Why is the sudden price increase "fierce"?, Beijing Hotel Huazhu Group | Hotels. Cultural and Tourism Department | Hotel

"Recently, hotels have seen significant price increases. Some hotels have seen prices triple compared to previous years. Our hotel travel budget of 500 yuan per night is now easily exceeded." Mr. Wang, a white-collar worker, exclaimed about this summer's hotel prices.

"We have to consider staying in the car!"

The sharp rise in hotel prices is largely related to the booming tourism market. How popular is summer tourism this year?

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According to travel platforms, Beijing has been a hot tourist destination this year, with a significant increase in bookings of air tickets, scenic spot tickets, and hotels compared to the average year of 2019.

According to Qunar's big data, as of July 12th, the advance booking volume of summer scenic spots in Beijing has increased by 1.5 times compared to the same period last month, 8.8 times compared to 2022, and 1.2 times compared to 2019; The booking volume of summer flights to Beijing increased by 30% compared to the same period in 2019, and the price increased by 20%; The advance booking volume of hotels has increased by 2.1 times compared to the same period in 2019. Popular hotel booking districts include Qianmen, Wangfujing area, Guomao area, Xidan, etc.

Hotels are in short supply, and prices have been raised, causing many netizens to exclaim "shock".

"A few days ago, I booked a hotel in Beijing for 540 yuan, and the same room type has increased to 877 yuan, accidentally saving money." "One luxury hotel I booked before summer vacation recently increased from 1750 yuan for two nights to 1700 yuan for one night, another increased from 3188 yuan for two nights to 3888 yuan, and on Friday and Saturday it was 4488 yuan for two nights." "Since April, I have been conducting hotel evaluations in Beijing, and the biggest reason for the lack of updates recently is that it is too expensive!" On social media, netizens and bloggers have frequently talked about the topic of price increases in Beijing hotels with "passion". ".

"I'm picking hotels every day and I want to stay in the car. Instead of going out during the summer vacation, it's better to find a time to take a leave," said a netizen on a self driving tour helplessly.

Zhongxin Jingwei recently found through the Ctrip platform that the room prices of the Orange Crystal Hotel near Wangfujing Street in Beijing on July 22nd ranged from 830 yuan to 1650 yuan, with some room types sold out. In passenger reviews, a consumer who stayed in a deluxe king bed room in February of this year claimed that the room price was over 300 yuan per night at the time, while the room type was priced at 859 yuan on July 22. Based on this calculation, the price of the room has more than doubled in about six months.

Public information shows that Orange Crystal Hotel is a mid to high end hotel under the Huazhu Group. Zhongxin Jingwei also checked the Orange Crystal hotels located in the center of Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Shenzhen, and found that the price increase was not as significant as the Beijing branch mentioned above. Among them, the price of the Orange Crystal Tianjin Jinwan Plaza store did not show significant changes compared to before the summer vacation; The price of Orange Crystal Oriental Pearl TV Tower Hotel in Lujiazui, Shanghai was between 640 yuan and 1000 yuan on July 22, and some rooms were sold out.

The cheapest room type available at Baofu Hotel, located in the core business district of Beijing, is a quiet twin room. On July 22nd, the price was 886 yuan. According to reviews from guests who checked in in January, the price was "three to four hundred yuan" at that time. Public information shows that Baofu Hotel is a high-end hotel brand launched by Hongkun Hotel Group.

According to Zhongxin Jingwei, in addition to such situations where the price increase is significant, there are also some hotels with a price increase of less than 50% compared to the beginning of the year; Some economy hotels located near popular attractions such as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City have seen their prices rise to thousands during peak seasons in previous years, but this year they have seen another price increase on this basis.

Jinjiang Hotel has informed China News Service that as of now, the occupancy rate and RevPar of its hotels nationwide have significantly increased year-on-year, with RevPar increasing by over 30%, reaching a new high after the May Day holiday and higher than the same period in 2019. Regarding the adjustment of hotel room rates and occupancy rates this summer, Zhongxin Jingwei has sent an interview outline to Huazhu Group, but as of the time of publication, no effective response has been received.

Why does the price increase feel obvious?

Overall, the several fold increase in prices for hotels in Beijing is not a common situation. According to Ctrip data, the average price of hotel orders in Beijing has increased by more than 30% year-on-year since June this year compared to 2022. Meanwhile, hotel bookings in Beijing have increased by more than twice compared to the previous year.

