November 2013 Report on the Development of Domestic Hotel Brands in China

(1) Brand Index Changes

　　In November, the Jianguo brand index was 27.68, which was a decrease of 0.92 compared to the previous month, representing a 3.22% drop. Looking at the detailed data, user influence rose slightly, while industry and media influence both declined, though not significantly. Compared to the same period last year, the Jianguo brand index dropped by 1.82, a 6.7% decrease, with media influence declining and industry influence increasing. Overall, the Jianguo brand data remained relatively stable.

　　(2) Brand Analysis

　　In November, Beijing BTG Hotels Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of BTG Group, was renamed Beijing BTG Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. This adjustment is also seen as BTG Group’s formal separation of the hotel “brand management” and “expansion” businesses. Previously, BTG Hotels had announced a name change to “BTG Hotels.”

　　BTG’s adjustment is seen as the formal separation of brand management and property development within its hotel division. In the first half of the year, BTG Hotels achieved revenue of 1.436 billion yuan, up 1.13% year-on-year; net profit was 66.34 million yuan, down 1.47% year-on-year. As hotel operations and management fell short of expectations, the strategic focus will shift toward the hotel sector. In fact, BTG’s strategic adjustments had been foreshadowed earlier—In February 2012, to resolve the issue of competition between BTG Group and its listed subsidiary BTG Hotels, BTG Group injected hotel assets valued at 200 million yuan into BTG Hotels.

　　As the most representative domestic brand giant, BTG Group’s adjustment also accelerates its alignment with international advanced hotel management models. Large international hotel groups generally operate a series of hotel brand chains. Currently, BTG Jianguo has developed its own brand portfolio, but there is still a gap compared to international peers. BTG’s moves also reflect a trend in the future development of domestic brands: using brands to define hotel positioning.