Xinhuanet, Beijing, September 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Xinhuanet Financial Observation丨B&B confusion survey
The "Eleventh" holiday is approaching, and the B&B has entered the peak booking period.
According to data from Tujia B&B, as of September 25, the number of bookings for B&Bs in popular cities during the "National Day" holiday on the platform increased slightly year-on-year.
Previously, it was reported by the media that the "homestay fever" that has lasted for many years has declined in recent years, and some homestays have sparse passenger flow, even in traditional peak seasons such as summer and small long holidays.
What is the current development of the B&B industry? Is the enthusiasm of consumers still there?
This is a homestay deep in the grassland of Ulan Maodu in the Xing'an League of Inner Mongolia (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lian Zhen
The hot and cold "double day" of the homeowner
"It's going to be the 'Eleventh' holiday soon, and we have a total of 13 rooms, and now only half of them are booked out." The manager of a homestay in Zhangjiajie said helplessly, "In the past, we were basically full of rooms during holidays, and it was difficult to book them if they were not in advance." ”
Fu Min, who is thousands of miles away, has a different feeling.
Fu Min runs a homestay in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, and she is busy preparing for the holidays.
"All 16 rooms are fully booked on this year's National Day, and the price is 40% higher than usual," Fu Min said. ”
According to industry analysts, the reason for this situation is related to the uneven development of homestays.
Tourists from Germany enjoy the scenery at a homestay in Dazhai Village in the Guibei Mountains (photo taken on June 26, 2024). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zou Jingyi
In recent years, with the recovery of the tourism industry, the number of homestay business registrations has risen again.
According to Qichacha data, in the first eight months of 2024, the annual registration of homestay-related enterprises in mainland China reached 69,700, an increase of 18.11% year-on-year.
However, from the perspective of geographical distribution, as of now, there are 179 regions with more than 100 new homestay enterprises, of which the number of new homestays in 14 regions is 2-3 times the highest number of registrations in the past five years, and the number of new homestays in 2 regions is 3-5 times the highest number of registrations in the past five years.
"The B&B industry loves to get together, and you love to go wherever you make money." Xia Yuqing, executive chairman of Hangzhou B&B Industry Association, said.
In Xianju, Zhejiang, the number of homestay practitioners is increasing year by year, "but the passenger flow here itself is not enough to support the occupancy rate of the homestay," Xiao Wu, the owner of Xingjian Juyi, told reporters.
According to the 2024 China Homestay Industry Research Report, in some popular tourist attractions, such as Lijiang, Dali, Moganshan and other places, the growth rate of the number of homestays far exceeds the actual growth demand of tourists.
"There are many B&Bs and many competitors, and if there are no outstanding points, it is difficult to achieve high growth," said Nie Jianping, vice chairman of the Cultural Tourism (B&B) Professional Committee of the China Hotel Association.
The above report shows that since 2020, the homestay industry has further shown a trend of diversification. In addition to traditional country houses, emerging formats such as urban homestays and resort homestays have gradually occupied market share, forming a relatively diversified industry ecology.
Although collectively known as B&B, they are very different in terms of service and positioning, and the price ranges from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan.
This also causes tourists to have a different experience of homestays. "It's like when you go to a hotel, a five-star experience is definitely not the same as a budget experience." Xia Yuqing believes that going to the same homestay in different seasons and weather will also have different experiences.
Why has choosing a homestay become an "open blind box"?
"The photos are good, but the check-in experience is poor", some homestays have been widely criticized by consumers in recent years, and netizens jokingly called "choosing a homestay is like 'opening a blind box'".
"The cost of trial and error is too high, and if you accidentally step on a thunder, the mood of travel is gone." Ms. Yan, a tourist, told reporters that she is now more willing to choose a standardized hotel when she goes out, just for peace of mind.
An industry insider said, "Non-standard operation and management is a common problem in the homestay industry, and it is also an important cause of the 'blind box' of homestays." ”
Due to the low entry threshold of the homestay market, most homestays are run by individual landlords, lack of professional training, and lack of overall management capabilities. According to Qichacha data, individual industrial and commercial households account for about 80% of the total number of homestays.
