Homestays surge in popularity across China

The Lunar New Year holiday, which ran from Feb 11-17, was a special one for 26-year-old migrant worker Wang Jin. It was her first time celebrating the traditional festival in a homestay in Beijing rather than returning to her hometown of Tangshan, Hebei province.

"Much beyond my expectations, I had a busy but joyful celebration of Lunar New Year's Eve with my friends. We made dumplings together, played board games and watched the Spring Festival Gala,"Wang said.

Many migrant workers like Wang opted to cancel their annual trip home in response to authorities' calls to reduce unnecessary travel and curb the spread of COVID-19.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, about 48 million more people decided to stay put in 36 major cities over the holiday than in previous years.

Homestays became a popular choice for staycationers.

"Different from hotels, homestays offer a cozy and homely environment for people who cannot reunite with their families during the festival. That's the real advantage of homestays," said Zhou Rong, CEO of Lvyue Group, a comprehensive tourism enterprise.

Wang Lihong, manager of a homestay near Shanghai Disney Resort, said she was surprised by the local bookings during this year's holiday.

"In previous holidays, most of my guests were tourists, but I did not receive any bookings from tourists during the weeklong holiday due to the encouragement to stay put," Wang said.

Instead, the homestay was fully booked by local staycationers for five days, she said. "They gathered here for parties or family reunions."

Many people gave up their plans for long-haul tours to popular tourist destinations across the country. Instead, they chose nearby homestays in rural areas to retreat from urban life and relax.

The pandemic control measures dealt a blow to long-distance travel, while spurring consumers' demand for local tours, said Wang Liantao, co-founder of the homestay reservation platform Xiaozhu.

Statistics from Xiaozhu showed more than 75 percent of its trending searches during the holiday were related to short trips in cities.

Tourists preferred villa homestays with separate courtyards in city suburbs, which could help them reduce social contact and stay safe amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to homestay supplier Tujia.

More than essential facilities, some homestays, especially luxury ones, provided a variety of festive services and celebratory activities to attract tourists.

In the Huazhu brand homestay in Huairou district, Beijing, every room was decorated with red lanterns and Chinese knots to create a festive atmosphere. Guests could order a reunion dinner and taste traditional festive food including pickles and rice cakes.

Zaozisu, a popular homestay in Chengdu, Sichuan province, offered tourists a chance to participate in local customs, such as paper-cutting and grinding soy beans to make tofu.

Guangdong ranked first among Chinese provinces in terms of homestay bookings, according to Xiaozhu's data. About 85 percent of bookings were from local consumers.

In the province's capital, Guangzhou, homestay bookings within its three-hour self-drive circle grew by 255 percent compared with the same period of last month.

Meanwhile, Sanya, a traditional tourism city in Hainan province, saw a marked decline in general hotel reservations during the holiday. But its local homestay bookings increased twofold.

China's major cities such as Chengdu, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Xi'an in Shaanxi province also recorded a surge in local homestay bookings, said Xiaozhu.