Gamers give a much-needed boost to hoteliers nationwide

Zhang, part of the post-1995 generation, celebrated the traditional Spring Festival holiday in a nontraditional way.

He spent part of the holiday playing video games in an esports-themed hotel with friends. He canceled a trip to his hometown in Hebei province and remained in Shanghai for the Feb 11-17 holiday to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.

"I have decided to play video games with my friends during the holiday because we wouldn't feel lonely that way," Zhang told Guangming Online, the official website of Beijing-based Guangming Daily, before the holiday. "We can eat or sleep in the hotel when we are hungry or tired, which is nice."

Many people share his thinking. Data from life service platform Meituan show that searches for "esports hotel or room" in the weeks leading up to the holiday increased nearly 500 percent compared to 2019, according to the Guangming Online report.

Esports hotels are a rising star on China's hotel scene. There are currently more than 11,000 of them in the country.

The emerging sector showed no sign of slowing down in 2020, when the hotel industry as a whole got clobbered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's hotel industry saw its turnover drop more than 31 percent year-on-year in 2020, according to a report released by travel news provider Wenlv and data analysis company Analysys.

According to company register platform Qichacha, the domestic hotel industry saw a 15.7 percent year-on-year drop in the number of new companies registered.

The number of esports hotels, on the other hand, grew from less than 3,600 in March 2020 to more than 11,000 in November 2020, according to an industry report released by esports hotel services platform ZDY.

Henan province in Central China had 971 esports hotels as of Nov 30 last year, the highest number in the country.

Gao Manxia, a researcher with commercial property information provider Meadin, said the outbreak of COVID-19 led to the closure of many entertainment venues, such as cinemas. Esports hotels became an alternative for consumers, which has fast-tracked the development of the industry.

Another important driver behind the growth was the fact that traditional hotels have been rebranding themselves to get a piece of the action.

"I transformed the hotel into an esports hotel last year," the general manager of a chain hotel in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, told Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper.

"I saw that esports hotels became a hot thing in 2020, so I refurbished the hotel, set up high-speed internet and fitted each room with two gaming computers.

"The total investment came to about 100,000 yuan ($15,410) and the daily rate has been raised from 300 yuan to 400 yuan."

Business has been good, according to the manager. "On some weekends, the rooms can sell for more than 500 yuan. Some young people who stayed put in Hangzhou during the Spring Festival holiday made a booking half a month in advance."

Unlike an internet cafe or a conventional hotel, an esports hotel provides a combination of services－not only entertainment, but accommodation and amenities－according to Gao with Meadin.

Gao suggested that esports hotel operators combine the uniqueness of the hotel industry and the esports industry, and develop a set of standards for design, construction, human resources management and other aspects of business.

They could also enhance the guest experience with augmented or virtual reality and use decoration and lighting to create an immersive space with a sci-fi feel.