China’s Small-City Boom Gets Results For H World
Photo Credit: The lobby at the Crystal orange Hotel in Shanghai Pudong run by H World. H World
Skift Take
For years, China’s hotel story was concentrated in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. That’s where the demand was, and that’s where most branded supply clustered. But that’s changing now.
As Chinese transport infrastructure improves, with faster trains, better flight connectivity, and smoother road networks, travel demand is showing up in places that barely used to register on hotel maps, H World Group has said.
In its latest earnings call, H World Group CEO Jin Hui explained.
“As China's transportation network improves, accommodation needs to quickly expand from major cities to country level markets, making the lower-tier city a new growth engine for tourism consumption.” This is exactly what H World has been betting on by launching new properties in smaller cities and even rural towns, Hui said Wednesday.
“We kept expanding into the lower-tier cities and rural areas, fueling the gap in quality accommodation in those