Mr. Wang said that the price of a hotel in Beijing that he had checked before was over a thousand yuan, but it has dropped back to over 400 yuan in the past two days. "Perhaps hotel prices have fluctuated significantly recently, and there is also a significant difference between weekdays and holidays."

According to historical data released by the China Hotel Association, the total number of guest rooms in the accommodation industry in mainland China was 18.917 million at the end of 2019, 16.204 million at the end of 2020, 14.2377 million at the end of 2021, and 15.291 million at the end of 2022, which is a decrease of 3.626 million rooms compared to three years ago.

According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of domestic tourists in China in the first half of 2023 was 2.384 billion, an increase of 929 million compared to the same period last year.

It can be seen that under the explosive recovery of travel this year and the peak summer season, the market supply urgently needs to be improved.

The relevant person in charge of Ctrip introduced to China News Service that this summer, half of the tourists who booked Beijing hotels through Ctrip were born in the 1980s, which is 50% higher than last year's ten percentage. In addition, the post-90s accounted for 20%, and the post-00s accounted for 8%. "It is expected that the hotel booking frenzy in Beijing will continue with the popularity of summer tourism in Beijing, and there will be a slight cooling before the start of school," the person in charge said.

Wu Liyun, Associate Professor of the Chinese Culture and Tourism Industry Research Institute at Beijing Second Foreign Languages University, stated in an interview with China News Service that the rise in summer hotel prices this year is influenced by multiple factors on both the supply and demand sides.

"Firstly, since the beginning of this year, both business and tourism demand has been concentrated and released, with popular destinations such as Beijing welcoming a large number of tourists from all over the country. In addition, some hotels have been phased out due to poor management during the epidemic, while hotels that operate normally may also experience staff turnover, resulting in a certain shortage of hotel supply this year and a shortage of personnel reserves. These factors will have an impact on the rise of hotel prices." She said that although she understands that hotels should seize the opportunity of market recovery and pursue profits, prices still need to match the value of products and services.

"Due to the fact that the accommodation industry is not a monopolistic public service industry, both buyers and sellers have the right to choose freely. It is recommended that when tourists come to Beijing to choose accommodation hotels, they can consider avoiding the surrounding scenic areas and choosing hotels along the subway and bus, which is convenient, fast, and cost-effective." Wu Xiaoyan, President of the Hotel Branch of the Beijing Tourism Industry Association, said in an interview with China News Service.

Can hotel price hikes really be capped?

Under market rules, hotel prices cannot be capped.

"Although there is no legal regulation prohibiting hotel price increases, hotel pricing is constrained by government market supervision departments and cannot be arbitrarily increased without any restrictions. In the" Opinions on Standardizing Hotel Room Market Prices "released by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2010, it was proposed that temporary price intervention measures such as maximum price limits can be implemented for hotel room prices in tourist hotspots and surrounding areas of large event venues in accordance with the provisions of the Price Law. The specific standards are not uniformly stipulated by the country and are determined by local governments." Li Min, senior partner of Shanghai Hansheng Law Firm, told China News Service.

How will a hotel be punished if its pricing violates local price limit standards? Li Min explained that according to the Administrative Penalty Regulations for Price Violations, if an operator fails to implement price increase declaration or price adjustment filing, or fails to implement prescribed price limits or legal price intervention measures, they will be ordered to make corrections, their illegal gains will be confiscated, and a fine of no more than 5 times the illegal gains will be imposed; Those with serious circumstances shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification.

"If consumers feel that hotel prices are too high, or encounter behaviors such as false quotes or price increases from merchants, they can collect evidence to report to the market supervision and management department in the hotel's location, or call the 12315 hotline to protect their rights." Li Min said.

"During the peak summer tourism season, it is foreseeable that hotel prices in popular cities will rise. From the perspective of supply and demand, after hotel prices rise and profit margins increase, more funds will be invested, causing supply amplification. The adjustment of supply and demand relationship will also affect hotel prices. From the perspective of market heat, there may be a certain decline after the 11th anniversary." Speaking of future hotel price trends, Wu Liyun analyzed.

Wu Xiaoyan said, "With the end of the summer, we believe that the hotel room market prices will gradually return to normal levels. Industry associations will also further play a guiding role, calling on hotels to maximize the match between service and price levels."