On February 20, HowToTrip, a provider of vacation rental services, officially launched a campaign titled “Caring for the Elderly Connects Us All – HowToTrip’s Love Reaches Every Home,” offering a 20% discount for family trips that include seniors. From the initial idea to the official launch, the campaign took less than two days.
It is understood that HowToTrip rarely offers discounts, making this up to 20% off especially sincere.
An idea sparked by a single Weibo post
On the morning of February 18, @MelissaY, who is verified on Sina Weibo as the “CTO of HowToTrip,” posted this message: “This morning in a taxi, I saw a sign that read ‘Free rides for seniors over 70 and disabled individuals traveling alone.’ Upon asking, I learned there is a fleet of love taxis in Beijing, with over 600 vehicles. The driver who gave me a ride has been doing this for over three years. Truly amazing.”
This Weibo post caught the attention of HowToTrip CEO Luo Jun and other colleagues. Inspired by the tweet, HowToTrip decided to quickly launch a discount campaign aimed at seniors.
In the afternoon of the 18th, HowToTrip’s official Weibo account @HowToTrip reposted @MelissaY’s message: “So great ! HowToTrip got inspired and plans to learn from these taxi drivers by launching a [Respect the Elderly Discount Stay] campaign, where all seniors staying at HowToTrip vacation rentals will enjoy a 50% discount. What do you all think?”
The entire process took less than half a day.
Offering greater discounts and greater convenience to users
With the idea in place, launching the campaign officially required clearly communicating the rules to users while making participation easy.
Offering discounts only to seniors—from booking to checkout—posed a challenge to the HowToTrip team regarding user experience. Since the discount applied only to seniors, calculating the discount based on the number of elderly during reservation and check-in was complex and prone to errors, possibly leading to a poor user experience. Different family groups with varying numbers of seniors would enjoy different benefits, which could also create issues of unfairness.
So, the HowToTrip team quickly adjusted the rules—expanding the discount coverage from only seniors to family trips that include seniors. Between March 1 and April 31, guests staying at HowToTrip’s Swissotel Apartments can enjoy an overall 20% discount. Additionally, the age threshold for seniors was lowered from the initial 70 to the national retirement age—60 for men and 55 for women.
After the adjustment, the campaign offered even greater discounts, and it became more convenient for users to book and check out.
It is worth mentioning that HowToTrip rarely runs discount campaigns. This senior discount stay campaign is based on actual selling prices, offering a 20% discount. The goal is to encourage family travel that includes seniors and to promote a social culture of respecting and caring for the elderly.
Respecting the Elderly Is in the Product’s DNA
“Actually, a large proportion of our customers are family travelers, and that’s determined by our product DNA,” said HowToTrip CEO Luo Jun. He explained that their vacation apartments are all suites, ranging from one-bedroom, one-living room units, two-bedroom, one-living room units, lofts, to villas—offering a rich variety of types. Additionally, unlike hotels, HowToTrip’s vacation apartments all have kitchens, allowing guests to cook their own meals, as well as washing machines for laundry.
Beyond the home-like feel, price advantage is another key reason for the popularity of HowToTrip vacation apartments. For example, in Sanya’s Yalong Bay, standard rooms in five-star hotels cost over 2,000 RMB, while a villa at HowToTrip’s Princess County in Yalong Bay is only about 1,500 RMB. On the HowToTrip website, there are even more options, with a wide range of family-friendly room types priced between 300 and 800 RMB. According to media reports, during the Spring Festival, vacation apartments in Sanya, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and other locations on HowToTrip were fully booked. Moreover, for family travelers, staying in hotels doesn’t allow everyone to be together. In vacation apartments, kids can play freely, and the whole family can eat, watch TV, and play cards or chat together.
“HowToTrip encourages society to respect the elderly and care for the young with real actions. Your time and HowToTrip’s discounts come together to create a warm current of love!” Luo Jun stated on his personal Weibo.