Source/AI Milestone
Image source/photo.com
Recently, the news of the suspension of business of Beijing C City Hotel has swiped the circle of friends, this hotel as the first batch of four-star and five-star hotels in Beijing, has received countless national dignitaries, business tycoons, and is also known as the "Whampoa Military Academy" of China's hotel industry because of its pioneering management concept. It is reported that it will be closed at the end of 2023, and it has been half a year now, and Milestone has noticed that so far in 2023, it has ushered in several rounds of high-end hotel closures......
The "old hotels" continue to close
In recent years, China's hotel industry has undergone unprecedented changes. In this context, many established high-end hotels continue to close due to poor management, aging facilities, and vague market positioning. Most of these hotels are located in the heart of the city, where they were once landmarks and business cards, but over time, they have lost their former glory.
In addition to C City Hotel Beijing, on June 30, 2024, the Y House Hotel Beijing also ushered in the last day of business, which is the first The House Collective hotel in mainland China, and it is also Kengo Kuma's first hotel work, which has gained a large number of fans in the 16 years since its opening, and the news of the closure has sparked a lot of discussion. At the same time, there are still a number of hotels closed this year, such as Ningbo Weili S Fit Hotel was delisted in February this year, and the hotel is currently under construction; The liquor management company of Shenyang H Crown Holiday Hotel announced in April this year that the company was dissolved, and the hotel was subsequently closed; The M Yue Hotel on the Bund in Shanghai was closed for renovation in April this year. In addition, there are also a number of old four- and five-star hotels are also facing the fate of closing, such as in 2022 and 2023, Shanghai Sheshan Shimao S Keng Hotel, Shanghai Jiading X Lai Deng Hotel, Nanjing Jinao F Mont Hotel, Ningbo Donggang X Lai Deng Hotel, etc.
Milestone research found that these high-end hotels closed are not the special situation of a certain type of hotel, but the common dilemma faced by established hotels, including local state guesthouses, international brands, old independent hotels and local chain high-end hotels, and the reasons for the closure of these old hotels also have their commonalities: first, the market competition is intensifying, and emerging hotel brands have risen rapidly with innovative service concepts and advanced operation models to seize market share; With the continuous development of the tourism market and the increasing diversification of consumer demand, the traditional services of old hotels have been difficult to meet the needs of modern consumers; Third, the operating costs are rising, including labor costs, rental costs, energy costs, etc., which makes the profit margins of old hotels further compressed. Xiao Kexiao, a writer of Chinese cultural tourism hotels, summarized the problems faced by domestic "old hotels" into four keywords, namely: the separation of the old and the new, the chaos of diversity, the poor aesthetics and the collapse of time.
After the hotel is closed, do you still make a hotel?
So far in 2023, many high-end hotels in mainland China have closed their stores. This is the natural law of the operation and development of hotel enterprises under the conditions of market economy; It is the inevitable result of fierce competition in the market; It is also a concentrated manifestation of the problems and contradictions accumulated under the epidemic in recent years and the tourism and accommodation industry in mainland China for a long time. The direction of operation after the closure of these hotels is also different, which is mainly divided into two directions:
Or, don't do a hotel anymore. Andy Gu, deputy secretary-general of the hotel branch of Tianjin Tourism Association, believes that some old hotels may be changed to office buildings or commercial plazas, because the overall oversupply of high-end hotels is still a general trend that cannot be ignored, especially in the current consumption shift, consumer generational change, many high-end full-service hotels that do not have obvious characteristics or lose their characteristics with aging are suffering from the attenuation of attractiveness, and the attenuation of attraction will cause the decline of ping effect. In the case that the ping efficiency has fallen to a certain standard, in the trade-off between doing business, doing office buildings, or doing hotels, perhaps the answer will become obvious. Therefore, the change of hotel to business is actually a rational choice of ping efficiency trade-off. In the case of The Y House Hotel in Beijing, Taikoo Li Sanlitun has launched a new asset enhancement program to transform the hotel into an innovative retail space following the announcement of its closure.
Or, go ahead and do the hotel. Zhang Jiuming, vice president of the Nanjing Tourism Society, told Milestone that for these hotels, their operation directions are also different: some will flop to choose a well-known brand that suits them; Some redesign positioning, design and transformation, so that the hotel is more in line with contemporary consumer needs and aesthetic standards; Some independent hotels will choose to join well-known chain brand hotels.
Continuing to stick to the hotel industry, but improving competitiveness through a variety of strategies, is another part of the long-established hotel choice. Flopping a well-known brand is one of the strategies to enhance the hotel's market competitiveness and customer recognition through the brand's influence and mature operation system. For example, some hotels that originally operated independently chose to join internationally renowned brands such as Marriott and Hilton, and with the help of these brands' global networks and loyal customer bases, they achieved brand premiums and customer stability.
