In new trend, families seek home away from home

A clean room to sleep in and a fully functional shower are no longer the only requirements that well-off Chinese travelers look for while booking hotel rooms these days.

As a surging number of families travel, demands for cooking facilities and space for kids to play are rising. Home away from home is what Chinese families seek during their travels. And specialist travel firms are cropping up to meet such demands.

Pan Caifu, vice-president of Xiaozhu, a Chinese online marketplace that enables travelers and homeowners to list, search and rent vacation homes, said that families are emerging as the driving force for the company's business growth. This is particularly true in times of nationwide holidays like the Oct 1-7 National Day holidays.