Brands raise their game
Upscale accommodation transitions from business travellers to mass market, writes David Powell
The unprecedented proliferation of top-flight hotels in Zhengzhou is transforming the local market and offering an array of upscale options.
"In the 20 years preceding 2011, no new international hotels were built," says Catherine Han, general manager of the Sheraton Zhengzhou. "In the past three years, six new hotels have opened, and another six are planned."
Hotel occupancy has not risen at the same speed, with occupancy rates for five-star hotels at about 65 per cent, although that is expected to change as Zhengzhou solidifies its role at the crossroads of transport and logistics on the mainland.
Established hotels such as the Yuda Palace Hotel are seeing a transition in the market from a heavy reliance on high-end travellers to the mass market as more mainlanders indulge in leisure travel, says general manager Daisy Duan. However, business travellers dominate the market.
Raymond Tang, general manager of the Hilton Zhengzhou, estimates that more than 80 per cent of the hotel's guests are business travellers from surrounding cities, typically middle-management executives working in IT or consumer goods.
"Foreign visitors may increase slightly," Han says, on the strength of "higher rates of overseas investment activity and more general interest in the region as Zhengzhou's profile sharpens" on the international stage.
Upscale hotels use varying strategies to differentiate themselves. At the Yuda Palace, business travellers with typically high expectations are offered an exclusive pillow menu and relaxing bath menu, Duan says, while for leisure travellers, the emphasis is on "several restaurants with different cuisine styles that will definitely please all taste buds."
The Sheraton Zhengzhou leans on its convenient location in the Zhengdong central business district (CBD), close to a metro line linking the hotel with the exhibition centre, high-speed railway station and shopping precincts, Han says. The hotel blends local elements with high-end amenities to create "an international Zhengzhou lifestyle".
The Hilton Zhengzhou emphasises the city's unique place in the political and gastronomical history of China. "We really focus on the culture of China and the food," Tang says.
With about 60 per cent of foreign investment in Henan coming from Hong Kong, according to Duan, it's no surprise that Hong Kong guests are often business travellers. But a push for the promotion overseas of the nearby Shaolin Temple and Mount Song, about 100km outside Zhengzhou, might attract a wider leisure market, Han says.
Tang also points to the area's cultural sites. "Shaolin Temple and Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes and the dynastic capital Kaifeng are elements that attract Hong Kong customers and are about 45 to 60 minutes away by car," he says.
As in much of the mainland, the market is evolving. Hotels are still feeling the effects of new rules and regulations, Duan says, and many are still in the early stages of transitioning from the high-end market to the mass market. Han says the evolution of Zhengzhou's hotels "in sophistication, range of choice and quality goes hand-in-hand with the rise of people's living standards and expectations".
Intense competition domestically is forcing hotels to reinvent themselves by adding features and programmes to stand out amid an ever-increasing array of accommodation, Han says. "Innovation and creativity will be essential for survival."