
Since the start of 2023, people’s willingness to travel for leisure in mainland China has grown stronger, while after the Chinese New Year festival period business travel volume picked up rapidly. Both these factors have contributed to a rebound in performance in the general hotel market in mainland China.
According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (China) and the China Tourism Academy, as of the first half of this year, the total number of domestic tourists reached 2.384 billion. This was an increase of 929 million when compared to the same period last year and represents an annual growth of nearly 64%.
Looking at hotel market business performance, in the second quarter of 2023, the average room rate for mainland China’s all-star hotels already surpassed the market business performance seen during the pre-pandemic period, reaching RMB373.79 per night.
When considering boutique neighborhood hotels in particular, collectively, these hotels are unique, intimate, small-inventory-carrying and design, history and/or culture-inspired community focused hotels. Level positioning is often a lesser consideration for boutique neighborhood hotels as they concentrate on authenticity and the personalization of the stay experience and service. Additionally, these hotels further focus on the appeal of beautiful experiences and related factors, including but not limited to the surrounding local nature and environment, and the local food, history, culture, and art.
One important feature of a boutique neighborhood hotel is uniqueness. Often, this is achieved through style, practicality and attention to detail. The style needs to tell the story of the hotel and make it one of a kind.
To begin with, good boutique neighborhood hotel design needs to tell a story. Color, materials and even a central theme related to a factor or factors, such as location, local culture, hotel history, etc., should be incorporated throughout the entire hotel to furnish the hotel with a seamless and consistent look that goes a long way in fabricating a well-defined theme.