Rental deposits too pricey as customers prefer perks like laundry and breakfasts, Cheng Si reports.

People pass a Ji Hotel in Shanghai. Ji Hotel is a brand under the Huazhu Group, which owns many other well-known brands including CitiGO, ibis and HanTing. (JI HAIXIN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Living in a hotel rather than a short-term rental has become a popular choice for people, especially the young who prefer a highquality living environment and flexible payments.

One of them is 23-year-old Zhang Lingyi, who chose to live in a hotel in Beijing for a two-month internship over the summer.

"I didn't plan to take much more luggage with me when I left Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for an internship in Beijing. A hotel room is fully furnished with supplies like towels, toothbrush and a kettle. It's quite convenient," he said.

"The more attractive part to me is the lower rent and more flexible payments," he added.

"I browsed online to check the apartments near the company before I went to Beijing, and I found that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was around 7,000 yuan per month ($989). The money for a flat-share was around 4,000 yuan to 4,500 yuan per month. The hotel I booked then gave me a discount, roughly 5,000 yuan per month for a room."

He added that the hotel didn't require a rental deposit — a routine operation for house agencies, and offered him flexible payments.

"In China, house agencies usually require the tenant to pay a rental deposit — roughly a month's rent, and prepay rents for three months, which means I need to pay at least 20,000 yuan to a house agency before I move into an apartment. However, the hotel didn't need any rental deposit and I can pay the rent by the month, which really is a financial relief to me," he said.

An Atour hotel in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Atour Group began to offer rental services on its app from July due to the rising needs. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Bailout for hotels

Offering people rooms for rent is not a decision taken on a whim by hotels, but a long-term campaign due to shocks brought by the COVID-19 epidemic.

A recent report by the China Hospitality Association, a group set up by operators of accommodation and the catering industry, shows that the nation's accommodation facilities, including hotels, homestays and other forms of lodging businesses, were reduced by 26.5 percent to 447,178 in early 2021 from the previous 608,146 in early 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic.

The number of hotels declined by 17.4 percent over the year — falling from 338,021 to 279,174 in early 2021.

Hu Chunyan, shop manager of Hangzhou Bokai Westlake Hotel in Zhejiang province, said that the hotel experienced a tough time during the epidemic.

"Many other hotels shut down. We are the lucky one as my boss owns the hotel so we don't worry about the hotel's rents. What we needed to do in the toughest period was to make enough money to pay the employees' salary," she said.

"It's not an easy job to run the hotel amid the epidemic."

She said that so far around 40 percent of the hotel's rooms — roughly 20 rooms — are for short-term or long-term lease. "The rents and payment are quite flexible. We have rooms priced at 3,900 yuan per month and also those around 4,200 or 4,500 yuan per month.

"They can pay the rent every 10 days or every week without any rental deposit. Young people take the majority of the rooms. We also have some regular customers like business travelers who usually stay at the hotel for three or five days," she added.

She said the hotel has a shared kitchen and washing machines free of charge for the customers.

Li Bowen, a professor from the Tourism College of Beijing Union University, said in an interview with China Tourism News that rental business is a new and promising sector worthy of exploration by the hotels.

Li said hotels can plan a long-term campaign and find a balance of living comfort and price for the customers. The rental business can also help hotels efficiently use their vacant rooms and improve the current rental market.

Guests are seen in the J Hotel, boasting a restaurant on the 120th floor and 24-hour personal butler service, located in the Shanghai Tower in Shanghai. (HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)

Win-win business

Kang Wei, vice-president for marketing business of Atour Group, a chain of hotels whose headquarters are in Shanghai, said that the group has offered online rental reservations on its app from July 29 because of the surging needs of people.

"Renting a room at hotels has become a new lifestyle for young people who prefer spending their time enjoying life or improving themselves rather than being trapped in tedious housework," he said.

He said Atour hotels offer basic services such as showers and breakfast, but also free laundry, printing and 24-hour gyms.

"The hotel renting business appeals to young people's living habits. We have customers mainly for short-term travel or business trips, but offering rental services will give the whole industry some inspiration in the future," he said.

Renting a hotel room is not only welcomed by the young, but people who are middle age.

Xie Xinfeng, a 50-year-old from Shanghai, chose to live in a hotel when her apartment was being decorated. "I lived in Atour in March and moved to my parent's house by the end of March after the city was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. I chose to get back to the hotel in early June when the city ended its lockdown and spent nearly three months there with my husband and daughter. We left around Sept 8," she said.

"I got two choices — renting an apartment or living at a hotel when my own apartment was in decoration. I chose the latter one without hesitation. I need to consider whether I like the rental apartment or not, and I may spend money changing some furniture or family appliances. It's much more convenient to live at a hotel," she said.

Yang Zuolin, general manager of two hotels on CitiGO in Beijing, said the rental service is a supplement to the hotel's business, which can help attract customers and pursue a diversified development.

"Tenants are usually required to pay rental deposits, which may increase their financial burdens, especially to young people. They can get flexible tenancy without electric or water fees living at hotels," he said.

"The rooms are also equipped with electromagnetic ovens and a range hood, so the customers can cook meals in rooms. We function as an apartment but offer hotel services."

He said that the two hotels he is in charge of have 219 rooms available. So far, 20 percent of the customers rented hotel rooms.

"Their tenancy ranges from three months to six months, and even 12 months," he said.

He added that CitiGO will continue the rental services in the future. "The industry faces pressure in operations due to the epidemic. Developing rental services is quite important to keep our customers. The rental customers usually have stable emotional communications with our staff members."

Li Bin, vice-dean of the School of Tourism Sciences under the Beijing International Studies University, told the China Tourism News that hotels who wish to improve their rental services should make efforts to analyze the lifestyle of customers, their consumption behavior and preferences, and also their age, jobs and renting behavior.

He suggested that hotels can deepen the communication and set up closer relations with customers by organizing some social events such as cycling and outing trips.

Contact the writer at chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn