H World Group Limited (HTHT): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're digging into how H World Group Limited (HTHT) is actually making its money in late 2025, and honestly, it's a masterclass in asset-light scaling. Forget owning bricks and mortar; their power comes from franchising over 11,469 manachised/franchised hotels and leveraging a loyalty base of over 300 million members. The proof is in the numbers: Q3 2025 saw their franchised fees jump 27.2% year-over-year, showing how effectively they are monetizing their digital platform and brand equity while targeting 2,300 gross openings this year. Below, I've broken down the nine essential blocks of their operating model, showing exactly where the value is created and captured.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the backbone of H World Group Limited's asset-light growth engine, which relies heavily on external partners to scale rapidly. Honestly, their partnership structure is what lets them push for massive scale without tying up capital in property ownership.

The sheer volume of hotels managed through partners is the first thing that stands out. As of June 30, 2025, the Legacy-Huazhu segment alone had 11,469 manachised and franchised hotels operating. This model, where franchisees often reimburse manager costs and pay for technology access, is key to their strategy. To put that in perspective against the total network, H World Group Limited operated 12,702 hotels globally as of September 30, 2025.

This partnership approach is clearly driving financial results. For the third quarter of 2025, revenue from manachised and franchised hotels in the Legacy-Huazhu segment hit RMB3.3 billion, marking a 27.2% year-over-year increase. The company is banking on this continuing, guiding for manachised and franchised revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 to be in the range of 17%-21% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

The expansion targets are aggressive, showing the commitment from property owners and developers to join the network. H World Group Limited aims to add about 9,000 hotels by 2030. For the full year 2025, the plan included adding 2,300 hotels, while simultaneously closing between 500 to 600 underperforming properties.

The strategic alliance with Accor is a significant piece of this puzzle, giving H World Group Limited access to established international brands within the pan-China region. You'll see these brands integrated across their brand tiers:

• Master franchise rights for Mercure and Ibis in the pan-China region.
• Master franchise rights for Ibis Styles in the pan-China region.
• Co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel in the pan-China region.

Here's how those Accor brands fit into the brand structure as of early 2025:

The reliance on franchisees and the 'manachised' model means that supply chain and technology partners are critical for maintaining consistent quality across the vast network. Over 92 percent of H World Group Limited's hotel rooms were under the manachise and franchise model as of September 30, 2025. The company explicitly charges franchisees a fee for using its technology suite, which includes its reservation system, property management system, and customer database. You can see the operational structure supporting this through subsidiaries like Jizhu Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine driving H World Group Limited's growth, which is heavily weighted toward asset-light expansion and digital enablement. Here's the quick math on what they are actively doing to run the business as of late 2025.

Expanding the hotel network, targeting 2,300 gross openings in 2025

H World Group Limited is pushing hard on network expansion, maintaining a clear goal for the year. As of the third quarter of 2025, the company had already opened more than 2,000 hotels year-to-date, keeping them firmly on track to meet the full-year target of approximately 2,300 gross hotel openings for 2025. This rapid pace followed a strong first quarter where they achieved 538 net hotel openings. The total operating network size reflects this growth; as of September 30, 2025, H World Group Limited operated 12,702 hotels with 1,246,240 rooms across 20 countries. This pipeline of future growth is also substantial, standing at 2,947 unopened hotels as of June 30, 2025.

The scale of this expansion activity can be broken down by quarter:

Operating the asset-light manachise and franchise model

A central activity is the continuous advancement of the asset-light strategy, which minimizes capital expenditure on property ownership. This focus is paying off in profitability; for instance, in Q2 2025, manachise and franchise operations accounted for 64 percent of total gross operating profit, up from 57 percent the prior year. The room base reflects this shift: as of September 30, 2025, 93 percent of H World Group Limited's hotel rooms operated under the manachise and franchise model. Revenue from this segment is a key driver, rising 27.2 percent year-over-year to RMB 3.3 billion in Q3 2025.

