The domestic hotel industry in China
The hotel industry is one of the first industries opened up to foreign investment in China. Shortly after the economic reform of 1978, several joint-venture hotels appeared in larger cities like Beijing and Guangzhou. By the 1990s, the domestic hotel industry began to soar. Despite ongoing foreign investment, more than 95 percent of hotels in China remain domestic-invested. The share is even higher among middle- and lower-range hotels.Headquartered in Shanghai, Jin Jiang International is the largest hospitality conglomerate in China. Targeted at budget travelers, the majority of Jin Jiang hotels are select-service hotels. In 2019, Jin Jiang Capital (former Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels) generated almost 21 billion yuan in revenue, earning it a place in the Chinese Fortune 500.
Resulting from the increasing interest in outbound tourism in China, Chinese hotels expanded rapidly to well-known vacation destinations, such as Southeast Asia and Europe. Apart from revenues, the globalization of Chinese hotels also brought more opportunities to establish their reputation among international tourists.
Embracing the digital age
Along with the prevalence of smart devices and digital payments, China's online hotel booking business thrived in the past decade. China's online hotel booking market was dominated by several leading platforms. The local service leader Meituan reaped more than half of the online booking market in China, followed by Trip.com. In the beginning of 2021, China had more than 14 million monthly active online accommodation booking service users, including hotels and short-term rentals.The online short-term accommodation rental business has been gaining popularity among younger Chinese tourists. Compared to the traditional hotel service, short-term rentals offer guests more flexibility and the chance to engage with locals. In 2020, more than 450 thousand hosts in China provided around three million properties online as vacation rentals.
