Price Reduction Promotion, Live Delivery And Cross Border Transformation

The hotel industry is suffering from a severe outbreak during the outbreak.

On July 30, 21st century economic reporter visited many hotels in Wuhan and found that most of the hotels have resumed business, and the internal swimming pool, gymnasium and other supporting facilities can also be used normally. Many hotels have moved the dining table to the outdoor and opened large stalls, which made the night market popular.

According to the national economic operation data released by the National Bureau of statistics in the first half of 2020 earlier, compared with the negative growth of 6.8% in the first quarter, GDP in the second quarter turned from negative to positive, with an increase of 3.2%. Other major indicators also showed recovery growth, and the economic operation recovered steadily. Among them, the added value of the tertiary industry increased by 1.9% in the second quarter, and the accommodation and catering industry, which was seriously impacted by the epidemic, shrank by 17.3% in the second quarter.

According to the relevant report of China Hotel Association, in the first quarter of 2020, 74.29% of hotels and B & B hotels in China chose to close their stores directly, with an average closing days of 27 days. In the first two months of 2020, the turnover loss of hotels, B & B and other accommodation enterprises exceeded 67 billion yuan. According to the data from the enterprise business information query system, more than 40000 hotels have been cancelled or revoked in the first half of 2020.

On the same day, Ji Zhiying, an analyst of Yiguan analysis's tourism and health industry, said in an interview with the 21st century economic report reporter: "the outbreak of the epidemic is on a large scale, the reshuffle of the hotel industry is accelerating, some hotels are eliminated by the market, and the owners of small and medium-sized hotels seek to join in the investment, and the hotel group adjusts the system structure according to the epidemic situation."

Hotel is an important carrier of business travel and leisure consumption, and an important reference index of economic recovery since the outbreak of the epidemic. As the epidemic situation enters the stage of normalization prevention and control, there is a significant trend of reshuffle in the hotel industry. Innovating business means and broadening business direction will have the opportunity to obtain higher market share and operating profit.

Fancy self-help

The 21st century economic reporter inquired about the hotel prices in Wuhan on meituan, qunar and Yilong platforms, and found that the room price of most five-star hotels has dropped to 300 yuan to 500 yuan, and some even dropped to less than 300 yuan.

The number of star rated hotels in Wuhan opened on July 1 last year, a decrease of 77.6% compared with the same period in Wuhan. After the epidemic, high star hotels in Wuhan generally cut prices by 20% to 25%. Also affected are the economic chain hotels, such as Wuhan's home, city convenient, seven days and other economic chain hotels, the price range is mostly around 120 yuan, which is also 20% lower than before the epidemic.

"The way to attract more customers is to give us enough incentives to save ourselves. On this basis, we should ensure that services are only increased but not reduced. All kinds of supporting facilities that were not available before will be supplemented accordingly, such as in store catering distribution. " Huang Li, general manager of Hubei EHA E-sports chain hotel, pointed out that because the current economic situation in Wuhan is not clear, the goal now is to ensure that it can "survive.".

As for the impact of the sharp price reduction on the daily operation of the hotel, Ji Zhiying pointed out: "affected by the epidemic situation, the hotel accommodation market is generally relatively low. Through low-cost promotion, the occupancy rate of the hotel can be improved, the room idle can be reduced, and the cash flow problem can be alleviated. However, the epidemic situation may exist for a long time. Due to the safety mentality of epidemic prevention, users' demand for quality accommodation will increase, and the demand for high-end hotels may rise significantly. "

In addition to the price reduction, Wuhan hotels have also innovated a variety of "self-help" methods. The seven-star Wanda Ruihua Hotel, located in Han street, Chuhe River, Wuhan, has opened seafood barbecue and outdoor stalls, so that the public can experience the star service of "wharf"; Lihao hotel in Qingshan has been broadcasting live since the end of April, and Sheraton Hotel, Maya Jiatu Hotel and Hilton Hotel in Wuhan Optical Valley have launched live broadcasting. During the live broadcast, all high-star hotels have taken out one after another Many preferential products have been sold out by the public.

It is worth noting that since July 17, cross provincial tourism has been restarted. In the face of this significant positive, Ji Zhiying said: "for price sensitive tourism users, it is easy to be attracted by the preferential power of sharp price reduction, thus resulting in tourism consumption decisions. However, as far as the domestic hotel market is concerned, it is unlikely to recover completely this year. If the domestic epidemic situation continues to remain stable in the later period, it will take at least 1-2 years to recover. With reference to SARS in 2003, the impact on the hotel industry will be basically eliminated one year after the end of the epidemic. "

Huang Li also believes that the current situation in Wuhan is not clear: "we can make a relatively accurate judgment until the school starts in September. There are nearly one million college students in Wuhan, which is also the main source of floating population. At present, there are rumors that college students will carry out closed management after the opening of school in autumn. If closed management is adopted, it will be difficult for the hotel industry to recover. "

Transformation and evolution

Besides reshuffle, the epidemic is also accelerating the evolution and transformation of traditional hotel industry.

A number of hotel industry entrepreneurs generally told reporters of the 21st century economic report that the impact of the new crown epidemic is expected to be difficult to disappear in the short term, and the hotel market will remain oversupply for a long time. Therefore, adjustment, transformation and evolution are the only way for entrepreneurs.

From the perspective of business model, when the traditional business model is close to saturation, characteristic B & B and personalized theme are quietly rising. For example, the e-sports Hotel operated by Huang Li is a representative of cross-border cooperation. Compared with a single online cafe or hotel, the e-sports hotel not only meets the needs of consumers for games and entertainment, but also provides supporting services for accommodation and leisure.

After the epidemic, the integrated business model of E-sports hotel also showed its unique advantages. Huang Li said: "due to the suspension of business in various entertainment places such as cinemas, restaurants and shopping malls are opened relatively late, and there is no gathering place for everyone. We have provided leisure and entertainment places for many consumers here. From the data, our current occupancy rate has recovered to 90% before the epidemic, which is far higher than the overall occupancy rate of Wuhan star hotels of about 30%

In addition to the business model, the epidemic also forced the hotel industry to accelerate the digital transformation, and the hotel "smart +" has become a new direction to explore.

Some hotels have used intelligent robots to realize contactless service during the epidemic period. Taking Huazhu group as an example, more than 5700 hotels under Huazhu group have implemented intelligent services such as self-service check-in, robot delivery, zero second check-out, and remote check-in of Huazhu Association, so as to reduce personnel contact, reduce the risk of infection and ensure the safety of hotel staff and guests. This will not only improve the customer experience, but also provide more accurate reference for the future operation management and marketing strategy of the hotel according to the customers' consumption behavior and hotel preferences.

Ji Zhiying added: "using intelligent terminals, big data and new technologies to drive the hotel intelligent operation iteration is the future development focus, and the development prospect is broad. Science and technology help quality optimization, enrich the connotation of intelligent hotel service, realize simple and efficient process operation through the technical innovation of hardware and software, reduce the hotel human cost and improve the service efficiency."