Here's how the asset-light structure looks based on the latest room data:

• As of September 30, 2025, 93 percent of rooms were under manachise/franchise.
• As of March 31, 2025, 92 percent of rooms were under manachise/franchise.
• In Q1 2025, manachised and franchised revenue was RMB 2.5 billion (US$344 million).
• In Q3 2025, manachised and franchised revenue reached RMB 3.3 billion.

Developing and maintaining the full-stack digital technology platform

H World Group Limited actively develops and maintains a self-developed, full-stack digital platform. This technology backbone covers booking, operations, and analytics to power real-time management and personalized guest experiences. A major output of this digital focus is the H Rewards membership program, which is a massive loyalty ecosystem. As of Q3 2025, H Rewards surpassed 300 million members. This digital engagement translates directly to bookings; as of the end of Q1 2025, direct booking from members accounted for over 65 percent of total reservations.

Managing the multi-brand portfolio across all market segments

Managing a diversified portfolio spanning mass-market to luxury is a core activity, supported by industrialized supply chain capabilities. As of September 30, 2025, the portfolio included brands such as HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, MAXX Hotel, and Steigenberger Icons, among others, across 20 countries. The performance across segments is tracked closely:

• Hanting Hotel, a flagship, was ranked No. 1 globally by HOTELS Magazine's 'World's Top 50 Hotel Brands' list, operating 4,401 hotels or 378,569 rooms as of Q2 2025.
• Orange Hotel surpassed 1,000 hotels in operation in Q2 2025.
• The upper-midscale segment, including InterCity Hotel and Crystal Orange Hotel, had more than 1,500 hotels in operation and pipeline across China in Q2 2025.

The company also focuses on upgrading existing brands to enhance consumer experience. For example, as of Q1 2025, performance metrics for brand upgrades included:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

When you look at H World Group Limited's core assets, you're really looking at scale and digital integration. These aren't just nice-to-haves; they are the engine of their asset-light growth story. Honestly, the sheer size of the physical footprint is impressive, but it's how they manage it that matters most for the bottom line.

The physical network itself is massive. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, H World Group Limited operated a global hotel network totaling 12,702 hotels, which translates to 1,246,240 rooms in operation across 20 countries. This scale is built on a strategy that heavily favors franchising and management contracts over owning the real estate. To be specific, as of September 30, 2025, 93 percent of their hotel rooms were under the manachise and franchise model, which is key to keeping capital expenditure low and growth fast.

Here's a quick breakdown of that physical scale:

Next up is the loyalty ecosystem, which is definitely a major intangible asset. The H Rewards loyalty program has ballooned to over 300 million members. This isn't just a vanity metric; it drives direct business. For instance, in Q3 2025 alone, H Rewards members booked 66 million room nights, which was a 19.7 percent year-over-year increase. Plus, you see the direct impact on the top line: back in Q1 2025, direct bookings from members already accounted for over 65 percent of total reservations. That high member engagement translates directly to better margins because you're cutting out third-party distribution costs.

The proprietary digital operating and reservation platform underpins all of this. It's the consistent standard applied across the entire portfolio, from the budget offerings to the luxury European brands. This platform helps manage everything from reservations to loyalty point redemption. You can see the investment in brand equity through their ongoing product upgrade initiatives:

• Hanting Hotels: 40 percent had reached version 3.5 or above as of Q1 2025.
• Ji Hotels: 78 percent had reached the Ji 4.0+ standard in Q1 2025.
• Orange Hotels: 70 percent met the Orange 2.0 standard by the first quarter of 2025.

Finally, the brand portfolio itself is a deep resource, covering multiple segments. They manage a vast array of brands, including franchise rights for major international names in the pan-China region. You've got your core Chinese brands mixed with the European luxury assets they've integrated. The full list of brands operated or franchised includes:

• HanTing Hotel
• JI Hotel
• Orange Hotel
• Crystal Orange Hotel
• IntercityHotel
• Hi Inn
• Ni Hao Hotel
• Elan Hotel
• Zleep Hotels
• Starway Hotel
• CitiGO
• Manxin Hotel
• Madison Hotel
• MAXX Hotel
• Blossom House
• Joya Hotel
• Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts
• Jaz in the City
• Steigenberger Icons
• Song Hotels
• Master franchisee rights for Mercure, Ibis, and Ibis Styles in pan-China.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core advantages H World Group Limited offers to its partners and guests as of late 2025. This is about how they scale efficiently and deliver a predictable stay.

