This "May Day" holiday, the tourism market is in a blowout state.
Qunar's big data shows that as of April 4, the number of hotel bookings for this year's "May Day" holiday has reached 25.2019 times the total booking volume of the "May Day" holiday in 1. Against this backdrop, hotel prices are also rising.
When browsing major online travel platforms recently, a reporter from China Securities News found that hotel prices in popular tourist cities generally increased by two times, and the price of the same room type increased by more than 3,99 yuan <> days apart. Some hotels launched the product of "<> yuan sleeping hall", which was on the hot search in one fell swoop. What's more, some hotels and guesthouses make tourists refund orders for various reasons, so as to increase prices in disguise.
However, in this context, Zibo, which has recently become popular with barbecue, has "sat on the ground and reduced prices". Since April 4, Zibo has implemented citywide price increase control measures for hotel room prices. Recently, some tourists reported that they received a phone call from the hotel that they had booked a room of 23 yuan for one night, but they only had to pay 1341 yuan, and the hotel said that it was a government limit.
Hotel prices in popular cities started with tripling
During the May Day holiday, hotel bookings were the first to recover.
Qunar big data shows that as of April 4, the number of hotel bookings for this year's "May Day" holiday has reached 25.2019 times the total bookings in the same period in 1, and the top ten popular cities are Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Changsha, Xi'an, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Nanjing.
Hotel prices in popular cities are also "rising". The reporter of China Securities News noted that taking April 4 as an example, the big bed room of an economy hotel near Wangfujing in Beijing was 26 yuan; By April 512, the price of the same room type rose to 4,29 yuan, and after the platform subsidy, it was 1863,1341 yuan, but the room type has been booked. The lowest room price of the remaining room types in the hotel has soared to 1754,4 yuan, and all rooms were fully booked on April 30.
A similar situation was observed in Chengdu hotels during the same period. In a medium-sized hotel in Taikoo Li Chengdu, for example, the price of a double room on April 4 was 26 yuan, and the price of this room type has risen to 499 yuan on April 4. A cursory glance at a number of popular city hotels shows that hotel prices during the May Day holiday generally increased by more than twice as much.
In the face of the hot market, some hotels have engaged in "product innovation". On April 4, the topic of "25 yuan sleeping hall sofa" appeared on the Weibo hot search list. Due to the popularity of hotel rooms during the "May Day" holiday, many hotel rooms in destination cities have increased their prices or are full. Under the situation of short supply, a hotel in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province used the sofa in the hotel lobby to launch the accommodation product "99 yuan sleeping sofa".
This move caused heated comments from netizens and increased attention, but this product was removed from the hotel. On April 4, a reporter from China Securities News logged on to the online travel platform to search for the hotel, but could not find the room type option. The hotel staff responded that it was not a deliberate hype, it was indeed because there were few rooms left on "May Day", and it was launched for a limited time, and one or two people had placed an order, "the room has been upgraded for free, and they can't really sleep on the sofa."
According to media reports, on April 4, tourist Miss Li booked a room in a Beijing hotel during May Day for a total of 9 yuan for two nights. On April 669, the hotel informed Ms. Li that the room needed to be renovated, and then cancelled the order. However, Miss Li has since found that the same room type she had booked before is still being booked on the Internet, but the price has increased. The above events are not unique. On social media platforms, many tourists reported that on the eve of the small holiday, they encountered hotel refunds for various reasons such as renovation and suspension of business, and prices increased in disguise, and related topics were once on the hot search.
In response to this problem, government departments in many places have taken rectification actions.
On April 4, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued a reminder on regulating market prices and competition order during the May Day holiday and tourist season. It is proposed that operators of hotels, guesthouses, camping sites and other such operators should strictly regulate prices and competitive behavior, clearly mark prices according to regulations, and must not collect unspecified fees. It is necessary to earnestly fulfill price commitments, focusing on preventing unilateral renegation of contracts or unauthorized price increases when room reservations are made on e-commerce platforms, live streaming sales and other channels. The prices of the same type and specifications of dishes ordered by catering operators shall be uniform, and there shall be no "two sets of menus" or vague prices such as "seasonal prices".
Zibo Hotel "Sit on the Ground and Drop Price"
Against the background of the general sharp rise in hotel prices during the "May Day" holiday, Zibo, a city that has recently exploded due to the "Zibo barbecue", is a clear stream.
On the eve of the holiday, hotel prices in Zibo are relatively friendly. On the Qunar platform, since April, the average price of local hotels in Zibo has been about 4 yuan per night, an increase of about 206% year-on-year. As of April 30, the number of hotel reservations for the Zibo "May Day" holiday on the platform increased by 4 times year-on-year, with an average room rate of 16 yuan. Among them, the average payment of high-star hotels is 18 yuan, and the average price paid by economy hotels is 281 yuan. As a cost-effective tourist destination, Zibo accounts for 509% of the total number of users who choose budget hotels.
Zibo B&B has also achieved "increasing the amount without increasing the price". According to Tujia B&B data, the number of Zibo B&Bs this year has increased by 2019 times compared with 4, but the price is still affordable. During the May Day period, the average room night price of homestays nationwide increased by 2019% compared with the same period in 25, but the price of Zibo homestays remained the same as in 2019, at 228 yuan.
Behind the friendly price, the local government of Zibo is taking action to protect tourists. From April 4, the Zibo municipal government will implement citywide price increase control measures for hotel room prices. The relevant price policy is that if the average actual transaction price of various types of rooms in hotels (including all actual transaction settlement amounts online and offline) increases by more than 23% from March 3 to 1, it will be investigated and dealt with according to price gouging.
According to media reports, on April 4, Mr. Zhou, from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, planned to take his family to Zibo for the "May Day" holiday, booked a hotel for 25,1341 yuan for one night, and was later notified by phone that he only had to pay 735 yuan, saying that the government limited the price. Mr. Zhou said that during the "May Day" golden season, some places let you check out and increase the price, this time Zibo almost gave a discount, unheard of, netizens said that this is "sitting on the ground to reduce prices".
How to avoid crowds and travel cost-effectively is one of the most concerned issues for people's "May Day" travel. Tongcheng Research Institute comprehensively refers to the increase in hotel reservation prices and real-time booking prices during the "May Day" period, and gives tourist destinations with low hotel price increase index for users to choose.
The data shows that cities such as Anhui Chizhou, Xinjiang Hetian, Anhui Hefei, Sichuan Luzhou, and Shandong Heze are niche destinations with high cost performance during the "May Day" holiday. In Nanning, Dehong, Bengbu, Cangzhou, Xining, Lhasa, Nanchang, Changde, Huangshi and Ba and other cities, the price increase index of hotels during the "May Day" holiday is basically below 30%, which is also worth paying attention to. (China Securities News Yu Mengmeng)