How to Market your hotel for Chinese travelers? (with case studies)

Best tips from real marketers for marketing hotel to Chinese tourists in 2024 , guarantee no BS.

Chinese love good hotel, for confort, security and for pictures and market their luxury life to their friend.

In 2024, several key trends are shaping the behavior of Chinese tourists and their interaction with the hotel industry:

1. Recovery of Outbound Travel: After a significant impact due to the pandemic, there is optimism for a full recovery in Chinese outbound travel by 2024. The recovery is expected to be driven by holiday periods like May Day and the National Day Golden Week, with a full return to pre-pandemic levels anticipated by the end of the year. This rebound is crucial as China re-establishes itself as the world’s largest travel market.
2. Continuation of Pre-Pandemic Travel Behaviors: Many pre-pandemic behaviors of Chinese travelers, such as high outbound spending in 2024, short average lengths of stay, and preferences for luxury travel, are expected to continue. However, new preferences for authentic experiences and wellbeing-related travel are emerging, presenting both challenges and opportunities for destinations.
3. Preference for High-Quality and Experiential Travel: Chinese tourists are increasingly seeking personalized and flexible travel products. This trend is especially pronounced among younger generations, who prefer independent travel planning. They are showing interest in self-driving tours and specialized tourism offerings tailored to specific interests.
4. Shopping Tourism: Chinese travelers are known for their passion for luxury shopping, seeking high-quality products and unique shopping experiences. Destinations like London and New York are popular for offering a range of internationally renowned stores and luxury department stores.
5. Technological Impact: Technology plays a crucial role in China’s tourism industry, transforming how travelers plan and enjoy their experiences. Mobile apps have become indispensable for booking flights, hotels, and activities. Additionally, mobile payment technologies like WeChat Pay and Alipay are revolutionizing transactions, offering secure and convenient payment options for Chinese tourists.

Market hotel for Chinese travelers is an investment. The tourism sector is one of the most developed sectors in China with more than 180 million people going abroad in 2024

10 actionable tips to market your hotel in China

To effectively market your hotel to Chinese travelers and tap into this booming market in 2024, here are 10 actionable tips:

Understand Trip Culture in China: Be aware of cultural sensitivities and preferences. Chinese love to travel for “face” , to show off and love shopping. (long list)

1. If you can accept Mobile Payments: Incorporate popular Chinese mobile payment methods like Alipay and WeChat Pay, as many Chinese travelers prefer these over credit cards.
2. Chinese Social Media Platforms: Establish a presence on platforms like WeChat,  and Xiaohongshu to engage with potential tourists and offer insights into their preferences and behaviors.
3. Videos, Photos are NECESSARY : Douyin (China’s TikTok), is super popular to promote and give real overview of your hotel
4. Offer Localized Services in Chinese: Translate your website and marketing materials into Chinese, train staff in cultural sensitivity, and offer Chinese language support (big plus)
5. Collaborate with Chinese Travel Agencies and Influencers: Work with Chinese travel agencies that can help design appealing travel packages and partner with influencers (KOLs) who have a significant following on Chinese social platforms.
6. Online Reputation Management: Actively manage your online reputation on Chinese platforms, focusing on authentic content creation and engaging positively with user-generated content.
7. Optimize Presence on Chinese OTAs: Be present on popular Chinese Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Ctrip, Qunar, and Alitrip, which are preferred by many Chinese travelers over western OTAs.
8. Wellness and Thematic Tourism: Cater to the growing interest in wellness and thematic tourism, which includes cultural heritage, health, and unique experiences.
9. Tech-Enabled Services: Offer tech-enabled services like seamless contactless services, digital payments, and VR/AR experiences to cater to the tech-savvy Chinese travelers.
10. Invest in Content: Use high-quality pictures and videos, in storytelling, (or Stories) including short videos for platforms like Douyin, to visually engage and attract Chinese tourists.

Chinese Tourism: Big boom for 2024

Dear hospitality professional, the big boom of Chinese tourism in 2024 can be summarized with the following key figures and trends:

1. Recovery of Outbound Tourism: The Chinese outbound tourism market is expected to fully recover by 2024, re-establishing China as the world’s largest travel market. This follows a significant recovery of about 55% in outbound tourism in the third quarter of 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
2. Increased Domestic Travel: Domestic travel in China had already recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, surpassing 2019 levels by 11%. This trend is expected to continue, fueled by a growing middle class with a larger appetite for travel.
3. Spending Power: Chinese tourists have historically been big spenders. In 2019, they made 155 million overseas visits and spent a staggering $255 billion. This spending power is nearly double that of visitors from the US and significantly higher than that of tourists from other major countries. On average, Chinese travelers spent $1,350 per person on their trips.
4. Preferences for High-Quality and Experiential Travel: The preferences of Chinese tourists are evolving towards high-quality and experiential travel. This includes personalized travel products and a growing interest in self-driving tours and specialized tourism offerings tailored to specific interests.
5. Digital Engagement and Thematic Tourism: Chinese travelers are highly digitally adept, integrating mobile technologies and social media into their travel experiences. There’s a growing interest in thematic tourism, including cultural, wellness, and adventure tourism, reflecting a broader shift in travel preferences towards experiences that cater to specific interests and holistic well-being.

These trends and figures illustrate a dynamic and evolving Chinese tourists

Do not go blind in China!

