Abstract:In recent years, tourism and leisure methods such as nearby leisure and cultural experience have gradually become the mainstream of residents' tourism consumption, and the consumption of the mainland tourism accommodation market has undergone a huge change, and the consumption demand of leisure homestays such as suburban homestays and tourist vacation homestays has been increasing. The accelerated release of favorable policies for domestic homestays has led to an increase in the number of domestic homestay operators and the rapid economic development of the homestay industry. However, it is worth noting that due to the impact of the epidemic, from 2020 to 2022, the average single-room income of the domestic homestay industry has shown a downward trend, while the average single-room consumption price of mid-to-high-end homestays has risen sharply. This means that in the context of the decline in the average profitability of the national homestay market, the quality of homestay products and services with cultural heritage has become the key to the profitability of homestay projects. In 2023, with the resumption of residents' travel activities, the average single-room income of the mainland homestay industry will increase by 62.03% year-on-year to 169 yuan.
1. Definitions and Classification
B&B refers to a small accommodation facility that uses local dwellings and other related idle resources, with no more than 4 floors of operating rooms and a construction area of no more than 800 square meters, and the host participates in the reception, providing tourists with experience of local nature, culture and production lifestyle. According to different characteristics and services, B&Bs can be divided into six categories: farmhouse B&Bs, resort-type B&Bs, cultural-themed B&Bs, inn-style B&Bs, boutique hotel-style B&Bs and island vacation B&Bs. Among them, the farmhouse B&B mainly provides farmhouse cuisine, and it is also convenient for travelers to experience agricultural activities such as farming and feeding chickens. Resort-type B&Bs are usually located near resort destinations and can provide travelers with more diversified services such as swimming and spa. The design and decoration of culturally themed B&Bs are more inclined to reflect the local culture, so that tourists can experience the local culture and history through accommodation. Inn-style B&Bs are usually a type of multi-room accommodation that mainly provides simple accommodation services. Boutique hotel-style B&Bs are designed and branded, similar to hotels, with more refined design and services. Island holiday B&Bs are usually built on the beach or near the ocean, and while providing accommodation, they mainly provide tourists with marine-related activities such as swimming, as well as local seafood specialties.
Second, industry policies
Tourism is an important industry to expand domestic demand and boost consumption, and it is also a key area for rural revitalization in the mainland. In recent years, the national and local governments have successively promulgated a number of policies such as the "Notice on Measures to Restore and Expand Consumption" and the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Tourism B&Bs in the Province", focusing on accelerating the creation of a number of B&B products with cultural characteristics, further enriching the types of domestic tourism products, and stepping up the implementation of rural leisure tourism boutique projects to help improve the quality and upgrade of rural B&Bs, and continuously promote national economic growth with characteristic B&B products.
Third, the development process
From the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to 1980, the mainland's accommodation products were mainly state-run hotels and guest houses. From 1980 to 1988, foreign capital entered the mainland, bringing advanced management experience and service standards, and joint ventures or foreign-funded independent hotels became the main body of the high-end hotel market. From 1989 to 1998, the development of the market economy gave rise to the demand for high-end hotel standardization, the number of foreign-funded, joint venture and private hotels increased rapidly, and the star rating system of mainland hotels was gradually improved. From 1999 to 2002, the demand for mass travel increased rapidly, economy hotels prevailed, and because business travel is the main body of public travel, the demand for service standardization promoted the rapid expansion of economic chain hotels.
From 2003 to 2009, the demand for domestic tourism and vacation grew rapidly, the main body of public travel shifted from business travel to personal travel, the competitiveness of hotels that simply meet the accommodation needs of tourists declined, and the residents' demand for personalized theme homestays such as inns increased, prompting the emergence of a large number of "farmhouse" leisure homestays in popular tourist destinations and around big cities, the rise of domestic agricultural tourism, and homestays began to expand to rural areas. From 2010 to 2015, with the growth of the tourism market and the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry, the mainland homestay industry has entered a stage of rapid development, the number of homestays in the industry has grown rapidly, and the service quality of homestays has also been greatly improved. From 2016 to 2017, domestic consumption continued to upgrade and market demand continued to change, so B&B began to accelerate the transformation to high-end and quality, industry supervision has also been continuously enhanced, and the market has accelerated standardized development. Since 2018, new business models and formats such as homestay clusters and homestay resorts have emerged on the market, and the industry has begun to enter a stage of innovation and development.
Fourth, industry barriers
1. Brand barriers
Brand barriers can be divided into two aspects: brand awareness and brand ecology. In terms of brand awareness, in recent years, with the improvement of residents' income levels, consumers' requirements for the service quality of homestays have been continuously improved, and well-known homestay brands in the industry are usually more guaranteed in terms of price, service, brand awareness, etc., and are more likely to be favored by consumers. In terms of brand ecology, due to the large number of B&Bs and a larger number of members, chain B&B brands can increase consumer stickiness and stabilize market share through a variety of marketing channels or customized services.
2. Market experience barriers
The ability to obtain and convert B&B guest traffic is the key to improving the occupancy rate of B&B and increasing B&B income, if the B&B has a single marketing channel, small guest flow and weak management ability, it will affect the growth of B&B revenue scale. Experienced B&B companies with sufficient market accumulation usually increase customer flow and improve service quality by developing diversified marketing channels, establishing a sound membership system, and focusing on the development of a central reservation system.
3. Talent barriers
The B&B industry belongs to the service industry, and it has high requirements for the service ability and service awareness of employees. If the service capacity of the staff is insufficient, it will cause omissions in various details and inefficient work, which will affect the service quality and consumer experience of the homestay. In addition, B&B brand building, product upgrading, and digital transformation all require high-quality and professional R&D and management personnel. As a result, the industry poses a barrier to potential entrants.
Fifth, the industrial chain
1. Analysis of the industry chain
The upstream of the B&B industry chain is the resource supplier, including real estate developers, housing designers, builders, B&B supplies suppliers, etc., which is the foundation for the development of the B&B industry and has a direct impact on the quality and style of B&B. The midstream of the industry chain is the operation and management of the homestay, including the homestay host, the management company, the service platform, etc., which is responsible for the daily operation, management and maintenance of the homestay, that is, to attract tourists by providing a high-quality accommodation experience. The downstream of the industrial chain is the consumer, that is, the tourists, who are the end users of the entire homestay industry chain.
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