Data shows that from January to October 2011, the domestic sales output value of hotel supplies in Guangdong Province reached 352.6 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 28%. From January to October, the export value of hotel supplies in Guangdong Province was nearly 25 billion US dollars, an increase of 19.8% year-on-year. 45% of the country's hotel supplies come from Guangdong Province, which shows that the volume of hotel supplies produced in China each year is not a small number. The European debt crisis has devastated the domestic export industry, but in the hotel supplies sector, not only has there been no decline, but there has also been strong growth. This is mainly due to the rapid increase in the number of hotels in China and the changes in hotel supplies standards, which have driven strong demand.
In recent years, many new hotels have been built in China. Recently, China’s leading hotel industry portal—Meadin.com—released the “December 2011 National Star-Rated Hotel Opening Statistics Report.” The report showed that 23 high-star hotels opened in December, the highest number for the year. Each year, a considerable number of economy hotels are also newly built and opened. In addition, the new standards for textiles used in the lodging industry and star-rated hotel services are as follows: for hotels below star level, items such as bed sheets should be white, made of pure cotton or contain no less than 50% cotton, and should be replaced if they have stains that cannot be cleaned or have been washed more than 150 times; for five-star hotels, textiles such as towels, bath towels, and bedding must not show deformation or color differences, and should be replaced after 120 washes. Therefore, the demand for hotel supplies remains very strong, not only domestically but also in European and American markets.
Although the demand for hotel supplies is strong, a considerable number of small hotel supplies manufacturers have been eliminated due to lack of orders. So what are the current mainstream trends in hotel supplies?
Overall, there are several key aspects:
1. Safety and Health. When selecting hotel supplies, hotels naturally prioritize safety and health. The personal health and safety of guests is the primary guarantee for a hotel. If guests are harmed due to the use of unhealthy hotel supplies by the hotel, both the guests and the hotel will suffer significant losses.
2. Energy Saving and Environmental Protection. It is understood that a medium-sized three-star hotel consumes about 1,400 tons of coal equivalent energy per year, emitting at least 4,200 tons of carbon dioxide, 70 tons of soot, and 28 tons of sulfur dioxide into the air—not to mention larger-scale high-star hotels. Under the current trend of reducing carbon emissions, energy saving and environmental protection in hotels have become a new trend, and low-carbon hotel supplies have gained recognition among many hotel users.
3. Technological Innovation. Guests come to enjoy convenience and comfort. The hotels of the future will be high-tech, intelligent hotels. Hotel rooms, front desk reservations, and hotel consumption will all move in the direction of intelligence. Intelligent supplies can make guests’ lives more convenient and comfortable. For example, mattresses, which play a decisive role in the sleeping environment, have naturally become an important criterion for measuring hotel comfort and an essential part of hotel procurement. Some mattresses that incorporate high technology are gradually becoming the “favorites” of hotel procurement directors.
4. Exquisite and Aesthetic. Today, many consumers choose products based on first impressions. If the initial impression is good, their overall perception of the product tends to be positive, which is a major factor in attracting purchases. Thus, product appearance is very important. But in future development, products will be crafted like works of art. The appearance of a product relates to a company’s image and aesthetic standard, and the growing consumer demand for beauty is also driving the hotel supplies industry toward more artistic designs.
Mr. Luo Qin, Chief Operating Officer of ZBest, Xianzhi.com, and Meadin.com, believes that these trends can also provide valuable insights for hotel supplies enterprises. They can follow certain principles in product design and production to meet the evolving needs of the consumer market and produce products that align with those demands.