H World Group Ltd 6-K, filed Jul 16, 2020

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of July 2020

Commission File Number: 001-34656

Huazhu Group Limited (Registrant's name)

No. 2266 Hongqiao RoadChangning DistrictShanghai 200336People's Republic of China(86) 21 6195-2011 (Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F [ X ]      Form 40-F [   ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b) (1):

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b) (7):

EXHIBIT INDEX

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

EdgarFiling EXHIBIT 99.1

Huazhu Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the Second Quarter of 2020

SHANGHAI, China, July 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huazhu Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT) (“Huazhu”, “we” or “our”), a world-leading hotel group, today announced preliminary results for hotel operations in the second quarter ended June 30, 2020.

COVID-19 Impact in Q2 2020 The recovery continued in Q2 2020, with our occupancy rate improving steadily from March through mid-June. Since June 11, 2020, however, there were new COVID-19 cases discovered in Beijing. Beijing reinstituted strict travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 once again. Since then, our occupancy rate in Beijing and its nearby cities and provinces, such as Tianjin and Heibei, was affected. Since early July, with the containment of mini outbreak of COVID-19 in Beijing, our occupancy rate in China gradually improved once again, reaching more than 80% by mid-July. As China kept COVID-19 largely under control, 97% hotels resumed operation in Q2 2020. As of June 30, 2020, Huazhu had 139 hotels under governmental requisition, compared to 374 as of March 31, 2020.

Deutsche Hospitality (“DH”) has been affected since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe since early March. At the end of March 2020, 74% or 85 of hotels of DH hotels were temporarily closed. With the containment of the pandemic, Germany and some European countries started to stop land border checks and remove travel restrictions, and the lodging industry in Europe started to recover. As of June 30, 2020, 21% or 24 of hotels of DH hotels were temporarily closed, including 5 leased hotels and 19 manachised and franchised hotels.

In the second quarter of 2020, Huazhu expects net revenues to decline 32% to 34% year-over-year or 35% to 37% if excluding the addition of Deutsche Hospitality.

Operating Results: Legacy-Huazhu

Operating Results: Legacy-DH

All values are in Euros.

Hotel Portfolio by Brand

About Huazhu Group Limited Originated in China, Huazhu Group Limited is a world-leading hotel operator and franchisor. As of June 30, 2020, Huazhu operated 6,187 hotels with 599,235 rooms in operation in 15 countries. Huazhu’s brands include Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, Joya Hotel, and Blossom House. Upon the completion of Deutsche Hospitality acquisition on January 2, 2020, Huazhu added 5 brands to our portfolio, including Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Maxx by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel and Zleep Hotel. In addition, Huazhu also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region.

Huazhu’s business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, Huazhu directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, Huazhu manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers Huazhu appoints and collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, Huazhu provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. Huazhu applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of June 30, 2020, Huazhu operates 17 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 83 percent under manachise and franchise models.

For more information, please visit Huazhu’s website: http://ir.huazhu.com .

Safe Harbor Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; the economic conditions; the regulatory environment; our ability to attract and retain customers and leverage our brands; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of demand for lodging; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results.

Huazhu undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

Contact Information Huazhu Investor Relations Tel: 86 (21) 6195 9561 Email: ir@huazhu.com http://ir.huazhu.com