Atour Lifestyle Q3 2023 Earnings Report

Atour Lifestyle EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.26
• Consensus EPS: $0.22
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.04
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Atour Lifestyle Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $177.37 million
• Expected Revenue: $157.45 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$19.92 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Atour Lifestyle Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q3 2023
• Date: 11/16/2023
• Time: N/A
• Conference Call Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023
• Conference Call Time: 7:00AM ET

Atour Lifestyle (NASDAQ:ATAT) Holdings Co., Ltd. operates as a hospitality and lifestyle company offering a range of lodging and accommodation services in China. The company’s core business includes the development, operation and management of boutique hotels and serviced apartments under its Atour Hotel and Ankora brands. These properties cater primarily to the mid- to upscale segment, delivering a blend of comfort, design-focused interiors and localized services tailored to both business and leisure travelers.

In addition to room offerings, Atour Lifestyle provides a suite of ancillary services designed to enhance guest experiences. Many Atour Hotel properties feature on-site dining outlets, coffee bars and curated retail concepts, while Ankora serviced apartments offer extended-stay amenities such as in-unit kitchens and communal workspaces. The company leverages mobile technology and a proprietary loyalty program to streamline reservations, contactless check-in and customized guest interactions across its portfolio.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Shanghai, Atour Lifestyle has expanded rapidly across China’s major cities and regional hubs. Its footprint encompasses more than 250 properties in over 80 cities, positioning it to capitalize on growing domestic travel and urbanization trends. The company remains focused on disciplined site selection, strategic partnerships with local operators and ongoing upgrades to its digital platform. Leadership comprises seasoned executives with backgrounds in hospitality management, real estate development and technology integration, driving the company’s vision of creating a modern, design-led lodging network for today’s traveler.

Atour Lifestyle Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Q3 hotel business achieved a record high RevPAR of RMB424, reaching 118% of 2019 levels, and added 81 new openings to grow the network to 1,112 hotels.
• Scenario-based retail GMV soared to RMB302 million in Q3 (+292% YoY), with Double 11 GMV topping RMB250 million (+600% YoY) and Deep Sleep Pillow Pro sales exceeding 800,000 units.
• Launched the new Atour 4.0 flagship with nature-inspired design, targeting mature RevPAR of RMB400, CapEx of ~RMB145,000 per room and a 3.5-year payback period.
• Financial highlights include net revenues up 93% YoY to RMB1.294 billion, adjusted EBITDA up 122% YoY to RMB308 million (29.4% margin), and a cash + short-term investment balance of ~RMB3.0 billion.
• Selling and marketing expenses jumped 269% YoY to RMB112 million (8.7% of net revenues), reflecting an aggressive retail expansion that may pressure near-term profitability.

Presentation

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Atour Lifestyle Holdings Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to ask to turn the conference over to Ms. Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, operator. Good morning and good evening, everyone. Welcome to our Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. Joining us today are our Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Mr. Haijun Wang, and our Co-Chief Financial Officers, Mr. Shoudong Wang and Mr. Jianfeng Wu. Before we continue, please be aware that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ significantly from what is stated or implied in our comments today. The company is not obligated to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. Additionally, during this call, our management will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures solely for comparison purposes. For a clear understanding of these measures and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results, please refer to the earnings release issued earlier today.

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Furthermore, a webcast replay of this conference call will be available on our website at ir.yaduo.com. Now, I will turn the call over to Mr. Wang, our CEO.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Alison. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining Atour's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call today. We are delighted to report another robust quarter. Our unremitting pursuit of growing to 2,000 premier hotels nationwide by 2025, while establishing the Chinese experience as the industry benchmark, along with the continuous expansion of our brand influence, enabled us to capture the growth opportunities arising from both business travel and the peak leisure travel season. As such, we achieved the tremendous breakthroughs across each of our business lines. Now, I would like to discuss our performance in detail.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Let's begin with our hotel business. Travel and accommodation demand maintained solid growth momentum in the third quarter, highlighted by a notable uptick during the summer season. Accordingly, our third quarter's RevPAR increased to a record high of CNY 424, and recovery rate rose to 118% of 2019's level, with July, August, and September reaching 122%, 116%, and 115% respectively. Moreover, our ADR and OCC maintained their robust growth momentum during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday period, increasing by 14.6% and 7.2% respectively, compared with the same period in 2019. Together, they boosted our RevPAR's recovery rate for the period to 123% of 2019's level.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Meanwhile, our mature hotels in operation for more than 18 months sustained their excellent performance. Their same hotel RevPAR recovery rate reached 118% of 2019's level in the third quarter, in line with the overall performance of our hotel business, highlighting the market's recognition of Yaduo's brand, as well as outstanding efficiency across our business management and operations.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

