How New-Style Holiday Apartments Like Tujia Are "Swimming Against the Tide"

    Since the introduction of the Central Government’s Eight-Point Regulation, extravagant spending across China has significantly declined. Most travel agencies, star-rated hotels, and high-end restaurants in Weihai have also seen varying degrees of impact on their revenues. Without the large clients of "group consumption" and "high-end spending," traditional hotels have become one of the hardest-hit sectors facing a "cold spell" in performance after the crackdown on official spending.

While traditional hotels scramble to save themselves, chain holiday apartments have quietly gained rapid popularity in Weihai’s accommodation market. Their performance has not only remained unaffected by the "Eight-Point Regulation," but has even seen steady growth. This "swimming against the tide" in revenue not only demonstrates a path of standardized market operation, but also opens up a new market segment that meets more refined service demands from consumer groups.

    Although holiday apartments are still relatively unfamiliar to the Chinese public, they have a very mature market in Europe and America, accounting for 37% of the accommodation industry’s market share there, with annual sales reaching as high as 80 billion USD, equivalent to around 600 billion RMB. In China, however, holiday apartments are still a new form of accommodation, unknown to many consumers. The entire industry is in its infancy, and the consumer market is still gradually being cultivated.

    Recently, I visited the well-known Tujia Sweetome Holiday Apartments in Weihai. Wei Yuntao, General Manager of Tujia Sweetome’s North China and Yantai-Weihai regions, told me: "In terms of national development, Weihai’s holiday apartment sector is at the forefront. On one hand, the Shandong Provincial Government places great emphasis on tourism development and signed a strategic cooperation with Tujia as early as 2012 under the 'Hospitality Shandong Goes to Tujia' initiative. On the other hand, Weihai’s tourism real estate has developed rapidly in recent years, leaving a large number of idle properties that can be revitalized through the Tujia model. Holiday apartments in Weihai already have a very solid foundation. Going forward, as the industry’s ecosystem becomes more complete, the market will gradually pick up."

    Whether for traditional or new-style hotels, "talent" remains an unavoidable key issue. Tujia has also established a relatively systematic approach to talent recruitment and cultivation. According to Tujia officials, outstanding university graduates who join Tujia can start from assistant store manager or front desk positions, and as long as they perform well within a certain period, they can be promoted. Given Tujia’s rapid nationwide expansion, the company also continuously reserves a pool of excellent talents to serve as store managers, assistant managers, and other management roles across various locations. At the same time, Tujia has also engaged in strategic cooperation with tourism vocational colleges in Shandong, establishing dedicated Tujia classes to directly recruit professionally trained talent, ensuring a steady reserve and utilization of skilled staff.

    If traditional hotels only meet guests’ basic accommodation needs, then holiday apartments offer a more personalized lodging experience.

Wei Yuntao believes that compared to traditional hotels, holiday apartments offer better cost-performance, with prices typically about half of those at five-star hotels in the same area. For customers, holiday apartments also provide more usable space. For the same price, while a standard hotel room might just be a twin room, a holiday apartment comes with a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom—greatly fulfilling travelers’ desires for a home-like stay and personalized needs. Guests can do their laundry, cook meals, and immerse themselves in the local life without disturbance.

    Ms. Sun, who handles marketing for Tujia in Weihai, also told me: "Holiday apartments offer much better privacy compared to traditional hotels. Nowadays, most hotel rooms are separated by mere plywood, so you can hear your neighbors talking, which can affect rest. But in holiday apartments, the walls are solid, ensuring excellent privacy—guests can rest undisturbed, which is one of the main reasons many choose us."

    According to customer reviews currently tracked by Tujia, the average rating on Ctrip has reached 4.4, even higher than many five-star hotels. Additionally, over 96% of guests who have stayed at Tujia apartments choose to recommend them to friends and family. Wei Yuntao said that most guests are very satisfied with the value-for-money offered by holiday apartments, and are pleasantly surprised by amenities such as kitchens, washing machines, and Wi-Fi.

　　　

    According to internal data provided by Tujia, the primary sources of Tujia holiday apartment guests currently include those who book through the Tujia platform (including Tujia.com and the Tujia app), OTAs (online travel platforms), offline contracted clients, and customers referred by travel agencies. This effectively combines traditional marketing with e-commerce, truly connecting with the market.

    At the same time, Tujia also evaluates its service quality through interaction with consumers. Li Shujun, manager of Tujia Sweetome Holiday Apartments in Weihai, stated: "We highly value every guest’s feedback. Through new media channels (Weibo and WeChat), we’ve increased our communication frequency with customers. Customer experience feedback helps us optimize service processes and improve service quality, which ultimately benefits the guests as well."

    As the year draws to a close, a series of regulations curbing official spending have been introduced, and many hotels in downtown Weihai have seen their annual performance impacted due to declining food and beverage revenues. Speaking about the broader market environment, several Tujia executives remarked: "It hasn’t affected us much—in fact, it may have had a positive impact. Many civil servants are now more budget-conscious when traveling, making our more cost-effective holiday apartments more popular. Though we can’t disclose specific figures, compared to last year, we’ve doubled our turnover this year. We hope to work with others in the industry to grow the holiday rental sector into a new industry that truly benefits the people."

    Just as I was concluding my interview and preparing to leave, Ms. Sun received a call from a regular customer requesting help booking a Tujia property in Hainan. She immediately guided the customer over the phone to check the sample room prices and layouts online, and quickly contacted her colleague in Hainan to secure the ideal room for the customer. She mentioned that there are many such familiar returning customers, and it is this sense of being welcomed anytime, anywhere, that increasingly endears them to more and more guests.