Will the Chinese conquer the hotel industry worldwide?

The Middle Kingdom is a mass market, in the truest sense of the word. With a market volume of 229 billion US dollars, China’s tourism is world champion by now. According to TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the worldwide leading provider of b2b hotel data, more than 700 new hotels with 205,800 rooms are currently in the pipeline in China. In addition, hotel chains such as Jin Jiang increase their investments abroad: After the Louvre Hotels Group acquisition also the stake in Europe’s leading hotel group Accor has been increased now to more than six percent.

The world has to be prepared for more guests from China: last year 109 million travelled abroad, mostly to Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand – and to Europe. In the past four years the number of Chinese guests increased by almost one hundred percent on the Old Continent.

Due to their size, Chinese groups become more important – five Chinese hotel groups rank in the top 20 of the largest hotel groups worldwide. With more than 715,000 hotel rooms, Hilton Worldwide remains the largest one followed by Marriott International (714,000 rooms) and on the third place the InterContinental Hotels Group (approx. 710,000 rooms). After the hotel chains Wyndham, Choice and Accor, the Plateno Hotel Groups from Guangzhou in China ranks on the sixth place with about 442,000 rooms. Jin Jiang Hotels from Shanghai (352,000 rooms), which recently brought the European Louvre Hotels Group is on the ninth place.

Further Chinese hotel groups in the top 20 are Homes Inns & Hotels, China Lodging Group and GreenTree Inns. In total 32 Chinese hotel groups rank in the top 300 hotel groups. Even in terms of the world’s largest hotel brands China is one step ahead: “7 Days Inn” by the Plateno Hotels Group is with approximately 380,000 rooms significantly ahead of the previously top-ranked hotel brand Best Western.