Living in a hotel takes off as lifestyle choice

Win-win business

Kang Wei, vice-president for marketing business of Atour Group, a chain of hotels whose headquarters are in Shanghai, said that the group has offered online rental reservations on its app from July 29 because of the surging needs of people.

"Renting a room at hotels has become a new lifestyle for young people who prefer spending their time enjoying life or improving themselves rather than being trapped in tedious housework," he said.

He said Atour hotels offer basic services such as showers and breakfast, but also free laundry, printing and 24-hour gyms.

"The hotel renting business appeals to young people's living habits. We have customers mainly for short-term travel or business trips, but offering rental services will give the whole industry some inspiration in the future," he said.

Renting a hotel room is not only welcomed by the young, but people who are middle age.

Xie Xinfeng, a 50-year-old from Shanghai, chose to live in a hotel when her apartment was being decorated. "I lived in Atour in March and moved to my parent's house by the end of March after the city was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. I chose to get back to the hotel in early June when the city ended its lockdown and spent nearly three months there with my husband and daughter. We left around Sept 8," she said.

"I got two choices — renting an apartment or living at a hotel when my own apartment was in decoration. I chose the latter one without hesitation. I need to consider whether I like the rental apartment or not, and I may spend money changing some furniture or family appliances. It's much more convenient to live at a hotel," she said.

Yang Zuolin, general manager of two hotels on CitiGO in Beijing, said the rental service is a supplement to the hotel's business, which can help attract customers and pursue a diversified development.

"Tenants are usually required to pay rental deposits, which may increase their financial burdens, especially to young people. They can get flexible tenancy without electric or water fees living at hotels," he said.

"The rooms are also equipped with electromagnetic ovens and a range hood, so the customers can cook meals in rooms. We function as an apartment but offer hotel services."

He said that the two hotels he is in charge of have 219 rooms available. So far, 20 percent of the customers rented hotel rooms.

"Their tenancy ranges from three months to six months, and even 12 months," he said.

He added that CitiGO will continue the rental services in the future. "The industry faces pressure in operations due to the epidemic. Developing rental services is quite important to keep our customers. The rental customers usually have stable emotional communications with our staff members."

Li Bin, vice-dean of the School of Tourism Sciences under the Beijing International Studies University, told the China Tourism News that hotels who wish to improve their rental services should make efforts to analyze the lifestyle of customers, their consumption behavior and preferences, and also their age, jobs and renting behavior.

He suggested that hotels can deepen the communication and set up closer relations with customers by organizing some social events such as cycling and outing trips.