Chao News client reporter Sun Weijia Pan Jun
Recently, the 2023 Zhejiang Culture and Tourism General Evaluation List was announced, and four cultural travelers were on the list of "2023 Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Figures", among which Jin Hangyong, vice president of Kaiyuan Tourism Group, was on the list. The award speech said, "Standing at the intersection of success and innovation, he used big operations to break through the boundary." So how exactly did this hotelier push the boundaries of operations? Chao News reporters interviewed him.
Keqiao Ancient Town, on weekend nights, several classical girls dressed in Hanfu stroll along the ancient bridge, on the other side of the bridge, in the small restaurant, diners are tasting Shaoxing drunken chicken, drinking Shaoxing rice wine...... The beautiful scenery in the scenic area is romantic, verdant and verdant, and the scenery is connected like a picture scroll. Here you can also experience a variety of colorful activities such as trendy toy markets, ancient night tours, and themed tea parties, which attract tourists to linger.
The operation team of this Shaoxing scenic spot, which perfectly integrates the soul of ink painting and modern trendy life, is from New Century Tourism Group, and the leader is Jin Hangyong, vice president of New Century Tourism Group and president of the hotel division. From a first-line hotelier, to the representative of the operation of the cultural tourism project in the ancient town scenic spot, and then to the official "anchor" of the short video platform, Jin Hangyong has completed the transformation again and again, and thus climbed the podium of the "2023 Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Person of the Year".
Jin Hangyong (second from right) climbed the podium of the "2023 Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Person of the Year".
Form small teams of young people
Nearly 700 million online GMV has been created
In the eyes of the outside world, Jin Hangyong is no longer a hotelier in the traditional sense, and his comprehensive operation ability has led Kaiyuan to a new development path. And he himself believes that it is a process of following the trend.
In 2005, Jin Hangyong graduated from the university with a major in tourism management and joined the New Century Grand Hotel in Xiaoshan. As one of the first batch of college students after the opening, he is the focus of the group. In the following years, Jin Hangyong rotated through different positions within the group with his outstanding work performance and ability, and was also sent to local companies such as Qiandao Lake New Century Resort and Changchun New Century Grand Hotel for training. In 2021, he served as the assistant to the president and the president of the hotel division of New Century Tourism Group, responsible for the hotel-related work of the entire New Century Tourism Group.
Jin Piang
In 2023, the operating income of the hotel segment of Kaiyuan Tourism Group managed by Jin Hangyong will be 1.549 billion yuan, an increase of 28.5% year-on-year in 2022 and a year-on-year recovery of 95.8% compared with 2019, which is about 15 to 20 percentage points higher than that of other hotels. In Jin Hangyong's view, this is due to a series of accurate predictions made by the group at the beginning of 2023: "On the premise of ensuring the stable quality of hotel products and services, we are not blindly optimistic, but have put forward a lot of targeted development strategies. "For example, actively integrate into Internet marketing and do live broadcasts.
In the second half of 2022, Jin Hangyong saw the potential of the Internet youth market, and decisively set up a young team of 6-7 people composed of post-90s and post-00s to be responsible for online live broadcast and online marketing. "Young people are more willing to spend money on cultural tourism experiences." Jin Hangyong said, "There are many characteristic five-star hotels in the country, but from 2022 onwards, the user market, business model, and thinking mode of this industry will be iterated and updated." The first thing that comes to our mind is to capture the market of young people. ”
"Jiangnan Shangbang Village, Lantern Shadow Mansion. The literati are elegant and collect the fragrance of Han ink, and the scenery of ancient buildings in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Welcome to Ningbo 17-room Kaiyuan Huan Tang ...... "July 22, 2023 is a day that impresses Jinhangyong. On that day, New Century Cultural Tourism Group launched a 48-hour uninterrupted Douyin live broadcast for the first time, with the participation of more than 20 New Century hotels and amusement parks, 12 hotel general managers and 20 New Century young anchors, and Jin Hangyong is also one of the bright "anchors". On that day, the entire Kaiyuan live broadcast team launched more than 100 products on Douyin, with more than 2,000 product orders, more than 60,000 live broadcast viewers, and more than 300,000 platform exposures.
"Live streaming can not only increase the sales of hotel products, but also promote the promotion of the hotel and tap potential hotel fan groups." After the success of the 48-hour live broadcast, Jin Hangyong led the operation team to expand cooperation with Ctrip, Fliggy, Xiaohongshu and other platforms. On the "Double 11" of the same year, a redemption package product launched by New Century achieved a turnover of 150 million yuan and a sales performance of 450,000 room nights within one hour of its sale. By the deadline, nearly 100,000 units had been written off by residents.
"I think it's for the post-90s and post-00s to do it, because they know best what young people like." As it turned out, this young team did not disappoint, this small team, created 6-700 million yuan of online GMV (gross merchandise value).