... 我们的开业进度继续提速，三季度共开业81个门店。截止季度末，我们的酒店网络已达到1,112家。同时，受益于不断巩固的产品和品牌实力，我们三季度继续保持快速的签约势头。截止九月三十日，管道内待开发酒店达到577家，同比增长超过60%。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

We continued to accelerate our hotel network expansion with 81 new openings in the third quarter, driving our hotel network to reach 1,112 hotels as of the end of September. Meanwhile, propelled by our mounting competitiveness across products and brand, our third quarter's new signings grew rapidly and our pipeline continued to flourish. As of the end of September, our pipeline had soared to 577 hotels, up by more than 60% year-over-year.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

我们的中端产品青居3.0，自2月发布以来，持续获得加盟商的青睐。本季度，青居3.0共签约25个新项目，签约占比超过15%。截止9月末，青居3.0已开业门店达到13家，主要位于二线及以上城市的核心商圈。作为中端酒店市场的新产品，青居3.0以符合年轻人的审美设计和亚朵一致的服务体验，成功获得消费者的认可，经营表现也在同商圈中也极具竞争力。自开业以来，这些门店在各项关键运营指标快速爬坡，开业第4周OCC平均达到78.8%，RevPAR超过CNY 340。我们相信，青居3.0很好地满足了年轻商务客人对高品质住宿体验的需求，同时抓住核心商圈物业升级的机会，未来将实现快速的规模增长。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

3.0, our mid-scale offering, has continued to gain favor among franchisees since its launch in February. A total of 25 Atour Light 3.0 projects were signed over the quarter, constituting more than 15% of the quarter's total signings. By the end of September, we had opened 13 Atour Light 3.0 hotels, primarily located in core business districts in higher tier cities. As a new hotel offering in the mid-scale market, Atour Light 3.0 has won broad market recognition for its stylish design as well as Atour's premier experience, resulting in a strong initial showing. In fact, these hotels have performed exceptionally well across key operating metrics since their openings.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

In their fourth week of operation, average OCC reached 78.8%, while RevPAR surpassed RMB 340. We believe Atour Light 3.0 is well positioned to meet young business travelers' demand for high quality accommodation experiences, while capturing the opportunities arising from property upgrades in core business districts. Moving forward, we anticipate it will rapidly grow to scale.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

此外，我们持续致力于产品创新，以满足用户不断变化的住宿需求。11月11日，我们正式面向全市场发布全新中高端旗舰产品，亚朵 4.0 见野。4.0 版本以亚朵村为设计灵感，为用户打造自然闲静的松弛氛围。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Moreover, we remain dedicated to product innovation to better meet our customers' evolving demands. On November 11, we officially launched our brand new upper mid-scale flagship product, Atour 4.0 With Nature. Inspired by Yaduo Village, this product revolves around the idea of natural tranquility, providing customers with immersive experiences infused with contentment and relaxation.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

亚朵4.0的大堂，以亚朵村老茶树作为品牌起源的标志，把自然和静谧带回城市空间。开放式的公区设计，全新的坐云会客空间，很好地满足了客人在住宿之外的办公和会客的需求。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Elegantly outfitted with images of the brand's distinctive hallmark, Yaduo Village's tea tree, Atour 4.0's lobby is specially designed to reintroduce nature and serenity into urban settings. Its new chatting room offers a practical, functional, open area to work and socialize beyond accommodations.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

另外，我们对亚朵四点零的运营标准和硬件设施进行了全方位升级。我们在亚朵四点零开辟了养生早餐专区，并精心挑选了东北非转基因大豆和黄土高原的米脂小米。...

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

新鲜食材，当日制作，为用户提供营养、健康、安心的早餐选择。同时，我们与两个奢华小众的洗沐护品牌合作，通过有质感的气味营造舒适的奢华体验。在汗出健身房，我们配备了全球顶级品牌普瑞科的运动器械，为用户提供更安全、流畅、高效的运动体验。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Additionally, we have fully upgraded Atour 4.0 service standards, amenities, facilities. In our Atour 4.0 hotels, we added a special breakfast area, providing more diverse options for an exceptionally nutritious and healthy breakfast with carefully selected, high-quality ingredients such as non-GMO soybeans from Northeast China, millet from Mizhi County on the Loess Plateau, and many other fresh components. Furthermore, we will cooperate with two niche luxury bathing brands to create a comforting experience through their bath products, luxurious textures, and scents. We also outfitted our gym with equipment from Precor, one of the world's top exercise facility brands, to provide our customers a safer and more effective exercise experience in our well-appointed fitness facilities.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

