Rapid China outbound recovery a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for hoteliers

Global accommodation bedbank DidaTravel – whose head office is based in China – has noted a considerable increase in international hotel sales for the Chinese outbound source market since the country reopened its borders to international travel.

Whilst volumes have not yet recovered to 2019 levels, year-on-year for the month of February sales were up by 600% approximately.

Just as importantly, the B2B seller of accommodation notes that in Chinese currency (RMB) average room night prices for the Chinese source market for international hotels rose by an unprecedented increase of almost 25% between December and February.

In particular, the company notes that the highest category of rooms by price doubled as a proportion of sales between December and February, showing a stronger recovery for more expensive hotels.

However, refundable Vs non-refundable rates as a proportion of its sales remain consistent with recent trends and haven’t changed in the last few months, at roughly 25% refundable rates for February Vs 37% in the same month in 2019.

Rikin Wu, CEO of DidaTravel comments: “Whilst we are still some way from 2019 levels this is nonetheless a very encouraging start, recovering at a quicker rate than many would have anticipated perhaps. We strongly encourage hoteliers around the world, particularly higher-end properties, to start taking the Chinese source market seriously again ASAP as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain market share. Don’t just consider the net bookings currently, consider that right now there are many millions of Chinese citizens contemplating their next international holiday – this is not a question of if, but when and where. Make sure it is your property!”