in recent years, which have upgraded the portfolio of Club Med Resorts, with 95 percent of capacity now in the high-end Premium and very high-end Exclusive Collection categories,” says Mr Giscard d’Estaing.
Thanks to the strong performances of Europe and the Americas, and despite the impact of remaining travel restrictions in Asia and Covid-19 resurgence in China, operating income was €98 million, returning to pre-pandemic level.
In the face of the sharp decline in profitability in Asia due to the health context, Europe and the Americas were able to significantly improve their EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) due to a change in their business model, based in particular on upgrading the portfolio of resorts.
In Asia, although the business volume in 2022 still had a gap of 48 percent with that in 2019, Club Med saw in the second half of 2022 that the gap of 22 percent was quickly narrowing down compared to the 1st half of 2022 (73 percent).
In 2022, Club Med strengthened its upscale positioning with the opening of seven new Premium and Exclusive Collection resorts during the year. These were located at: Changbaishan, a mountain resort in northeast China; Magna Marbella, nestled in one of Spain’s top destinations; Thousand Islands Lake (Club Med Joyview) in eastern China, which opened in June despite the lockdown; Yanqing Lijing (Club Med Joyview-phase 2) in Beijing; Tignes, Club Med’s new flagship in the French Alps; Val d’Isère, the first Exclusive Collection Mountain resort in France; and Kiroro Peak, the third mountain resort in Hokkaido, Japan.
Club Med Kiroro Peak, Hokkaido
Club Med Tignes, France
Meanwhile the company says there is a very encouraging outlook during the first half of 2023. The trends for H1 2023, driven by continued growth in demand for Club Med in the Americas and Europe and the “travel revenge” phenomenon in Asia, reflect a new phase of growth.
For January and February 2023, business volume reached the highest monthly level in recent years, with a room occupancy rate of 77 percent.
Club Med’s recovery demonstrates the relevance and success of its strategy, now based on five pillars:
- Premium with Club Med spirit: The current rebound in travel shows that the high-end sector is the first to recover and is more resilient when facing the effects of economic cycles.
- Become the hospitality employer of choice: As the tourism industry is facing difficulties in recruiting and attracting talent, Club Med’s ambition is to offer its teams a “life-changing experience” through personalised management, training and fast-track career paths.
- Glocal: Combining a global approach with a local focus in terms of markets, products, and destinations to achieve sustainable growth and to diversify regional operational risks. The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions have led to an increase in domestic tourism.
- “Happy Digital”: Continuing the digital transformation to improve the customer and employee experience in the resorts and offices, by investing again in digital and technology at the same level as before the pandemic, to support the rebound.
- “Happy to Care”: Aiming to take care of the environment and communities, with the implementation of numerous measures in favour of responsible tourism: BREEAM eco-certification for the construction of Resorts and obtaining Green Globe certification for the daily management of Club Med Resorts.
These five strategic pillars help accelerate the recovery of Club Med, the world leader in all-inclusive and experiential premium holiday for families and active couples.