除了全面升级的公区设计和运营服务标准外，我们在4.0版本中特别推出了亚朵深睡楼层。专属的楼层设计，搭配独特的走廊灯光引导和SAVHE的香氛，让整个楼层充满静谧的舒适氛围。每个深睡客房均采用无级调光系统，引入一键深睡智能灯控，并全面升级了隔音设计。同时，我们在客房内采用Atour Planet最具代表性的深睡系列产品，在支撑力、包裹感和温度上做到完美平衡，只为让用户获得自在的深睡体验。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Beyond the enhanced public area design and service standards, we added an innovative, exclusive Deep Sleep Floor to our Atour 4.0 hotels. This debut concept features stylishly designed corridor slit with a special lighting guidance system, as well as our staff branded fragrance permeating the entire floor to create a serene atmosphere. Each room on the floor is equipped with a stepless dimming system, one click to sleep, smart light controls, and enhanced sound insulation, delivering the ultimate in serenity for optimal sleep. Meanwhile, we provide signature products from Atour Planet's Deep Sleep series in each room to create a perfect balance among support, envelopment, and pleasant temperature control, further ensuring users' relaxing sleep experience.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

亚朵4.0的产品创新，代表了我们对极致住宿体验的不懈追求，也将再次引领中高端酒店的体验升级，进一步夯实亚朵在中高端市场的领先优势。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

In short, the product innovation we have integrated throughout Atour 4.0 is a testament to our relentless pursuit of providing the ultimate accommodation experience. We are confident that Atour 4.0 will set a new industry benchmark for customer experience in the upper mid-scale market, propelling industry development and further solidifying Atour's market-leading competitiveness.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

接下来是我们的会员业务。通过不断迭代升级的会员服务和专属权益，我们的A Card会员体系也在持续为用户创造价值。我们逐渐融合了酒店住宿、零售、餐饮、文化、艺术、体育和其他，高价值权益，使会员生态边界实现有机扩展。A Card的品牌知名度持续提升，并带来会员规模的快速扩张。截至9月30日，A Card的累计注册会员人数突破5,400万。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Moving now to our prime memberships. Through our persistent efforts to upgrade our membership services and exclusive privileges, our A-Card membership program continues to provide outstanding value for our customers. We have progressively expanded our membership network to include hospitality, retail, dining, culture, art, sports, and various other premium benefits. Consequently, our A-Card membership has gained significant recognition and popularity, resulting in substantial growth of our member base. As of the end of September, the total number of individuals who have enrolled in our A-Card membership program exceeded 54 million.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

我们也继续探索品牌异业合作的机会，增强 A-CARD 的用户价值感知。十月，亚朵作为北京马拉松合作伙伴，为亚朵会员提供了一系列赛事专属权益，包括北马识途名额。... 也将通过品牌异业合作，覆盖更多元的垂类权益，持续探索和构筑亚朵会员生态。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

We are continuously exploring opportunities for cross-industry collaboration to enhance A-CARD's value perception among our members. In October, as an official partner of the Beijing Marathon, Atour extended a series of proprietary rights and benefits to our members, including direct participant access to the Beijing Marathon and an array of value-added services such as special breakfasts and energy supply packs. Moving forward, we will continue to broaden our membership benefits and cover more diverse vertical interests through cross-industry exploration, developing more opportunities while building up our membership ecosystem.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

此外，我们继续升级亚朵锦囊 A-Plus 产品，以更好地满足会员日益增长的个性化需求，为用户打造更独特的住宿体验。我们的深睡体验深入人心，亚朵锦囊中以选枕服务、晚安牛奶为代表的深睡服务产品获得更多用户青睐。随着产品的不断丰富和升级，用户对亚朵锦囊的认知和粘性也持续加强。亚朵锦囊使用，权益使用率相比年初大幅提升。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

In addition, we also continued to advance our A-Plus service offerings to better meet our A-Card customers' ever-growing and diversifying demands, and ensure a unique, memorable experience during their stays at Atour. Our signature Deep Sleep experience is top of mind for many A-Card members and our service offerings for achieving deep sleep, such as pillow selection and Good Night Milk, have witnessed high levels of demand. Our wide selection of high-quality offerings effectively enhance the user's recognition and stickiness, significantly boosting the overall usage rate of our A-Plus services since the beginning of the year.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

与此同时，我们的核心自有渠道依旧保持高效，即使在暑期旅游旺季，CRS间夜占比依然保持稳定，三季度达到62.5%。个人会员及企业协议的稳健表现，更是为我们OCC的持续提升打下了坚实的基础。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

