HOW TO MARKET YOUR HOTEL TO CHINESE TRAVELLERS
In most countries, there are several large players that dominate the search and travel landscape, so we have focussed on processes and tactics which will work across local search engines and social channels regardless of which ones you use. The one large market that stands out is China; this is a market that needs to be addressed separately for two reasons: the sheer size of the market (China is already the world’s largest outbound travel market) and because China has its own social and search engines.
FAST FACTS
- China is a country of 1.4 billion people and over 5,000 years of history. There are 33 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and special administrative regions (SAR).
- The Chinese outbound market is set to grow further. By 2020 it is expected that more domestic travellers will graduate to overseas trips, pushing annual outbound traffic to 160 million1.
- Chinese Tourists are not homogenous; there are 8 archetypes with drastically different preferences and behaviours2.
- Chinese outbound travellers are getting younger, their spending behaviour is becoming more rational, and more are seeking quality instead of being price sensitive.
- Fifty-six percent of travellers across all segments look for mid-range hotels. In pursuit of quality, 21 percent of aspirants seek luxury hotels, and base their choice on key opinion leaders and social media. The same proportion of individuals opt for a luxury hotel in search of a unique travel experience. Budget hotel operators should be thinking about the 31 percent of unplugged travellers who don’t care as much about accommodation.
- Mobile is the predominant channel consumers use to access the internet in China. In 2018, the CNNIC reported that 98% of Chinese Internet users are mobile[i].
- China Now Boasts More Than 800 Million Internet Users And 98% Of Them Are Mobile
China’s internet population just passed a major milestone. According to the Chinese government, 802 million people are now actively using the internet, 57.7 percent of the population. The data was published by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) which is a branch of the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information. By comparison, the United States has an estimated 300 million internet users.
Most interestingly, 788 million people are mobile users, a whopping 98 percent of the country’s total user base. That illustrates just how efficient China has proven at rolling out network coverage as well as how mobile technology has become an indispensable facet of everyday life in the country. The data also found that online mobility services in particular are making strides in China with 31 percent of people using bike sharing apps, 37 percent reserving either bus or train seats online and 43 percent using taxi-booking apps.
Source: CNNIC-China Internet Network Information Center and graph compiled by Statista
VIDEO: MARKETING YOUR HOTEL ON WECHAT
Is WeChat a social platform or something else? How should you use WeChat to attract and serve Chinese outbound travellers better? This video workshop is designed to answer these questions and draw a clear picture of WeChat and how it can be used to support marketers in the hospitality industry – especially hotels. We will cover all the basics of WeChat, its key features, latest developments, WeChat Tech and its integration with other systems. We will discuss the Chinese outbound travel trends and effective strategies of WeChat marketing. There will also be a short hands-on session to experience WeChat onsite and see some best practices. At the end of the session, you will have a high-level all-around WeChat marketing knowledge and know how to get started.
Brought to you by HSMAI Academy and WeChat4Travel.com (http://wechat4travel.com/). Speaker: Jiang ting, Founder, WeChat for Travel
WHERE DO CHINESE CONSUMERS BOOK HOTELS?
- WeChat, Weibo, Baidu and Ctrip are among some of the more predominant online tools Chinese consumers use. Following we highlight a few, but all of these will be covered in more detail on HSMAIacademy.org
Online Travel Agents for Chinese Consumers
o CTrip – the second largest OTA in the world with almost 80% of all online travel transactions in China leading back to it3
o eLong – allows travellers to book hotels and air tickets –
o Zanadu – targeted to high-end travellers
MARKETING YOUR HOTEL ON BAIDU.COM
In addition to text inputs, Baidu users can conduct AI-powered voice search, visual search and augmented reality search. Voice search integrates speech recognition and search technologies to enhance the user experience by providing a more natural and convenient input modality to text input. Visual search enables the use of smart phone cameras to capture images and retrieve related content on the web. AR search allows one’s imagination to come alive.
Online marketing services include P4P (pay for performance) services and non-P4P services. Typically, a P4P customer pays us when users click on one of its website links on Baidu search result pages or Baidu Union partners’ properties, while a non-P4P customer pays us based on the duration of the placement on Baidu search result pages.
Checkout the Baidu Online Marketing Services at this “About Baidu” page (you will need to scroll down to Marketing Services):
http://ir.baidu.com/Baidu-Core
A translated version of Baidu is available via Google at:
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=www.baidu.com
WECHAT FOR HOTELS
o Owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, WeChat has more than a billion monthly users, just behind WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. But it offers so much more than messaging, allowing its users to do everything from payments to booking flights and hotels. One of its key features is “mini-programs,” which are apps within WeChat. More and more, hotels are using mini-programs instead of developing a Chinese language website.
o If you’re buying something online in China, there will be an option to purchase with WeChat Pay. You will need to put in a passcode or use a biometric authentication tool to authorize the transaction. Instant money transfers to your WeChat contacts can also be made via the messaging function, which makes it easy to split bills or just move money around China. It is possible to be nearly cashless in China and actually go out for the day without a wallet.
HSMAI Digital Marketing Advisory Boards
The HSMAI Digital Marketing Boards around the globe leverage insights, emerging trends, and industry innovations to guide the development of products and programs that inspire marketing and optimize revenue for hotels. The boards are made up of the senior leaders from hotels around the globe. Check-out who our wonderful volunteers are:
HSMAI Americas Digital Marketing Advisory Board
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HOW TO USE WECHAT TO MARKET YOUR HOTEL
Is WeChat a social platform or something else?
How should you use WeChat to attract and serve Chinese outbound travellers better?
The video is a recording of a workshop conducted in Singapore in July, 2019. It is designed to answer these questions and draw a clear picture of WeChat and how it can be used to support marketers in the hospitality industry – especially hotels. We will cover all the basics of WeChat, its key features, latest developments, WeChat Tech and its integration with other systems. We will discuss the Chinese outbound travel trends and effective strategies of WeChat marketing. There will also be a short hands-on session to experience WeChat onsite and see some best practices. At the end of the video, you will have a high-level all-around WeChat marketing knowledge and know how to kick start.
Endnotes
1 “Huānyíng to the new Chinese traveller.” McKinsey & Company. Web. November 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-transport-and-logistics/our-insights/huanying-to-the-new-chinese-traveler
2 “Huānyíng to the new Chinese traveller.” McKinsey & Company. Web. November 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-transport-and-logistics/our-insights/huanying-to-the-new-chinese-traveler
3 “Ask the hotel experts: ‘Attracting Chinese tourists is no longer one-size-fits-all’.” SiteMinder. Web. May 10, 2019. https://www.siteminder.com/r/marketing/hotel-digital-marketing/attract-chinese-tourists-hotel/
4. China Now Boasts More Than 800 Million Internet Users And 98% Of Them Are Mobile https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/08/23/china-now-boasts-more-than-800-million-internet-users-and-98-of-them-are-mobile-infographic/#68a62f587092