Asset-light, scalable growth for franchisees via the manachise model.

The commitment to the asset-light structure is clear in the room count distribution. As of September 30, 2025, H World Group Limited operated only 7 percent of its hotel rooms under the lease and ownership model, with the remaining 93 percent under the manachise and franchise model. This model is the engine for rapid, capital-efficient expansion.

For the Legacy-Huazhu business specifically, as of September 30, 2025, there were 12,049 manachised and franchised (M&F) hotels out of 12,580 total, representing 1,140,685 rooms under M&F arrangements. Franchisees benefit from this structure where H World appoints on-site managers (manachise) or provides support services (franchise), collecting fees without the heavy capital burden of ownership.

The financial results reflect this focus. Revenue from manachised and franchised hotels grew by 27.2 percent to reach RMB 3.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025. The company is projecting full-year 2025 manachised and franchised revenue growth in the range of 17 percent-21 percent compared to 2024. In Q3 2025 alone, H World opened 749 new hotels, with 746 of those being M&F hotels, keeping them on track for their 2025 gross opening target of approximately 2,300 hotels. The asset-light push is working; manachise and franchise gross operating profit hit RMB 1.9 billion in Q2 2025, making up 64 percent of the total gross operating profit for that quarter.

Access to a 300 million+ member direct booking ecosystem for owners.

Owners gain immediate access to H World's massive, digitally engaged customer base through the H Rewards program. As of the third quarter of 2025, H Rewards membership surpassed 300 million members. This scale is a significant value-add for any property joining the network.

The engagement level is high; in Q3 2025, these members booked 66 million room nights, which was a 19.7 percent year-on-year increase. This direct channel strength translates to better margins for partners. As of the end of Q1 2025, direct bookings from members accounted for over 65 percent of total reservations, with the direct booking percentage via H World CRS hitting 65.1 percent by June 30, 2025.

Multi-segment choice for guests, from economy to luxury (e.g., JI Hotel to Steigenberger).

H World Group Limited offers a portfolio designed to capture demand across the entire price spectrum. As of September 30, 2025, the global network stood at 12,702 hotels and 1,246,240 rooms across 20 countries. The brand architecture supports this breadth:

The upper-midscale segment, including brands like IntercityHotel, saw a 57.1 percent year-on-year increase in Q2 2025 performance, showing strong demand for higher-end offerings.

Consistent, quality experience driven by digital standardization.

H World Group Limited enforces a consistent standard and platform across all its properties, which is heavily supported by its technology backbone. This standardization is measured through ongoing brand upgrade initiatives:

• Hanting Hotels: 40 percent reached version 3.5 or above as of Q1 2025.
• JI Hotels: 78 percent reached the Ji 4.0+ standard as of Q1 2025.
• Orange Hotels: 70 percent met the Orange 2.0 standard as of Q1 2025.

This digital platform covers booking, operations, and analytics, powering real-time management for both guests and franchise partners.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

H World Group Limited emphasizes a digitally-driven relationship model, underpinned by its proprietary technology stack.

The company's self-developed, full-stack digital platform manages booking, operations, and analytics, which powers real-time management and personalized experiences for both guests and franchise partners.

Direct engagement is heavily channeled through the H Rewards loyalty program, which is described as the world's largest hotel loyalty platform.

As of the third quarter of 2025, H Rewards membership surpassed 300 million members.

This program drives significant direct business; for example, in the first quarter of 2025, direct booking from members accounted for over 65% of total reservations, marking a 5.4 percentage point increase year-on-year.

The engagement level within the loyalty base is substantial, with members booking 66 million room nights in the third quarter of 2025, which was up 19.7% year-on-year.

The asset-light strategy relies on the manachise model, where H World Group appoints on-site hotel managers for manachised properties, providing dedicated management support and operational control.

This model is the core of the network, with 93% of hotel rooms operating under the manachise and franchise model as of September 30, 2025.