Redesigning and positioning is another way to be more competitive. Modern consumers' demand for hotels is not only limited to accommodation functions, but also pursues personalized, experiential and high-quality services. By redesigning and renovating the facilities and services of the established hotels to better meet the needs of contemporary consumers and aesthetic standards, they can effectively improve customer satisfaction and market competitiveness. Such renovations often include interior design updates, smart service levels, and the introduction of high-end dining and entertainment facilities. Through these upgrades, hotels can attract more high-end customers, increase occupancy and average order value, and achieve increased profitability.
What is the future of China's high-end hotels?
With the rapid development of China's economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the high-end hotel market has shown a vigorous development trend. However, in this highly competitive market, China's high-end hotels must continue to innovate and upgrade if they want to stay ahead of the curve and achieve sustainable growth. Andy Gu believes that the characteristics of privacy, intelligence, personalization, and flexibility may become the focus of change, which is simply to solve the problem of how to allocate limited service resources more accurately to the pain points of the new generation of consumers.
Overall, there may be the following possibilities for the future development of China's high-end hotel market:
First, high-end hotels are "small but beautiful". Traditional high-end hotels tend to pursue large scale and luxury amenities, with four or five hundred rooms. However, with the change of market demand and the increase of operating costs, the development trend of "small but beautiful" high-end hotels has gradually emerged. Small but beautiful high-end hotels usually have about one or two hundred rooms, focusing on refined management and personalized service, and attracting high-end customers by providing high-quality and unique stay experience. This model can improve the operational efficiency of the hotel by reducing the scale and optimizing the allocation of resources. At the same time, smaller room sizes allow hotels to focus more on the needs of each customer and provide a higher quality of personalized service, which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Second, high-end hotels have a wealth of business malleability. In the future, high-end hotels will not only provide accommodation, but will also be developed into multi-functional complexes with rich business malleability. By introducing a variety of formats, hotels can enhance the overall guest experience, increase revenue streams, and effectively diversify operational risks. High-end hotels can introduce a variety of formats such as high-end catering, leisure and entertainment, health and wellness, etc., to create a comprehensive service system. The high-end catering format can not only provide high-quality catering services for hotel guests, but also attract high-end consumers in the surrounding area and increase the hotel's non-accommodation revenue. Recreational facilities such as golf courses, swimming pools, gymnasiums, spas, etc., can provide guests with a wealth of leisure and entertainment options and enhance the overall attractiveness of the hotel.
Third, high-end hotels pay more attention to technological innovation. With the rapid development of technology, the high-end hotel industry is also constantly innovating to improve customer experience and operational efficiency. In the future, high-end hotels will pay more attention to the development of intelligence and digitalization, and realize intelligent management and personalized services through the introduction of advanced scientific and technological means. Digital management is an important means for high-end hotels to improve operational efficiency. Through the introduction of intelligent equipment and systems, hotels can achieve intelligent management of guest rooms, energy, security and other aspects. For example, a smart room control system allows guests to control the lighting, temperature, curtains and other equipment in the room through their mobile phones or voice assistants, improving the convenience and comfort of their stay. The intelligent energy management system can reduce operating costs and improve energy efficiency by monitoring and regulating the hotel's energy usage in real time.
Fourth, high-end hotels pay more attention to cultural inheritance. Zhang Jiuming believes that culture can make a difference in promoting the high-quality development of China's high-end hotels. It can be seen that the integration of local cultural elements may be an important means of cultural inheritance of high-end hotels in the future. By incorporating cultural elements such as local history, art, and traditional crafts into the hotel's design and services, the hotel can provide customers with a unique cultural experience. For example, hotels can use traditional local architectural styles, decorative arts, cultural activities, etc., to showcase local cultural characteristics and enhance customers' sense of cultural experience.
Write at the end
In the context of the times, when external forces push you up, you can't blindly take the success of the tuyere dividend period as the success of your core competence, and the same is true for hotels. Over the years, China's high-end hotel market has experienced rapid development, and changes in market and consumer demand have brought more opportunities to high-end hotels, but also brought more operating pressure. This pressure is equal for high-end hotels, whether it is a legendary hotel that has been open for decades or a new hotel that has just started, if you want to find your own place in the highly competitive market, you must have your own way of standing, which is what established high-end hotels must learn. "The closing of an old hotel may also be the beginning of a rebirth." Xiao Kexiao emphasized.
※This article only represents the author's personal views and is not the position of Maidian.com