The staff of a homestay in Xijiang Village, Tashan Yao Township, Changning City, are making beds. Photo by Xinhua News Agency by Zhou Xiuyuchun
"In some remote villages, most of the practitioners are local villagers, and there is a lack of professional training skills." Nie Jianping said, "The overall management requirements are low, and there are indeed non-standard situations. ”
Improving the standardized management of B&Bs is a common demand of consumers.
"The overall size of the B&B is not large, the income is limited, and if the operator wants to achieve standardization like a chain hotel, it needs a lot of financial support, which is difficult for most homeowners." Nie Jianping said, "Even so, if you want long-term and healthy development, the road of industry standardization must be taken." ”
In response to the problems that consumers are concerned about, such as "ghost address", "chargeback price increase" and "privacy and security", some homestay platforms have upgraded the landlord system according to the landlord's breach of contract and price increase, and included the integrity score in the rating, and the unqualified listings will be permanently taken offline.
In order to solve the problem of "photo fraud" in B&Bs, some platforms have set up the position of "B&B filter artist" and sent special personnel to verify the truth on the spot to ensure that the actual situation of the B&B matches the description.
In February this year, the "National Occupational Standards for B&B Housekeepers (2024 Edition)" was officially promulgated, which put forward specific requirements for B&B housekeepers from the aspects of reception services, accommodation and catering services, experience services, and marketing. According to the analysis of industry insiders, this not only makes the new profession of homestay housekeeper more standardized, but also attracts more outstanding talents to join.
"In recent years, the homestay industry is developing in the direction of standardization and standardization. It is hoped that through the construction of standardization, the homestay industry can develop more standardly. Long Fei, an international standards expert of the National Tourism Standardization Technical Committee, said.
From single accommodation to diverse services
In recent years, the demand of tourists has changed from simply "chasing popularity" to "emphasizing quality and experience". An experience that is engaging enough to be a reason for young people to go.
Ms. Tang, a consumer, shared the experience of staying at a homestay in Meijiawu Village, Hangzhou in April this year: "The local area is a famous Longjing tea producing area, and the homestay I booked is on a tea mountain, to say that the transportation is not convenient, but I love tea culture very much, and I can experience the tea picking project when I live there, so I booked it without the slightest hesitation." ”
At the Xianju Rock Art Center in Shangye Village, Baita Town, Xianju County, Taizhou, Zhejiang, the local intangible cultural heritage project Xianju needle-punched boneless lantern handicrafts are hung in the exhibition hall (photo taken on July 28, 2024). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
"The 1.0 version of the B&B is mainly about 'selling rooms', and now tourists have higher requirements and expectations for the B&B," Long Fei said. "In addition to accommodation, we also want to offer a different immersive experience and lifestyle."
Fu Min, who has worked in the homestay industry for nearly 10 years, has his own experience of the changes in the homestay industry. "Now the main consumer groups of homestays are the post-70s, post-80s, and post-90s, who have higher requirements for the quality of life, and they want to feel the personalized characteristics when staying in the homestay."
Fu Min believes that the function of the future homestay is more similar to an experience platform. "For example, in Xishuangbanna, homestays can graft popular local jungle exploration, agricultural product experience, travel photography and other content into daily business activities. Only when merchants continue to optimize their products and improve their service quality will they be more attractive if they make the tourist experience richer and more diverse. ”
"Combined with the orders, at present, those B&Bs that can provide personalized services and have local cultural characteristics are more popular with tourists." Industry insiders said.
For example, during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday just past, "new Chinese" tours such as wearing Hanfu, visiting ancient towns, and seeing ancient buildings were quite popular among young users. According to data from Woodbird B&B, in the week before the holiday, orders for Hanfu B&B increased by 70% month-on-month.
"The compound development of 'B&B+' is becoming a trend," said Long Fei, adding that B&B is now increasingly becoming a miniature tourist destination.
Planning: Wanfang
Main writers: You Suhang, Gao Chang, Li Tong
Participated in the report: Li Ning, Zhang Ge