Budget hotels set foot in the lucrative shared office sector

China's budget hotel chains, faced with competition and expanding at a slower pace than their more expensive cousins, are introducing shared office spaces as a new way to earn revenue.

Budget hotels not only face challenges from mid-end and high-end hotels, but also from bed-and-breakfast lodgings and short-term rentals, which boast advantages in prices and tend to offer a unique ambiance.

By Jan 1 this year, China had 2,342 mid-end hotels, jumping nearly 34 percent year-on-year. In the same period, the number of budget hotels reached 21,808, up 10.5 percent from the previous year, according to the findings of China Hospitality Association.