The Golden Week of the National Day holiday has just ended. This year's extended vacation not only made the tourism market exceptionally vibrant but also brought a “feast of peaks” to the homestay markets around the world. As a leader in the overseas shared accommodation model, "One Homestay" provides a hospitality experience that is clearly distinct from hotels and more richly human, winning over many users and becoming the preferred platform for outbound travel. According to data from the One Homestay backend, during the 2018 National Day period, homestay orders increased by 3.5 times compared to last year, with overseas orders accounting for over 80% of the total.
Staggered leave boosts travel, leading to multiple booking peaks
This year’s National Day holiday was not far off from Mid-Autumn Festival, giving travelers more diverse options for combining leave. Previously, netizens had discussed taking a week off between the two holidays to create an ultra-long 16-day vacation. In terms of booking room nights, quite a few trips lasted more than a week, and the average length of stay also increased compared to the same period last year.
Besides longer stays, many travelers said they wanted to rebook after staying over during Mid-Autumn Festival for National Day. Ms. Zhang, a One Homestay user, said the Tokyo homestay she stayed at during the Mid-Autumn Festival was very comfortable. This trip made her fall in love with Japan, so she decided on the spot to bring her family back here for a few days during National Day.
With the long holiday, most travelers were not limited to just one destination, hence various options such as one long and one short trip, or two short breaks, emerged. Check-in times were concentrated on October 1, October 2, and October 4, resulting in multiple peak occupancy periods during the Golden Week.
Overseas orders surge significantly, with Japanese-style stays being the bestsellers
Nowadays, Chinese people’s demand for outbound travel has risen sharply. Compared to overcrowded domestic attractions during holidays, overseas travel is increasingly favored. Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are among the top destinations chosen by Chinese travelers. Japan, with its combination of travel, leisure, and shopping, stood out and became the most popular travel destination for Chinese people.
As travelers’ standards for travel quality improve, accommodation choices have also diversified. There is growing demand for the services, unique features, and experiences provided by homestays. The development of homestays is gradually entering a new stage where quality prevails, leading to increasing popularity of specialty and boutique homestays. Taking high-quality traditional Japanese townhouses in Japan as an example, during the Golden Week, orders for townhouses on One Homestay increased by about 56% compared to normal times. Especially those homestays that offer extended services such as kimono experiences and nearby tours were booked up well in advance.
Popularity of second- and third-tier domestic cities rises sharply, surpassing first-tier ones
In terms of domestic travel, cities most favored by tourists during National Day used to be first-tier ones like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. However, in recent years, with the rapid development of tourism in second- and third-tier cities, places like Chengdu, Sanya, Xi'an, Lijiang, and Hangzhou have gradually overtaken first-tier cities to become the leaders of the National Day travel season.
These popular cities, which are highly sought after, mostly boast advantages such as rich cultural, geographical, and other tourism resources. They promote a slow lifestyle, have well-developed tourism facilities and business models, and their local homestay markets are relatively mature, greatly satisfying people’s desire to relax and enjoy the moment.
Yang Lianghai, CEO of One Homestay, said that nowadays people are more interested in the local natural, cultural, and folk characteristics during their travels, and the diversity and personalization of homestays better meet travelers’ pursuits. Additionally, the consumer base of One Homestay is gradually getting younger, with more emphasis placed on service, quality, and experience. Going forward, One Homestay will focus on peripheral services centered around homestays, gradually covering more offerings, and is committed to providing travelers with more convenient one-stop services.