At the same time, our direct sales channels remained effective and strong, even during the peak summer season for leisure travel. Room nights sold through our CRS remained stable, reaching 62.5% in the third quarter. Resilience in both individual and corporate membership channels continued to propel the sustainable growth of our occupancy rate.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Next is our scenario retail business. This quarter, our retail business continued to achieve breakthroughs, with overall GMV reaching a new high again, at CNY 302 million, up 292% year-over-year. Online channel sales growth was particularly strong, accounting for a further increased proportion of 80% of overall GMV. The just-concluded Double 11 shopping festival saw the scenario retail business achieve excellent results again, with Atour Planet topping the sales charts in the pillow category across various e-commerce platforms. Double 11 online third-party platform GMV exceeded CNY 250 million, up over 600% from the same period last year and over 140% from this year's 618, demonstrating Atour Planet's continuously strengthening brand awareness and strong growth momentum.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Now, I'd like to move on to our scenario-based retail business. We achieved another strong quarter, with total GMV reaching a record high of CNY 302 million, increasing significantly by 292% year-over-year. Online sales in particular soared, contributing approximately 80% of our total GMV. Our retail business also delivered a remarkable performance during the recently concluded Double Eleven Shopping Festival, as we topped the pillow sales chart across various third-party e-commerce platforms. Double Eleven's GMV across third-party online platforms exceeded CNY 250 million, an increase of over 600% compared with the same period last year, and an increase of more than 140% from this year's June Eighteenth Shopping Festival. This impressive performance clearly reflects Atour Planet's continuously strengthening brand awareness and robust growth potential.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

我们通过用户的真实反馈，持续挖掘用户需求，不断推动场景零售产品创新。目前，我们已成功建立了一套高效的新品研发机制，帮助我们实现了多个爆款产品的研发落地。亚朵星球深睡枕 Pro 自今年三月上市以来，取得了巨大的成功，截止十一月十一日，累计销量已超过80万只。...

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

在此基础上，主打控温、舒适包裹和超柔静音的产品控温被，也在九月实现了超千万的GMV，有力地验证了亚朵高效的产品研发能力。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

We have been consistently promoting innovation across our scenario-based retail business by identifying and exploring our users' evolving demands through their real feedback. Recently, we successfully established an efficient product development mechanism, which has enabled us to roll out numerous blockbuster products. Our Deep Sleep Pillow Pro has enjoyed great success since its launch in March this year, with total sales volume exceeding 800,000 units as of November 11. Moreover, our Deep Sleep Temperature Control Quilt, which is designed to envelop users in a snug and tranquil environment with its advanced temperature-controlled features, recorded an outstanding GMV of over CNY 10 million in September. This remarkable achievement serves as a compelling validation of our outstanding product development capabilities.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

体验是亚朵的品牌基石。零售业务的发展，不仅来自创新的深睡产品，也来自我们为用户提供的高质量的购物体验。目前，亚朵星球在天猫和抖音的旗舰店，店铺综合体验均达到五星标准，远超同行的表现。从住宿到零售，我们一直积极践行中国体验的核心战略，夯实品牌的口碑，引领亚朵的高质量发展。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Beyond our products themselves, exceptional customer experience is the cornerstone of Atour as a leading lifestyle brand. Our retail business development and success are not only driven by our innovative Deep Sleep series products, but also by the high-quality shopping experience we provide to our customers. Our Atour Planet flagship stores have garnered five-star ratings in terms of customer experience on both Douyin and Tmall, significantly outperforming our industry peers. From accommodation to our retail business, we have been proactively implementing our Chinese experience strategy to great effect, further solidifying our brand recognition and propelling our sustainable and quality growth.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

最后，我们在今年十月回到云南，重访亚朵村，开启了亚朵初心之旅。亚朵村的精神力量一直指引着我们，让人与人之间有温度的连接。我们在2018年协助亚朵村成立茶叶专业合作社，通过企业+合作社+茶农的创新扶持模式，为当地村民提供稳定的收入来源，助力亚朵村在2019年底实现全村脱贫。截止2023年9月，我们在怒江州三个老树茶园种植面积近万亩。我们希望亚朵村的茶园种植，不仅可以帮助当地实现荒地还农，还可以为云南的生态建设和环境保护做出积极的贡献。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Last but not least, we embarked upon a journey to rediscover Atour's original aspirations in October, and returned to Yunnan Province to revisit Yaduo Village. Yaduo Village's spirit has always been our guiding light, inspiring our commitment to creating an intimate ambience where people can warmly connect. In 2018, we helped the village to form a specialized tea cooperative, adopting an innovative model to encourage full cooperation among enterprises, the cooperative, and tea farmers. This initiative has provided a stable income channel for local villagers ever since, and empowered Yaduo Village to eradicate poverty village-wide as of the end of 2019. As of September this year, we have increased the planting area of our three tea farms in Nujiang Prefecture to nearly 10,000 mu, a Chinese unit of area.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

We believe the promotion of tea farms in Yaduo Village will not only help reclaim wasteland for agriculture, but can also contribute positively to Yunnan's ecological development and environmental conservation.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

