On the afternoon of December 3, the “2019 China High-end Scene Experience Hotel Trend Report Release Conference” was held at the Majestic Grace · Lake Pavilion Hotel in Suzhou. This conference was jointly organized by Mafengwo Travel, 6renyou Travel Network, Pinchain Travel, China Search, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Chain School, Majestic Grace Lake Pavilion Hotel under HowToTrip’s hotel group, and Sino-US Film Union Media Group. Industry leaders from authoritative institutions in China’s tourism and hotel sectors, heads of ten well-known OTAs (online travel platforms) and travel agencies, and dozens of travel and hotel influencers attended the event. Attendees included: Du Jianwei, Senior Director of the Hotel Business Department at Ctrip Hotels Group; Miao Xuri, Project General Manager of the Accommodation Business Group at Tongcheng Yilong; Chen Yiting, Business Director of the Accommodation Business Group at Tongcheng Yilong; Zhang Libo, East China Regional Head of Tongcheng Yilong’s Hotel & Scenic Spots Division; Yan Wenbin, Senior Business Manager of the Accommodation Business Department at Tongcheng Yilong; Du Lijian, East China Regional Head at Fliggy; Feng Jie, Head of the Domestic Hotel Business Department at Meituan; Peng Bo, Senior Manager of the Brand Advertising Department at Mafengwo Travel; Jia Jianqiang, CEO of 6renyou Travel Network; Ji Ying, Vice Marketing Director of Pinchain Travel; Wang Hanchen, Deputy Director of the Suzhou Tourism Information Center and head of the official WeChat account of the Suzhou Tourism Bureau; Chen Yan, Editor-in-Chief of “Kan Suzhou” under the Suzhou Radio and Television Bureau; Tao Guanqun, Vice President of the Suzhou Daily Tourism Operation Center; Gong Zhaoqing, Chairman of HowToTrip’s hotel group, among others. Additionally, nearly 70 vertical media outlets in the fields of tourism, hotels, and fashion participated in covering this release conference.
Themed “Transformation in the Hotel Industry in the New Scene Era,” the conference focused discussions on the successful cross-sector model of “Majestic Grace’s Wellness Lifestyle,” future development trends in the scene experience hotel sector, business models, product and service differentiation, and more. It also shared data from the high-end hotel sub-sector over the past year and released the 2019 China High-end Scene Experience Hotel Trend Report. At the event, HowToTrip’s hotel group unveiled the “Hotel Industry Tasting Officer Nationwide Recruitment Program” and the “Majestic Grace Hotel Cross-sector Experience Program.” Through targeted invitations and in-platform recruitment via Ctrip, the program invites influencers and premium users in the hotel and travel sectors to become Hotel Industry Tasting Officers. These officers receive attractive experience funds to explore the products, services, and unique features of high-end hotels, providing creative and constructive suggestions to help high-end hotels improve their offerings, optimize services, enhance cross-sector experiences, strengthen user loyalty, and increase added value.
Mr. Gong Zhaoqing, founder of the HowToTrip brand, together with Mr. Wang Meng, General Manager of the Marketing Department at Shanghai HowToTrip Hotel Management Co., Ltd., awarded cash prizes of 5,000 yuan and stored-value card rewards of 5,000 yuan each to 22 influencers for their use in hotel industry experiences. In response to the question of why such substantial investments were made in recruiting tasting officers, Wang Meng stated: “Mr. Gong Zhaoqing believes that the industry as a whole needs to progress, and both Majestic Grace and the hotels under HowToTrip’s hotel group—including HowToTrip, HowToTrip · Legend, and Beautiful HowToTrip—need sincere feedback and outstanding suggestions. Therefore, the group is willing to contribute to the advancement of the industry. HowToTrip also believes that as long as we continuously pursue higher standards, Chinese national hotel brands will surely have a voice on the international stage in the future.”
Amid the trend of a new round of consumption upgrade and the unleashing of IP energy, these high-end experience hotels with new scene significance may become new “venues for youth socializing, entertainment, and leisure.” During the development of Majestic Grace hotels, Mr. Gong Zhaoqing, founder of the HowToTrip brand, positioned Majestic Grace as having the style of a high-end homestay, the functionality of a business hotel, the added value of high-end wellness services, and the warmth of a family atmosphere. Due to historical reasons, the evolution of traditional Chinese home culture came to an abrupt halt after the Republican era, entering the modern furniture era directly after more than half a century of vacancy, without undergoing a process of fusion between tradition and modernity, let alone forming a corresponding home culture. However, the design of Majestic Grace hotels traverses that missed era, recreating the process of cultural and temporal intermingling in Chinese life.
“Life is but a dream—how much joy can one have?” More and more people dream of finding a pure land on earth to cleanse body and mind, hoping to experience a higher meaning of life through travel—“returning to nature,” breaking away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and enjoying physical and mental liberation. Whether embodying the spiritual essence of the Jiangnan-Gusu region or offering wellness vacation living spaces hidden within forests, Majestic Grace hotels integrate multiple elements to create a high-end, thoughtfully crafted, humanistic experience-oriented hotel through cross-sector collaboration.
Mr. Gong Zhaoqing, founder of the HowToTrip hotel brand and a key speaker at this professional industry forum, stated for the first time to the public regarding the unique operational model of Majestic Grace’s Wellness Steward, Travel Steward, and Business Steward: “Persistence is the core quality of a company’s efforts in exploration and development. Therefore, HowToTrip is committed to laying a solid foundation for 30 years, unwavering for 100 years. We aim to run hotels that are warm and of high quality.” At this conference, Ms. Guo Huizhen, Senior Assistant to the Chairman of Shanghai HowToTrip Hotel Management Co., Ltd., also disclosed for the first time the development strategy of the Majestic Grace brand to the public. She introduced that as the premium brand of HowToTrip’s hotel group, Majestic Grace is not a single type of hotel but a differentiated product infused with elements such as wellness, travel, and business. The launch of Majestic Grace products is based both on an upgraded management and positioning strategy and on the needs of nationwide tourism + wellness + leisure travel lifestyles. The release of this new product also represents a new cross-sector product exploration for the industry. To support the roles of Travel and Business Stewards, HowToTrip’s hotel group specially invested 5 million yuan to purchase six Mercedes-Benz series luxury vehicles to provide services for high-end customers.
In an interview with reporters, Mr. Gong Zhaoqing said that as long as one is dedicated and excellent enough, customers will definitely be willing to pay for cross-sector services, and the trend of cross-sector integration will certainly be the future direction of industry development. Therefore, Majestic Grace is willing to cultivate the market with time. (Zhang Jingyun)