Jin Jiang creating more innovative stays

Hospitality group Jin Jiang International will further intensify its efforts to push innovation so as to meet the increasingly diversified demands in the fast changing market, according to a senior executive.

"Over the years, the market has seen a lot of changes, and consumers' mentality and behaviors have changed much as well," said Zhou Wei, vice-president of Jin Jiang International, one of the leading travel and hospitality conglomerates in China.

"We have closely watched the new trends, hoping to create more products to meet those unmet demands," Zhou said.

Jin Jiang took over Radisson Hotel Management Group in 2018, following the acquisition of the French Louvre Hotels Group, Plateno Group and Vienna Hotels Group, making it the second-largest hotel group in the world.

By the end of 2018, the number of hotels invested in and managed by the group exceeded 12,000, with more than 1.3 million guest rooms.

So far, Jin Jiang has more than 40 hotel brands, such as J, Radisson, Golden Tulip and Campanile, which are located in more than 120 countries and regions, and the group has a loyalty program membership of more than 150 million members.

Zhou said the group has accelerated its pace of innovation and transformation with a focus on brand improvement in recent years.

"As a longtime player in the hospitality market, we have been looking to new breakthroughs by leveraging our global resources and speeding up innovation. We want to grow with the market and meet the demands of different consumer groups," she said.

To achieve that goal, the group established the Global Innovation Center. It is a vital part for the group to track the latest global trends in order to create new business models.

Located in the Jin Jiang brand innovation industrial park, the GIC integrates a series of functions, such as offices, research and development and immersive experiences.

Through deep market investigation, the GIC works to create new concepts focused on customers' new behaviors and international trends, Zhou said.

Its latest innovative result is new brand Y. Tuo, which was launched last month. And the brand's first hotel is slated to open in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Targeting new-generation consumers, the brand seized the opportunity brought by guochao, the trend of a growing interest among young people in local brands and traditional culture.

The new brand represents a new consumption concept among Chinese young people and an emerging trend in the hotel industry, Zhou said.

Based on the cultural backgrounds in different destination cities, Y. Tuo embeds typical local cultural elements into its hotels' design. It introduced more guochao products from trendy homegrown brands.

It will revitalize traditional culture, by protecting present local destinations' cultural hallmarks and fashion in various ways, such as themes spaces, arts, brands crossover, cultural and creative products, according to the group.

In addition to the bold design of its hotels, Y. Tuo will also strengthen connections with local communities, so as to create a diversified gathering and communication community for young people and travelers.

The GIC is also working on developing products targeting other consumer groups, such as female consumers, and young male consumers pursuing high quality lifestyles.

So far, a total of 17 model hotel rooms with different innovative themes have been built at the GIC, fully demonstrating the brand's characteristics and features.

New opportunities

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has brought many changes to people's lives and work. For the hotel industry, the crisis also changed a lot of behaviors and expectations of consumers, Zhou said.

"During the crisis, we have noticed a lot of changes and new trends, which will bring more opportunities for our future development," she said.

Consumers are becoming more aware of and attach more importance to hygiene in the post-pandemic era.

"Based on this, we are working to develop more products and services that place more emphasis on hygiene safety issues," Zhou said.

At the same time, the group is accelerating its expansion in the overseas market with its international arm based in Paris, France.

The GIC Paris, an international wing of the group's Shanghai headquarters, is mainly composed of marketing, digital and design experts. Its main expertise is to develop new creative marketing ideas, and also to adapt Chinese concepts to the international market.

"Both teams, based in Paris and Shanghai, are working together to test new concepts in China before developing them across the world," said Pierre-Frederic Roulot, CEO of Jin Jiang Global Innovation Center.

For example, the GIC earlier initiated the SmartHotel concept by introducing an innovative and connected experience. The first Smart-Hotel opened in Shanghai in 2016, before being adapted to the French market.

The first SmartHotel in Lyon, France will open this year, he said.

Roulot said the GIC Paris is working to adapt to new changes and trends following market investigation in European markets.

"Our ambition is to offer very soon new offers adapted to those expectations in order to be more attractive than international competition," he said.

So far, the GIC Paris is working on the adaptation of other Chinese concepts for the international market, such as a healthy hotel standard called Pure Stay, a new creative sport facility called Fit Up, a new food and beverage concept called Mam's Kitchen, and a new bar concept called 996. All of these will open in the European market soon, according to the company.