下面请我们的联席CFO吴剑峰，为大家介绍公司的财务情况。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Now, I'll turn the call over to our Co-CFO, Mr. Jianfeng Wu, to discuss our financial results.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Haijun. Now I would like to present the company's financial performance for the third quarter of 2023. Our net revenues for the third quarter of 2023 grew by 93.1% year-over-year, and 18.4% quarter-over-quarter to CNY 1,294 million. The strong increase in the third quarter was driven by the robust growth in both our hotel and scenario-based retail businesses. Revenues from our managed hotels for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 781 million up by 82.9% year-over-year, and 24.7% quarter-over-quarter. These increases were primarily driven by the ongoing expansion of our hotel network and the increase in RevPAR.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

The total number of managed hotels increased to 1,080 as of September 30, 2023, up by 27.5% year-over-year, and 7.9% quarter-over-quarter, while RevPAR surpassed 2019 level and recovered to RMB 418 for the third quarter of 2023, from RMB 317 for the same period of 2022. Revenues contributed by our leased hotels for the third quarter of 2023 were RMB 238 million, representing an increase of 49.3% year-over-year, and 8.5% quarter-over-quarter. These increases were primarily due to the growth of RevPAR.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

RevPAR of our leased hotels surpassed 2019 level and recovered to RMB 571 for the third quarter of 2023, from RMB 384 for the same period of 2022. Revenues from retail and others for the third quarter of 2023 increased by 229.1% year-over-year, and 11.4% quarter over quarter to RMB 275 million, with scenario-based retail revenues growing by 291.7% year-over-year, and 11.1% quarter over quarter to RMB 235 million. These increases were attributable to our ongoing effort to adjust evolving customer needs, as well as our efficient product development mechanism, which enabled us to consistently launch new products which are well received by customers.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

In addition, we continued to expand our customer base and enhance our brand recognition through a combination of various online and offline distribution channels. Now, let's move to costs and expenses. Our hotel operating costs for the third quarter of 2023 increased by 58.4% year-over-year to CNY 617 million, mainly due to the increase in variable costs, such as supply chain costs, associated with the ongoing expansion of our hotel network. Hotel operating costs accounted for 60.5% of total hotel revenues for the third quarter of 2023, compared with 66.3% for the same period of 2022. The decrease was due to the robust growth of RevPAR and the economics of scale brought by our rapid network expansion.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

Other operating costs for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 131 million, representing an increase of 190.8% year-over-year, driven by increased costs associated with the rapid growth of our scenario-based retail business. Other operating costs accounted for 47.6% of retail revenues and others for the third quarter of 2023, compared with 53.8% for the same period of 2022. The decrease was attributable to improve the retail business profitability as a result of the increasing contribution from higher margin online distribution channels. Selling and marketing expenses for the third quarter of 2023 increased by 269.3% year-over-year to CNY 112 million.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

Selling and marketing expenses accounted for 8.7% of the net revenues for the third quarter of 2023, compared with 4.5% for the same period of 2022. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to the rapid growth of the scenario-based retail business, which was particularly driven by online channels. General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 79 million, excluding share-based compensation expenses of CNY 9 million. Adjusted general and administrative expenses increased by 53.3% year-over-year to CNY 70 million for the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted general and administrative expenses accounted for 5.4% of net revenues for the third quarter of 2023, compared with 6.8% for the same period of 2022.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

The decrease was due to the improvement of our management efficiency and operating leverage. Our technology and development expenses for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 20 million, compared with CNY 16 million for the same period of 2022. Technology and development expenses accounted for 1.6% of net revenues for the third quarter of 2023, compared with 2.5% for the same period of 2022. We will continue to improve our technology and development capability, and invest in comprehensive digital infrastructures to facilitate our long-term sustainable goals. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 was CNY 380 million, up by 122.4% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the third quarter of 2023 was 29.4%, with an increase of four percentage points year-over-year.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

Adjusted net income for the third quarter increased by 144.7% year-over-year to CNY 272 million. Adjusted net profit margin for the third quarter of 2023 was 21.0%, with an increase of four percentage points year-over-year. The improved group's overall net margin was primarily driven by the increase in gross profit margin in both our hotel and area-based retail businesses, along with our improved operating leverage. Operating cash inflow for the third quarter of 2023 was CNY 543 million. Investing cash outflow and financing cash outflow for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 779 million and CNY 98 million, respectively. Notably, we have maintained a healthy cash position with stable growth momentum. As of September thirtieth, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents totaled CNY 2.2 billion.

[Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO at Atour Lifestyle]

Together with bank structured deposits, we have cash and short-term investments totaling CNY 3.0 billion. That concludes our financial highlights for the third quarter of 2023. With that, let's open for Q&A.