The financial success of this relationship is evident in the revenue generated from these partners; revenue from manachised and franchised hotels rose 27.2% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, reaching RMB 3.3 billion (US$465 million).

H World Group Limited also maintains continuous product upgrade initiatives to enhance the consumer experience across its core brands.

Here are the specific upgrade metrics reported as of the end of the first quarter of 2025:

• 40% of Hanting Hotels had reached version 3.5 or above.
• 78% of Ji Hotels had reached Ji 4.0+.
• 70% of Orange Hotels met the Orange 2.0 standard.

You can see the scale of the loyalty program and operational dependency in this snapshot:

The company's operational structure is heavily weighted toward these partner relationships, which is why the growth in manachised/franchised revenue is a key indicator of relationship health.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

The distribution of H World Group Limited (HTHT) inventory relies on a multi-pronged approach, heavily favoring proprietary digital platforms to capture higher-margin business.

Direct booking channels, primarily driven by the H Rewards app and website, are a cornerstone of the strategy. As of the second quarter of 2025, direct bookings through the H World Central Reservation System (CRS) accounted for 65.1% of total reservations, which was a 5.2 percentage point increase from the prior year period. This digital ecosystem is supported by a massive loyalty base.

• H Rewards loyalty program membership surpassed 300 million members as of the third quarter of 2025.
• Members booked 66 million room nights in the third quarter of 2025.

The physical presence of H World Group Limited spans a wide geographic area, though it remains concentrated in its home market. As of September 30, 2025, H World operated 12,702 hotels globally, encompassing 1,246,240 rooms across 20 countries. The vast majority of this network operates under the asset-light structure.

The operational split as of September 30, 2025 shows that 93% of hotel rooms were under the manachise and franchise model, with only 7% under the lease and ownership model. This asset-light focus means that the success of channels like Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and corporate sales teams is measured through the fee-based revenue generated by the franchised and managed properties, which reached RMB 3.3 billion in manachised and franchised revenue for the third quarter of 2025.

The Centralized Reservation System (CRS) and call centers serve as the backbone for managing inventory across all channels, including those that feed third-party partners. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the CRS contribution showed a 4% increase, indicating ongoing efforts to optimize this internal distribution capability.

• Total hotels in operation as of September 30, 2025: 12,702.
• Total rooms in operation as of September 30, 2025: 1,246,240.
• Geographic reach: 20 countries.
• Rooms under manachise/franchise model as of September 30, 2025: 93%.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

Hotel Franchisees and investors seeking high-quality, scalable returns.

• Targeted 2,300 gross hotel openings for the full year of 2025.
• Opened 749 new hotels in the third quarter of 2025 alone.
• Total network in operation reached 12,702 hotels as of September 30, 2025.
• 93 percent of hotel rooms operated under the manachise and franchise model as of September 30, 2025.
• Manachised and franchised revenue reached RMB 3.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
• Manachised and franchised revenue increased 27.2% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025.
• Total pipeline included 2,888 unopened hotels as of March 31, 2025.

Mass-market travelers in China (economy and midscale segments).

• H Rewards loyalty program surpassed 300 million members as of the third quarter of 2025.
• Members booked 66 million room nights in the third quarter of 2025.
• Member room nights booked increased 19.7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025.
• Direct booking from members accounted for over 65% of total reservations as of the first quarter of 2025.
• The group covered 1,394 cities across China as of March 31, 2025.
• 40% of Hanting Hotels reached version 3.5 or above as of the first quarter of 2025.
• 78% of Ji Hotels reached Ji 4.0+ standard as of the first quarter of 2025.

Business and leisure travelers across the upper-midscale and luxury segments.

• Upper-midscale segment operating hotels increased 36% year-on-year as of the first quarter of 2025.
• 70% of Orange Hotels met the Orange 2.0 standard as of the first quarter of 2025.
• Revenue from the Legacy-Huazhu segment was RMB 5.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, a 10.8% year-over-year increase.

International travelers, especially in Europe (Legacy-DH segment).