The "involution" of cultural travelers is not a derogatory term
Only by "rolling" can we progress
Stroll through the day overlooking the "small bridge and flowing water house", and at night wander through the bustling market to taste the food, choose your favorite items, and then return to the hotel in the scenic area to fall asleep...... In recent years, many tourists have become accustomed to staying in standardized hotels, and are more inclined to have local cultural experiences, personalized services and surrounding facilities. New Century Cultural Tourism Group has seen this broad market and has obtained many scenic spot operation projects, combining "hotel + cultural tourism" to create a new accommodation experience.
The success of new media marketing has inspired the motivation of New Century Tourism Group in the operation of cultural tourism projects. "Keqiao December Market" is the theme market brand planned by Kaiyuan Cultural Tourism for the operation project of Keqiao Ancient Town, with "December Market of the Song Dynasty" as the parent base, in-depth excavation of many urban cultural elements including Keqiao dyeing vat culture, Japanese casting tea industry, Keting flute allusions, Wang Xingji fan-making, 369 injury department, etc., based on the aesthetic standards and consumption preferences of the current young customers as the screening criteria, the system has designed a theme market for 12 months throughout the year, with themes every month and markets every week.
Keqiao December City Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Talking about the original intention of the plan, Jin Hangyong said that Keqiao Ancient Town is a very distinctive place. Keqiao is a national cultural preservation unit with profound historical and cultural heritage. However, the old bridge does not change much throughout the year, and they hope to present more dynamics and changes for visitors through the form of a market. "We have planned themed activities such as rice wine market, tie-dye market, brewing market, etc., each month has a different theme, which can present the characteristics of Shaoxing throughout the year, which is the origin of the Twelve Winds Elegant Collection."
Through the market, the local culture is excavated, the urban style is displayed, and on the basis of the previous "residence", it can provide residents and tourists with a richer and more in-depth cultural tourism experience. At present, the "Keqiao Twelve Styles Elegant Market" has organized more than 200 markets, and its high-frequency market organization and unique creative content planning have made it quickly become a representative symbol of the local trendy night market.
Whether you're running a hotel or managing a scenic spot, you're in a highly competitive environment. In this context, Jin Hangyong said, the key is to discover and shape unique personality characteristics and core competitive advantages to provide customers with favorite content and experiences. Only in this way can you stand out. He believes that the involution of cultural travelers is not a derogatory term to some extent, "because only after the volume can we progress, and the people can buy better services and products with the same money, and I think sometimes it may be a good thing." ”
Grow in the midst of challenges
"My job is a good life"
"High-star hotels should become a showcase of local culture and a social gathering place, and should assume more social roles." Jin Hangyong pointed out that although the scale of the group is getting bigger and bigger, the hotel is still the core sector.
In 2023, Jin Hangyong will lead the high-star hotels in the hotel sector of New Century Tourism Group to deepen the influence of catering brands, and successively launch the "Four Seasons Seasonal Dishes" sharing and exchange, inviting Chinese culinary masters, senior food critics, catering brand consultants and group leaders as judges and guests to evaluate the innovative dishes made by the chefs of nearly 20 hotels using local seasonal ingredients.
At the same time, a series of activities with the theme of "Art and Food" have also been launched, using food as a carrier to link calligraphy, painting, ancient architecture, clothing and other artistic elements to create a unique food experience. In November last year, New Century Hotel and calligrapher Wang Dongling jointly created a "Joy Together" theme dinner, which was the first attempt to mix and match calligraphy and food, and combine art and cooking. In December of the same year, New Century Hotel and the School of Social and Aesthetic Education of the China Academy of Art launched a forum activity of "Ancient Construction and New Fashion" in the 17th Floor of Ningbo New Century Guantang to discuss the combination of food and art, as well as the integration of art and cultural tourism......
Photo provided by the interviewee of the "Ancient Construction and New Fashion" forum activity
Jin Hangyong said that by combining catering with culture and art, it will bring customers a better life experience, and at the same time, it will also bring more cooperation opportunities and development space for New Century Hotel.
It is worth mentioning that from July 8th to 9th, the New Century Tourism Hotel Technology Competition will be held in New Century Famous Capital, bringing together more than 400 contestants from 21 self-owned hotels and two New Century Senbo hotels under the group, and the theme of this year's competition will focus on "shaping a new hotel experience". Jin Hangyong said that this technology competition has been held for 37 years since the establishment of Kaiyuan Group, aiming to continuously promote the improvement of chefs' skills and the cultivation of competitive spirit through technical competitions and other activities.
In the course of talking with Jin Hangyong, there is one word that is repeatedly mentioned, and that is "my work is a good life". For him, hotel work is not only a career, but also a life attitude and pursuit.
Today's hospitality industry is an industry full of innovation and challenges. Whether it is a new service concept, the application of technology, or a change in market trends, practitioners are required to continue to learn and improve. Jin Hangyong enjoys this process of growing up in the midst of challenges, and he believes that it is his work that brings him another experience of a better life.
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