[Operator]

Thank you, sir. As a reminder to ask a question, you'll need to press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Once again, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. For the benefit of all your participants on today's call, if you raise your question in Chinese, please immediately repeat your question in English. Please limit your questions to one at a time. If you wish to have any follow-up questions, please rejoin the queue. Thank you. We are now going to proceed with our first question. The question comes from the line of Lydia Ling from Citi. Please ask your question.

[Lydia Ling, Director Equity Research at Citi]

Thank you. Hello, management. I am Lydia from Citi. First, thank you for the opportunity to ask a question. Also, congratulations to the company for achieving a very impressive performance in the third quarter, whether it is our hotel business or scenario retail. I also want to ask, based on the trend from the fourth quarter to the present, for the company's full year, full year's store openings, including also including RevPAR as well as revenue profit guidance, has there been any change? Now it is also nearing the end of the year, so I also want to understand how the company views next year's development trend. Is there any preliminary guidance that can be shared with us? Uh, let me translate. Uh, hi, management.

[Lydia Ling, Director Equity Research at Citi]

I'm Lydia Ling from Citi. Thanks for taking my questions. First, congratulations on very solid results for the third quarter, including the hotel business and also the retail business. So we wanna check with the management that based on the fourth quarter to date trend, so do you actually have any changes in your full year guidance in terms of the openings, like the RevPAR, as well as for the top line and the bottom line guidance? And also, as we are into the end of this year, also wanna check with the company if you have any guidance for or growth outlook for next year, do you have any, like, the initial expectation to share with us? Thank you.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

好，谢谢Lydia，我来回答你这个问题啊。首先是关于全年的开店，截止到9月30号，今年我们累计的开店是189家。那从趋势来看的话，是逐个季度在增加的，我们也有信心在四季度的开店可以进一步的提速，所以我们维持全年的280家这个开店目标不变。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Lydia. Let me take your question. As of September the thirtieth, we have opened 189 hotels cumulatively this year. The trend shows a quarterly increase, and we are pretty confident that the new hotel openings will accelerate further in the fourth quarter, and that's why we would like to maintain the target of 280 new hotel openings for the full year.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

第二是关于RevPAR。那RevPAR我们在上季度的业绩会上跟大家沟通的是113-117的这个恢复度的区间。目前从整体的进展，包括暑期、国庆假期的表现来看，都符合我们之前的预期，整体表现比较稳健。那么我们也会维持全年113-117的RevPAR的恢复度的指引区间。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

And secondly, in terms of the RevPAR, well, in our last earnings call, we had shared that our full year RevPAR recovery rate was to be in the range of 113%-117%. Well, now that seeing the overall progress till now, it's including the performance during the summer and the National Day holidays, all remained solid and was in line with our expectations. So we are maintaining the full year guidance unchanged, still within the range of 113%-117%.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

…第三，是关于收入。那么我们的零售业务取得了不断的突破和超预期的表现，所以我们对于今年全年的收入预期呢，会上调到44亿人民币左右，同比增长超过90%。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thirdly, in terms of revenue, as we have achieved many breakthroughs in our retail business, the retail business revenue has continuously exceeded our expectations. Therefore, we will revise up our full year revenue guidance to around CNY 4.4 billion, with a year-on-year growth exceeding 90%.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

那最后关于明年的指引，开店呢，我们会按照2025年2,000家好店的节奏稳步推进。RevPAR呢，会在今年的基础上，我们的目标是做到温和的一个增长。那关于具体的数据的话，我们内部现在也正在做2024，明年2024年的预算啊，详细的情况我们会等到下个季度的业绩会的时候再跟大家做具体的沟通。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Regarding guidance for the next year, new hotel openings will progress steadily in line with the pace to achieve our goal of opening 2,000 premier hotels by 2025. And the RevPAR target for next year is to be with some moderate growth based upon this year's fundamental value. And as we are in the middle of internal budgeting for next year, 2024, we would like to share more color on the next quarter earnings call.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

谢谢。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you。

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Lydia. Operator, please invite next question.

[Operator]

Thank you. We are now going to take our next question. The questions come from the line of Sijie Lin from CICC. Please ask your question. The line is open.

[Sijie Lin, Investment Banking Analyst at CICC]

好，谢谢管理层，也再次恭喜咱们取得又一个季度这个很好的业绩。我们其实看了这个Atour 4.0的发布会，确实感觉在整体的风格和品质感上实现了一个跨越。所以我们是怎么样的在这种情况下，把这个单房的CapEx还控制在CNY 145,000的，然后以及能不能再为我们分享一下这个Atour 4.0开业以后的RevPAR和单店模型的预期？So my question is about Atour 4.0, which we launched recently.

