Recently, primary and secondary school students in Guangzhou have been suspended due to the fluctuation of the local epidemic. Subsequently, several hotels in Guangzhou launched the “online class room” package, and the relevant posters were also widely circulated among the parents.
Before that, Nanjing, Shanghai, Xiamen and other places have also launched various forms of “online class rooms”. Online class assistance and nutritious food have become standard. Some hotels also provide rich in-store entertainment activities, with prices ranging from 2000 yuan to 12000 yuan for five days and four nights.
Bai Wenxi, chief economist of IPG China, told the Securities Daily, “The ‘online class room’ is a self-help and innovative business move of the hotel industry under the serious impact of the epidemic. However, special attention should be paid to prevent students and parents from gathering offline in the hotel due to staying in the ‘online class room’, which poses a threat to epidemic prevention. In general, the hotel industry should follow the trend, take the initiative to change and launch good products and services that better meet the needs of consumers.”
escort and delicious food do not go wrong. Is there a new way for the hotel to save itself
The reporter made a telephone unannounced visit to Shanghai Pudong culture Oriental Hotel. The relevant staff said, “the lowest price of the ‘online class room’ package we are launching now is 5999 yuan. The check-in time is four nights from Monday to Friday, including three meals a day for a child for five days. The weekend room fee depends on the market price. You need to provide relevant epidemic prevention certificates to check in. At present, there are rooms, and the reservation is popular, which will certainly help the hotel to improve its turnover.”
The White Swan Hotel, an old five-star hotel in Guangzhou, provides a worry free online class companion program called “comfortable living and comfortable learning”. The price is 4888 yuan. The package service of five-day and four-night accommodation also includes three meals a day for a student and two free laundry items per night. The hotel staff told reporters, “during the epidemic, the business of the hotel was not as good as before. Since the launch of this package, many customers have been consulting. Recently, the revenue of this package can greatly increase the turnover of the hotel.”
“Less than 200 yuan a day, no delay in baby watching, online classes and homework, regular feeding and starvation!” On the afternoon of the 13th, the reporter called the relevant person in charge of Ramada Hotel in Foshan, who confirmed the authenticity of the news. He also said that the children each have a room that does not interfere with each other. The housekeeper urges the children to study. About one housekeeper manages three to four children, takes photos to report the learning situation to the parents every two hours, provides nutritious lunch and refreshment fruits, and specially assigned personnel to take the children to do aerobics in the outdoor garden.
“This service has just been launched for about three days. At present, about 30 students are staying. Nearly two-thirds of the hotel rooms are vacant under the epidemic, so we must find more ways to generate revenue.” The relevant person in charge of the above Foshan hotel said.
“Affected by the epidemic, many schools have ended teaching at school and changed to online classes at home. Many parents can’t accompany their children for a long time and can’t provide them with a good learning environment. The demand for ‘online class room’ came into being.” Jiang Han, senior researcher of Pangu think tank, told reporters.
He said, “it is also normal for the hotel industry to launch ‘online class room’ at this time. At present, the whole hotel industry is facing great pressure. Due to the needs of epidemic prevention and control, the reception volume of hotels in tourism, business and other aspects has decreased rapidly. Under the background of pressure on the overall performance of the hotel industry, the launch of ‘online class room’ can be said to be a way for the hotel industry to rush to save itself.”
actively embrace new changes and never deviate from hotel innovation
Parents have their own views on this. Many parents said, “the package of ‘online class room’ with thousands of yuan is comparable to the cost of traveling for honeymoon, which is too expensive; however, the idea of hotel is very good, which really solves the rigid needs of parents. If the total price of five-day housing and children’s meals does not exceed 2000 yuan, we will consider it.”
Some parents also think, “let the children live in the hotel alone. What if they are infected or sealed off and isolated? After all, they are not at ease without their parents. Originally, they stopped offline teaching to prevent the epidemic. Now they go out to the hotel for classes, which is unreliable.”
In fact, in view of the complexity of personnel in hotels and other business places, the difficulty of management and the actual risks such as potential cross infection, the relevant government departments in Xiamen asked the relevant hotels to take off the “online class room” earlier. Whether other local governments will follow up relevant policies is also noteworthy.
In this regard, many people in the industry have reminded the hotel to “innovate and never deviate”. Jiang Han reminded that the hotel is not a special childcare and education institution after all. There are still disputes about its ability to provide childcare services. In addition, attention should also be paid to whether the epidemic prevention safety of the “online classroom” meets the standards and whether the care procedures meet the relevant regulations.
Under the influence of the epidemic, the demand of business travelers has been greatly reduced Caitong Securities Co.Ltd(601108) data show that during the period from March 27 to April 2, the total supply of hotel rooms in China was 20.53 million rooms / night, with a year-on-year increase of 3%, the total demand was 7.82 million rooms / night, with a year-on-year decrease of about 39.3%, and the difference between supply and demand was 12.71 million rooms / night, with a year-on-year increase of 80%.
Zhao Xiaojun, President of Home Stay Inn and competitive hotels branch of China Tourism Association, believes that the traditional living market has been impacted under the epidemic, but this does not mean that the market has all returned to zero. At present, although the “online class room” is not a large-scale and normalized market product, it also shows that the hotel industry is actively embracing new changes and even creating new demand and changes.
“Online class room is more like a short-term product innovation. Whether the business is sustainable remains to be seen.” In Jiang Han’s view, the hotel should explore the market segments under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, such as the launch of monthly and annual cards for hotel buffet, the online takeout platform of hotel restaurants, and the launch of “connecting accommodation special” for migrant workers returning to the city in the face of the Spring Festival and manufacturers.
