China Lodging Group, Limited Announces Preliminary Hotel Operating Results for Fourth Quarter of 2012

SHANGHAI, China, Jan. 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Lodging Group, Limited (Nasdaq:HTHT) ("China Lodging Group" or the "Company"), a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China, today announced preliminary hotel operating results for the fourth quarter of 2012.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company added 51 leased ("leased-and-operated") hotels and 69 net manachised ("franchised-and-managed") hotels. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 466 leased hotels, 515 manachised hotels, and 54 franchised Starway hotels in operation. In the fourth quarter of 2012, excluding franchised Starway hotels, the blended RevPAR came in at RMB162, compared with RMB167 in the same quarter of 2011. For the hotels in operation for at least 18 months, excluding franchised Starway hotels, the RevPAR was RMB179, representing a 2% same-hotel RevPAR increase year-over-year, with a 1% increase in ADR and a 1% increase in occupancy.

Branding Update

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company changed its Chinese name from HanTing to Hua Zhu, demonstrating the Company's ambition to grow from an economy hotel chain to a multi-brand hotel group. China Lodging Group now has five hotel brands, namely, Joya Hotel, Ji Hotel (previously Seasons Hotel), Starway Hotel, HanTing Hotel, and Hi Hotel (Previously Hi Inn).

Mr Qi Ji, founder, executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "We added 120 net new hotels in the fourth quarter and 396 net new hotels in 2012, exceeding our full year expansion plan. In addition to our strong operating results, we continued to enrich our brand portfolio to target a wider spectrum of customers with fast-growing and diversified travel demand."

About China Lodging Group, Limited

China Lodging Group, Limited is a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China. The Company provides business and leisure travelers with high-quality, and conveniently-located hotel products under five brands, namely, Joya Hotel, Ji Hotel, Starway Hotel, HanTing Hotel, and Hi Hotel. For more information, please visit the Company's website: http://ir.htinns.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the 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 of China; the regulatory environment in China; our ability to attract customers and leverage our brand; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of the lodging market in China; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the 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. The Company 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.