Here's the quick math on the Legacy-DH segment performance as of late 2025:

Overall network scale as of September 30, 2025:

The upper-midscale brands include IntercityHotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, MAXX by Steigenberger, and CitiGo Hotel. Also, the Legacy-DH business recorded a 5.9% year-over-year RevPAR increase in 2024. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises; still, the Q3 2025 guidance suggests manachised and franchised revenue growth in the range of 17% to 21% for the fourth quarter of 2025. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the expenses that keep H World Group Limited running, especially as they push hard on their asset-light expansion strategy. Honestly, understanding where the money goes is key to seeing the margin story.

Operating costs for the remaining leased and owned hotels.

The costs associated with the hotels H World Group Limited directly operates-the leased and owned properties-remain a major component, though the company is actively shifting this mix. For the third quarter of 2025, hotel operating costs totaled RMB4.1 billion (or US$570 million). This figure reflects a 6.9% year-over-year increase. Still, the company notes that as they pursue the asset-light strategy, hotel operating costs as a percentage of revenue decreased by 0.6 percentage points year-over-year in Q3 2025.

The cost structure is heavily influenced by the mix of operations:

• Manachise and franchise gross operating profit reached RMB2.2 billion in Q3 2025.
• Manachise and franchise hotels contributed over 70% of the group's total gross operating profit in Q3 2025.
• As of September 30, 2025, H World Group Limited operated 12,702 hotels.

Significant depreciation and amortization expense.

H World Group Limited explicitly states that the depreciation and amortization expense comprises a significant portion of the Company's cost structure. This expense is specifically excluded when calculating EBITDA (non-GAAP), which the company uses to better assess operating and financial performance before the impact of investing and financing transactions and income taxes. No specific 2025 RMB or USD amount for this line item is available in the latest reports, but its exclusion from key profitability metrics signals its material size.

Technology development and maintenance costs for the core platform.

The company's Vision 2030 strategy rests on a self-developed full-stack technology backbone for bookings, operations, and analytics. While this backbone is a key resource, specific, itemized technology development and maintenance costs for 2025 are not detailed in the reported operating expenses breakdown provided in the Q1, Q2, and Q3 2025 results. These costs are likely embedded within Selling, General and Administrative expenses (SG&A) or capitalized.

Pre-opening expenses for the planned 2,300 new hotels in 2025.

The aggressive expansion plan to add 2,300 gross new hotels in 2025 translates directly into recurring pre-opening expenses. You can track this cost quarter-by-quarter:

The company opened 595 hotels in Q2 2025 and 749 hotels in Q3 2025, putting them well on track to meet the 2,300 target for the year.

Here's a look at the key expense and profitability metrics for the most recent reported quarter, Q3 2025:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

H World Group Limited (HTHT) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at how H World Group Limited actually makes its money, and the numbers from Q3 2025 clearly show the success of their pivot toward an asset-light model. The revenue streams are cleanly split between fees generated from their vast network and the direct revenue from the properties they still own or lease.

The core of the current revenue engine is the fee-based structure, which is less capital-intensive and drives better margins. This is where the growth is really showing up.

The hotel turnover figure is a key indicator of the sheer scale of transactions flowing through the H World Group ecosystem, even if it isn't all recognized as top-line revenue. That total transaction value hit RMB30.6 billion in Q3 2025, marking a 17.5% jump year-over-year. Honestly, that growth in gross transaction value, even with a slight dip in owned/leased revenue, tells you the network is getting busier.

Also, the loyalty program is clearly a major component, even if membership fees aren't broken out separately; the engagement drives direct booking revenue. Here's what the loyalty scale looks like:

• H Rewards membership surpassed 300 million members.
• Members booked 66 million room nights in Q3 2025.
• Room nights booked grew by 19.7% year-on-year.

The shift is clear: the franchised revenue growth of 27.2% significantly outpaced the total revenue growth of 8.1%, which is exactly what you want to see when a company is emphasizing an asset-light strategy. The revenue from their Legacy-DH business (international) was RMB1.2 billion, while the Legacy-Huazhu segment brought in RMB5.7 billion in total revenue for the quarter. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.