The hotel brand marketing in the era of meager profits Read the full article >>

At present, the Chinese hotel industry has entered the era of meager profits. The imbalance in the supply and demand relationship has intensified the competition in the hotel market, which has caused the average profit of the hotel industry to keep falling. The major hotel groups are looking for new ways to open up new channels. The reporter carefully analyzed the “Top Ten Most Influential International Hotel Brands”, “Top Ten Most Influential Domestic Hotel Brands” and “Top Ten Most Influential "Thirty award-winning hotel brands" are not difficult to find. The mid-range hotel market and new media marketing have become the most important strategy for these hotel groups in the layout of the Chinese hotel market in 2012 with their unique background and development speed.

Whether it is the launch of a brand new hotel brand or the use of new media to market existing hotel brands, the brand's core competitiveness as a hotel has undoubtedly become the most important factor in enhancing competitiveness.

Powerful mid-range hotel market

Intercontinental, Vienna, Hanting, 7-day chain... The reason why these 30 hotel brands were rated as “the most influential hotel brands” is not only because these hotels value the brand's own construction, but also because they have vision and insight. .

The “8 Regulations and 6 Bans” policy, which has a deep impact on the Chinese hotel industry in 2012, has made it difficult for a large number of high-end hotels that are parasitic under the government’s finances to remain in a healthy system, making many high-end restaurants at the end of the year. Dirty endings, but let these "the most influential hotel" to see the gradual rise of the mid-range hotel market.

From the perspective of the size of the mid-range hotel market, Vienna undoubtedly occupies an important position. The founder of the Vienna Hotel Group, Huang Deman, said in an interview that “Vienna wants to be the first brand of mid-range hotels.” In fact, Vienna is completing two rounds of equity financing. Since then, its advantages have gradually emerged. It is expected that by 2016, the boutique chain will have 500,000 rooms, and the hotel aims to have 600 stores, 100,000 rooms, and 20% market share.

In May 2012, the Hanting Hotel Group (renamed “Huahjung Hotels Group”) announced that it has acquired and incorporated Ctrip’s mid-range hotel chain brand, Starway, and began to create a “season + star” model, positioning the whole season as standardized. Mid-range products, while Starway is a mid-range hotel, Huazhun hopes to use this combination to gain a foothold in the mid-range hotel market.

In the current mid-range hotel market in China, the main players in the market competition consist of a large number of traditional single-hotels. The brands are scattered, the concentration is extremely low, and the chain brands have huge room for growth and integration. According to statistics, the top 10 operators in the mid-range hotel market currently have less than 5% market share, and the remaining 95% are small and scattered. It can be seen that the fight for the mid-range hotel brand that has been opened must be fierce and disruptive.

Focus on new media marketing

In addition to the gap in the mid-range hotel market in 2012, the development of new media has made these "most influential hotels" enjoyable.

According to the 31st Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by CNNIC, in 2012, the number of mobile Internet users increased by 64 million, reaching 420 million, accounting for 74.5% of the total number of Internet users. Mobile phone channels, as an effective marketing channel in the hotel industry, are being used by more and more users.

In 2012, APP was no longer just a rigid application for mobile phones, but became a new marketing channel for hotels; the QR code was no longer a black and white bar/block, it was becoming a new information communication platform; WeChat no longer It's just a tool for users to communicate, and it has become a “secret recipe” for many hotels to make money...

On November 12, 2012, the pudding hotel WeChat client booking function was formally launched. At this point, the three cornerstones of the pudding hotel mobile Internet layout: Mobile APP, WeChat, and mobile phone H5 page (two-dimensional code) to complete the layout. This move has also made Pudding's brand index significantly improved in the month. It must be said that this series of mobile Internet layout initiatives by pudding not only well developed its new marketing channels, but also became a successful case in the industry.

As Mr. Luo Qin, chief operating officer of Maidian.com, said: “If the hotel’s brand marketing strategy still stays in the habitual thinking of dealing with traditional media, it will be difficult to emerge in the increasingly fierce market competition in the future. It will become an important way for hotel brand marketing in the future, and more and more hotels and hoteliers will use QR codes and mobile internet marketing to apply to hotel operations."