Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Liuba County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, focuses on creating all-round tourism, takes advantage of the superior natural environment of Qinling, transforms and upgrades the idle old houses of villagers, creates a cluster of characteristic homestays, and helps rural revitalization. The picture shows the staff in Yunshan Yue B&B in Datan Village, Zibai Street, Liuba County, conducting online live broadcast promotion. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xiao
Swipe your favorite homestay in the short video and realize one-click booking on your mobile phone; Enter the room and remotely control the various facilities of the homestay through voice control and human body sensing... Under the wave of digitalization, intelligence has become an important trend and direction of the homestay industry. Through the application of modern science and technology, homestays can provide a more high-quality, convenient and comfortable service experience, and achieve improved management efficiency. What are the new features of digital homestays? What new experiences will it bring to homestay occupancy and management?
Wider customer acquisition channels
"I swiped the video of Luoyang Reclusive Datang Homestay Hotel on the Internet, and I thought it was very beautiful, I liked this style of homestay, and I just took advantage of the holiday to come and experience it." During this year's National Day holiday, Ms. Yang from Shanghai came to Henan Province for tourism and stayed at Luoyang Retreat Datang B&B Hotel.
"On the one hand, I brought my children to Luoyang to experience Hanfu makeup, and on the other hand, I was very interested in the decoration style of this homestay. After staying, the store also provides travel guides, which is very convenient. Ms. Yang said.
Like Ms. Yang, many guests who come to the secluded Datang B&B come after watching online live broadcasts or video introductions. Zhao Dan, general manager of Luoyang Retreat Datang Homestay Hotel, often publishes videos on Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Travel Photography, Dianping, WeChat Channels and other platforms, and its content is not only the interior of the homestay and special activities, but also the surrounding beauty. "We will also conduct live broadcasts of homestays from time to time, photograph special room types, and answer guests' questions. In the live broadcast, we will recommend some surrounding attractions to help make a general travel plan. Some guests originally just had some travel ideas, but did not think about where to go, and after listening to our explanation, they often made travel plans. Zhao Dan said, "When many customers call for consultation, they often say that they have seen our video and want to experience it." ”
At present, in terms of attracting passenger flow, in addition to travel platforms, online social networking and sharing platforms are becoming important channels for homestays to build their brands. Different from the marketing method of soliciting customers by holding up signs many years ago, today's homestay managers are more likely to acquire customers through OTA platforms (online travel service platforms), online sharing and other channels, where guests can see the address, environment, room layout, and price of homestays, and make reservations directly online. The introduction of digital marketing methods such as short video and live broadcast has made the tourist experience more intuitive and real, so that the homestay industry has achieved better economic benefits, and the advantages of online communication and interaction, attracting customers and precise marketing are highlighted.
According to the Mid-Autumn Festival National Day Tourism Summary Report released by Ctrip, during the November period, the business of air tickets, hotels, tickets, homestays, car rentals, cruises and other subsidiaries increased significantly. Among them, tickets and homestay orders increased by more than 2 times year-on-year.
Demonstrate smart service
With the popularity of smart home, the quality of living of homestays has also been greatly improved, and many homestay rooms are equipped with high-tech intelligent devices, such as smart toilets, curtains, light control, voice assistants, etc., to give guests a more comfortable living experience.
"Looking at the appearance, our homestay is simple and elegant, full of age, but in fact, every room is very intelligent." In the Xidi Scenic Area of Huangshan City, Anhui Province, Li Shengtao, the owner of Xidi Tamyuan Homestay, introduced that his homestay has realized intelligent multi-channel control of room environment, home appliances, security, lighting and other home facilities by embedding wireless communication, holographic sensing, intelligent control and other technologies. Through voice control or human body sensing, tourists can realize automatic operations such as pulling curtains, turning on TV, and turning on air conditioning.
In some homestays, the application of smart home devices is also closely integrated with local characteristics.
Henan Luoyang Yunhuali Intangible Cultural Heritage Art B&B, located in the middle street of Luoyi Ancient City Scenic Area, combines smart home with intangible culture and art, and has a unique living experience. The park and its surroundings are rich in historical and cultural heritage, and the 24 cultural rooms integrate intangible cultural heritage crafts with local characteristics into a Chinese-style accommodation environment.
"With a strong sense of history and cutting-edge technology, our homestay has been well received, attracting visitors to immerse themselves in a new experience of accommodation where history and modernity blend." Yuan Ying, manager of Luoyang Yunhuali Intangible Cultural Heritage Art Homestay, said, "We are also equipped with the 'Xiaoai classmate' voice assistant, which is very interactive, can answer questions such as weather conditions, traffic congestion, and tell children bedtime stories." If you are staying with the elderly, you can relax by chatting with 'Xiaoai-classmate'. ”
Continuous improvement of quality
Digital transformation is not only to improve the quality and upgrade of traditional homestays from the inside, but also to integrate external resources to promote the development of homestays, which is an all-round and full-chain application of digital technology.
According to Zhu Yujia, vice president and head of the cultural tourism business unit of Luyue Group, digital empowerment is to bring value in every aspect of operation. For example, how should the store be located during the preparation period? Luyue Group has developed a set of Aladdin's intelligent location selection system, which helps homestay owners measure the future operating income of their stores through data collection such as business district heat maps, competitive business district transaction volume, and average room night prices.
Site selection is only the first step in digitally empowering homestays. "Luyue Group uses rich front-end data to improve the efficiency of the middle and back office, and empower big data to the whole chain of homestay operation." Zhu Yujia said, "The key focus of digital homestay in the future is to better improve the consumer experience, and optimize and improve every link. ”
According to reports, the homestay brand "Huazhu" under Luyue Group is the main destination homestay hotel market. "We use the intelligent management system to upgrade the application of omni-channels from pre-design packaging to consumption scene experience, so that big data and cultural genes can be combined to promote the all-channel upgrade of homestay branding." Zhu Yujia said.
Industry insiders believe that the work done by the homestay industry before was more focused on acquiring customers, and after these years of development, retaining customers is now the key. Although a homestay video with excellent scenery and experience may have tens of millions of views, making it relatively easy to acquire customers, if you can't keep guests, the homestay can't keep your reputation. Therefore, in the end, it is necessary to rely on operations, through systematic, standardized and digital services and experiences to meet the needs of tourists, so that high-tech and homestay characteristics can be better integrated, so that tourists can not only enjoy natural scenery, pastoral life, but also have a high-quality living environment. (Ye Xiaonan, Yang Yu)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (October 18, 2023 Version 08)
