Recently, Duoduo Inn (www.yododo.cn), the travel accommodation booking platform under Yododo Travel Network—the leading domestic self-guided travel website—has been completely revamped and relaunched with a new domain for independent operations. Since venturing into the inn and homestay booking industry in 2010 with the launch of “Duoduo Inn,” Yododo Travel Network, which has six years of community management experience, has consistently strived to offer high-quality online inn booking services for self-guided travelers, garnering widespread attention from the domestic tourism accommodation industry. According to Ms. Miao Wan’er, CEO of Yododo Travel Network: “The independent operation of Duoduo Inn is intended not only to provide more comprehensive services to consumers but also to further enhance its core competitiveness.”
Market data shows that in 2011, China’s hotel industry market reached a scale of 256 billion yuan, up 17% year-on-year, with approximately 620 million room nights sold. Around 6% of bookings were completed through e-commerce channels, benefiting roughly 20 million travelers. Themed accommodations such as youth hostels, specialty inns, and family-run guesthouses with strong cultural appeal are increasingly popular among tourists. However, the level of e-commerce adoption in such accommodations remains relatively low, with about 25% of transactions being completed online. Forecasts predict that the hotel industry will exceed 300 billion yuan in size by 2012. In recent years, several major players in the travel industry have entered the hotel booking sector. Compared to mid- to high-end star-rated hotels, youth hostels and budget accommodations represent a vast, untapped market. Seizing the opportunity, Duoduo Inn has carved out a unique niche by focusing precisely on the booking of budget and moderately priced inns and youth hostels. Prior to this independent operation, Duoduo Inn had been steadily building its strengths internally, establishing a differentiated competitive edge.
With the growing wave of domestic tourism in recent years, youth hostels have captured the hearts of travel enthusiasts, leisure travelers, and backpackers with their unique charm, and their market potential should not be underestimated. Industry insiders believe that booking platforms for mid- to low-priced travel accommodations targeting self-guided travelers must meet diverse and personalized consumer needs in order to consistently deliver quality service. Therefore, the new version of Duoduo Inn provides a more comprehensive and clear showcase of inn environments and room types, paired with detailed text descriptions, thereby offering more precise, thorough, and considerate service to travelers.
Currently, the online booking business for the domestic inn market is still in the exploratory stage. In terms of the overall landscape of domestic hotel booking platforms, the launch of the new Duoduo Inn further promotes the segmentation of the domestic hotel market, adding a new option for travelers booking accommodations online. It will also strongly drive the development of the mid- to low-priced travel accommodation market, leading the online marketing of inns and youth hostels into a new era of standardization, ultimately benefiting travelers.