Hotel room growth outstrips demand

The growth in the number of hotel rooms in the Chinese mainland exceeded that of demand in May, the first time since 2016, which led to a decline in the overall hotel occupancy rate, according to a report.

The report released by lodging industry data provider STR in August shows that the increase in demand for hotel rooms has slowed in recent years. Year-on-year growth in occupancy stood at 7.9 percent in 2017, 4.6 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in May.

During the period, the growth in the hotel room number moderately slowed, reporting a 3.9 percent year-on-year increase in May, still outpacing that of demand, which made occupancy growth negative, it said.