[Sijie Lin, Investment Banking Analyst at CICC]

I feel that it's really a big improvement in overall style and quality compared with previous versions. So how can we control the CapEx at CNY 145,000 per room while achieving this? And could you please share with us your expectation on its future RevPAR and the unit economics, including payback period? Thanks.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

好的，谢谢思洁，我来回答这个问题。那么亚朵 4.0 渐野呢，是我们的定位是有别于传统的商务型酒店，所以我们运用了很多自然原生的元素，希望呢，是给出差和在外奔波的这个客人啊，营造一种放松休闲的这个氛围，能够在自然闲适的环境中，把紧绷的差旅的心情放松下来，获得松弛感。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Well, thank you very much, Sijie, for your questions. Let me answer that. Atour 4.0 with Nature distinguishes itself from our traditional business, hotels or of others. It incorporates many natural, native elements to create a sense of natural tranquility, and this provides a relaxation and leisurely ambiance for our guests who are on the business trips or if they are constantly on the go.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

我们预计一个成熟的4.0的这样的酒店啊，RevPAR的目标呢是CNY 400。那么我们在整个的设计风格突破，软硬装就全面升级的情况下，就是按照140个标准房量来算的话，单间造价呢，是做到了CNY 145,000。那么亚朵4.0的产品呢，我们整体采用了大比例的模块化的设计，一方面呢，更好地保障了项目的这个很好的品质的交货，同时也缩短了时间和工期。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

For a mature Atour 4.0 hotel, we would anticipate a RevPAR target of 400 CNY. At the same time, with breakthroughs in design styles and the upgrades in both facilities and amenities, the CapEx per room would be around 145,000 CNY, based upon a total number of 140 rooms. Atour 4.0 adopts a large-scale modular design, which not only can help to better ensure the project quality, it also helps us to reduce the material and construction period.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Overall, our Atour 4.0's investment payback period is approximately 3-5 years. This payback period includes the renovation period. So, this one, compared to our previous 3.5 version, will be further shortened. It is expected to also be able to lead again in the mid-to-high-end market. Thank you.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

In general, the investment return period for Atour 4.0, including the renovation period, is estimated to be 3.5 years. That is shorter than our previous version, 3.5. We expect Atour 4.0 will continue to enhance our competitiveness in the upper mid-scale hotel market and also lead our long-term growth. Thank you.

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Sijie. Let's have our next question.

[Operator]

Thank you. We are now going to proceed with our next question. The question comes from the line of Ronald Leung from Bank of America. Please ask your question.

[Ronald Leung, Vice President at Bank of America]

Management, good evening. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask a question. Also, congratulations to the management for achieving very good performance this quarter as well. My question is about the retail business. We see that the performance of the retail business in the third quarter continues to exceed expectations, and Double Eleven also achieved another breakthrough once again. What are the company's future plans and growth expectations for the retail business?

[Ronald Leung, Vice President at Bank of America]

Could you please provide insights into company's future plans and growth expectations for the retail business? Thank you very much.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

好，谢谢你的问题哈，我来回答一下。那么零售业务未来我们的几年的一个策略，一个呢是先做减法，就是我们会去更加聚焦在深耕，聚焦和深耕我们的睡眠领域。第二个呢，我们也会做加法，这个加法呢，是指运用我们对用户的洞察和对科技的这种运用，不断地加强我们在深睡领域的产品的研发跟迭代，扩充我们睡眠相关的品类。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Well, thank you for your question. Our mid-term strategy for the retail business revolves around two key approaches. The first is to do a subtraction. We aim to focus on concentrating and deepening our presence in the sleep market. And secondly, it is an addition. We are going to leverage our insights into customer behavior and the application of technology to continuously strengthen our product, R&D, as well as expanding our deep sleep product categories.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

就像刚才介绍了，我们零售的产品能力是在不断提升的。从之前爆款出圈的这个深睡枕头，到九月份我们单月销量超过1,000万的深睡的控温被，我们这套高效的产品研发体系不断地得到验证。那么我们也会继续推出我们下一代的深睡系列的产品，深睡床垫，使得我们整个深睡家族的产品品类持续得到扩充，这也让亚朵从酒店用户逐渐覆盖到更广泛的这种消费的人群。亚朵星球在睡眠经济里的品牌影响力能够得到持续的大幅提升。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Like we have previously introduced, our retail product capabilities are continually improving, ranging from the popular Deep Sleep Pillow that gained widespread recognition to the Deep Sleep Temperature Control Quilt, which achieved a monthly GMV exceeding CNY tens of millions in September. Additionally, we have other products to be launched soon, demonstrating our effectiveness of our product R&Ds, especially the robust system for that. The new product in Deep Sleep series, including the Deep Sleep mattress, which will be officially launched soon. The Deep Sleep product line continues to expand, gradually extending from hotel users to a broader consumer base. This expansion has significantly increased Atour Planet's brand influence within the sleep economy.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Our retail business, in the third quarter, the revenue reached CNY 235 million, up 292% year-over-year. Then in the just-ended Double 11 shopping festival, Atour Planet in various e-commerce platforms' pillow category sales all ranked first, online third-party platforms overall GMV exceeded CNY 250 million, up more than 6 times from the same period last year. That compared to this year's 618, also has more than 140% increase. Then based on our retail business's strong performance, we expect retail business full year, this year's full year revenue, will be able to reach CNY 900 million, up more than 250% year-over-year.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Our retail revenue was RMB 235 million in the third quarter, increasing significantly by approximately 292% year-over-year. During the recently concluded the Double Eleven Shopping Festival, we topped the pillow sales chart across various third-party e-commerce platforms. The Double Eleven's GMV across all third-party e-commerce channels have exceeded CNY 250 million, an increase of over six times, 600% when compared with the same period last year, and an increase of more than 140% from this year's June 18th Shopping Festival. With all that, we expect retail revenue for this year to reach CNY 900 million, with a year-on-year growth exceeding 250%.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

