What Hotels Should Know When Marketing To Chinese travellers

In 2018, the travel market in China was worth 6 trillion yuan, with over 5.8 billion travellers. For our first blog in 2020 we have shared our tips to help hoteliers attract travellers from Mainland China.

LEVERAGE OTAS

There has been a big reduction in the number of Chinese consumers booking entertainment through agencies. The rise of online travel agencies makes trip planning so much easier with the next trip only a click away. In China, the biggest OTAs are Ctrip, Fliggy, Qunar and Meituan. As of June 2019, the number of OTA users reached nearly 150 million. According to China Travel News, Ctrip dominated the online travel market while Fliggy and Meituan own a greater market share in hotel and ticket booking fields. To target the Chinese market, partnering with the above OTAs could definitely increase hotels’ exposure and bookings.

More than 82% of people in
China book their travel via an OTA

GO SOCIAL

Chinese consumers, like those in many other countries, love sharing their activities online. There are 3 platforms that we recommend that hoteliers explore straight away. Hotels can consider leveraging KOLs/influencers to increase their awareness and conversion through these platforms.

Leverage Mafengwo

Travel and lifestyle platforms like Mafengwo provide an opportunity for Chinese people to share their travelling experiences and interests through micro-blogs. As the leading travel platform in China, Mafengwo allows users to public travel guides, review hotels, interact with other users and share experiences.

Experiment with Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)

Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) has over 200 million registered users and is predicted to play a more dominant role as we approach 2022. It is a social ecommere app where users can share their content and brands can amplify eposure / word of mouth.

MAKE IT EASY TO BOOK & PAY

China has a very difference digital ecosystem and different payment methods to the Western world. Improve conversion by making payment easy for Chinese consumers

Build a WeChat Mini Program
Another way to drive digital bookings is to make use of WeChat, which is known as an app for everything. WeChat enables sub-applications which are called WeChat Mini-programs. Hotels can connect mini-program to the room rates and real-time availability which allow users to search, book, and make online payments through WeChat. On the other hand, the mini-programs can be inserted in a WeChat promotional article easily, providing the greatest convenience and accessibility to the users.

Make sure you accept WeChat Pay & AliPay

WeChat Pay and Alipay are the two most popular payment services in China. This has now become one of the preferred ways to pay for Chinese consumers. Adding WeChat Pay and Alipay as an alternative payment method will make it easier for Chinese consumers to pay for their accommodation or when dining in your restaurants or bars.

Fiona

Fiona is the Managing Director of Kindred. She has a strong interest in all forms of art and design, she is also the most fashionable geek you’ll find.