Developing a well-defined marketing strategy is essential before taking the slightest step, we have collected some tips to follow to face the diversity in terms of competitors, and generate more leads because after all … it’s your goal!

Read this

How to Attract Chinese Tourists Through Little Red Book App?

Are you ready for Solution and Case studies? Let’s go!

Do not think too much … yes before hiring maids you first need a website; I will even say that it is essential that you have one!

After all, that’s what represents you, it’s the image you’d like to give to your potential customers.

You will not speak to Chinese in German … Find a translator who will faithfully translate your content, by the way, the content must be original and above all attractive, so you have to make sure to improve it continuously since customer trends are changing and their interests too. Be attentive and above all be interactive, they like that!

There is no worse than not answering a customer under the pretext of lack of time! And keep in mind that a satisfied customer will talk about you to 8 other people, while an unsatisfied one will to 24 other people! So be careful about this, and say that certainly there are many hotels but yours is the best!

So diversification will be your only weapon to maintain your position in a market as active as the Chinese market, follow the trends while respecting the culture of the Chinese since the slightest misstep may cost you …

Your content must be clear and concise but above all original; the reader has eyes hurting every time he crosses the same phrases or the same expressions, he needs something that surprises takes him out of his routine everyday life …

Where were we…?

Oh yes, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), no need to remind the social networks are not the same in China, the classics are even blocked … So you must adapt to Chinese social networks, namely Baidu or WeChat the well-known app,  by which you will be even closer to your visitors and interact more, in terms of SEO on Baidu you should know that it is not the same as on Google.

GMA Case study: Royal Manssour

Royal Mansour is located in Marrakech, Morocco. It’s a 5 star luxury hotel and spa with private riads and fine dining. The hotels want to create something special for Chinese guests, to make their visit more thrilling, magical and full of discovery.

Royal Mansour contacted GMA for helping them to build a strong marketing strategies to reach Chinese tourists.

Our Missions:

• SEO & PPC on Baidu
• E-Reputation
• Chinese Social Media Weibo & WeChat

Results:

• +80%  traffic
• 1st page on Baidu

Online reputation is the Key for Hotel

Online reputation management for hotels in China is crucial due to the significant impact of online reviews on consumer decision-making. To effectively manage your hotel’s online reputation in China

1. Actively Monitor and Respond to Guest Reviews: Regularly check and respond to what guests are saying about your hotel on various review platforms. Address both positive and negative feedback in a timely and professional manner to show that you value guest opinions and are committed to improving their experience.
2. Utilize Social Media Platforms: Establish a strong presence on popular Chinese social media platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin. Share engaging content and interact with your audience to build your brand and encourage positive word-of-mouth.
3. Optimize Your Online Profiles and Website: Ensure your hotel is accurately represented on key review sites and travel platforms. Keep your profiles updated with current information and images. Also, make sure your hotel’s website is user-friendly, visually appealing, and optimized for search engines to improve visibility and attract more guests.

Implementing these strategies can help enhance your hotel’s reputation online, attract more guests, and improve overall customer satisfaction.

Ctrip Tuniu, CY, LVmama, and Aoyou … These names tell you something?

These are special mobile apps for Chinese people who want to travel. What are you waiting for?! Check into one of these famous travel agencies in China, (Ctrip you tell me … knowing that it holds ¼ of the market!) This is one way among others to attract tourists to spend a few nights in your hotel!

Social networks

The Chinese are more connected than ever, since the majority has access to the Internet and therefore to social networks like RED (xiaohongshu) which is a must in China, but it must be present in all other social networks, namely, WeChat … or Douyin 

Douyin Marketing, The Best Way to Promote Destination Travel

GMA Case study: Hotel de Castiglione

Hotel de Castiglione 4 stars in the heart of the Faubourg Saint–Honoré in Paris,  famous for its designer boutiques. This luxurious hotel in an Art Deco-style building is closed to the Champs-Elysées and the Palais Garnier.

Hotel Casteglione understood that Wechat is very important for a marketing in China.

Our mission:

• WeChat H5 Ebrochure

The Travel KOL

We say KOL for (Key Opinion Leader) they are people known in China by the content they publish, and we have an audience of their own, precisely generated by the large number of people who follow them, subscribe to their channel or still share their content with other people, making their publications more viral on the Chinese Web.

As you can see, a KOL can help you to generate even more visitors thanks to people who follow him and like his content, you just have to choose the right KOL, that is to say the one that represents the best  your company, which has the same values as yours, otherwise you will fall into the trap of opting for the best-known KOL (with a million followers), but that will not generate you any lead simply because it does not target the same population as yours, and you will, therefore, invest money for nothing!

We are GMA(Gentlemen Marketing Agency) your future partner in China

GMA is not just a simple digital marketing agency, we are the best in term of innovative marketing strategy. We think with you.

GMA is a digital Tourist agency based in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen with 7years of successful experience in the China market.We totally understand you and we are there to think with you.

Thanks to our Chinese expert team composed of nearly 50 experts, we are your best chance to attract more and more Chinese Clients. We used to work with an international Company; Tourist agency over the world like Objectif France, marriot, Jacada Travel, Luxury Beach House Maldives… can be testified about our services and the result in their agency.

We can help, just contact us.

Read also:

• Chinese Luxurious Travelers Trends