With the ease of COVID-19 restrictions, China is witnessing a surge in international travel bookings as well as domestic ones, reaching pre-pandemic levels. Due to the increased demand for domestic travel, many hotels in China have already been fully booked weeks before Labor Day holidays. #The average hotel room rates for Labor Day have gone up to 70% (五一酒店价格普涨超七成)#. For some hotels near tourist sites and shopping hubs, the prices have increased sharply, doubling or even tripling in price, which netizens have called #Labor Day hotel assassin (五一酒店刺客)#, a reflection of the unanticipated increase in prices that has caused some discomfort among Chinese consumers.
Chinese social media buzzing with Labor Day holidays’ hotel deals
In the meantime, online travel agencies and hotels have been collaborating on marketing campaigns to further stimulate travel spending during Chinese Labor Day in the face of soaring demand. On Chinese social media Weibo, there has been heated discussion over #Nearly 1,000 hotels are waiving room charges for Labor Day customers (近千家酒店为争五一客源免房费)# viewed nearly 20 million times in the 3rd week of April, two weeks before Chinese Labor Day. On Fliggy (飞猪旅行), a leading online travel platform in China, users can find a large banner that says “Order hotel rooms for Labor Day, Sign up for a chance to win a free stay (51订酒店抽免单)” through the site’s mini-program main page on Alipay, which includes luxurious hotels such as Hilton and Marriott Bonvoy.
On Weibo, many netizens have expressed their excitement about the campaign. “How to apply for the free stay campaign? I’m going to try my luck.” A netizen from Jiangsu commented. Other netizens hold a relatively more realistic view of this campaign, “It would be even better if it (the benefits) could be distributed among every consumer.” Another netizen from Shaanxi said.
Key takeaway on 2023 Labor Day holiday bookings:
- With eased COVID-19 restrictions, China is experiencing a surge in travel bookings, reaching pre-pandemic levels.
- Many hotels in China are fully booked for Labor Day and average hotel room rates have increased by 70%.
- Online travel agencies and hotels are collaborating on marketing campaigns to stimulate travel spending during Chinese Labor Day.