谢谢。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you。

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, we can take our next question.

[Operator]

Thank you, we are now going to take our next question. The question comes from analyst Liu from Citic. Please ask your question. Your line is open.

[Jiawei Liu, Senior Associate at CITIC]

管理层晚上好，我是中信证券的刘继伟。关于轻居的话呢，我想请教2个问题啊。一方面，其实整个轻居3.0发布以后的话，我们确实看到整个3.0的这个签约跟开店的速度是非常快的。关于目前这个已经开出来门店的实际的一些经营情况，管理层是不是有更多的一些这个细节可以跟我们再做进一步的一个分享？另外的话呢，就是随着整个的这个轻居门店在整体门店的这个占比的提升，未来是不是会对公司整体的ROPA会带来一些影响？主要是这样的2个问题啊。我翻译一下啊。Thanks management, Jiawei from CITIC.

[Jiawei Liu, Senior Associate at CITIC]

... Atour Light 3.0 version is making rapid progress on signing and opening. So could you tell us more about the store's current business situation? Besides, will it bring pressure to the group's brand RevPAR with the increase in the proportion of Atour Light? Thanks.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

好的，谢谢纪伟。这个问题我来回答啊。截止到9月30号，我们的青居啊，已经累计签约了71个项目，这个都是3.0的，持续获得了加盟商的认可。已经开业的门店呢是有13家，聚焦在了二线和以上城市的核心商圈，在中高端酒店的赛道，应该说达到了标杆的品质。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you, Jiawei, for your question. Let me answer this one. As of the end of September, Atour Light 3.0 has accumulated 71 signed projects, consistently gaining recognition from our franchisees. Thirteen hotels have been opened, primarily focusing on core business districts in higher tier cities. These stores aim to set a benchmark for quality in the mid-scale hotel segment.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

从目前已经开业的青居3.0的门店来看，新产品的爬坡期是明显的缩短。ADR和RevPAR在同商圈相对于其他的终端品牌，也是非常有竞争力的。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Looking at those Atour Light 3.0 hotels that are currently open, they had significantly shortened ramping-up period as a new product. Both ADR and RevPAR are highly competitive when compared to the other mid-scale hotels in the same business districts.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

对于明年啊，就是整个的RevPAR增长，即使呢是我们开店速度快，新店占比高，包括青居的占比逐渐增加，这些都会带来一些结构性变化的压力。但是我们会通过产品的升级和老店换新，提高我们产品的竞争力，并且我们会有很多的新店爬坡的扶持政策、措施，各种手段啊，会持续拉动我们RevPAR的健康增长。目标呢，也是要在今年的基础上，能够做到一个温和的增长。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Regarding the growth of the overall RevPAR next year, despite the structural changes and the pressures brought by the rapid expansion of new hotels and the increasing proportion of Atour Light, we plan to enhance product competitiveness through product upgrades and rejuvenation of the existing hotels. Additionally, the support for new hotels ramp up will continue, aiming for a sustained and healthy growth in RevPAR. The goal is to achieve moderate growth compared to this year's RevPAR as a baseline.

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

好，谢谢。

[Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Once again, it's star one and one on your telephone. We are now going to wait for a few minutes before taking the next question. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one and one on your telephone. That concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Allison Zhang for any additional or closing remarks. Thank you.

[Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations at Atour Lifestyle]

Thank you for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our IR team. We look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Thank you and goodbye.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.

Participants

Executives

• Alison Zhang, Director of Investor Relations
• Haijun Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO
• Jianfeng Wu, Co-CFO

Analysts

• Jiawei Liu, Senior Associate at CITIC
• Lydia Ling, Director Equity Research at Citi
• Ronald Leung, Vice President at Bank of America
• Sijie Lin, Investment Banking Analyst at CICC