Hilton, Starwood Roll Out Welcome Mat for Chinese 喜达屋、希尔顿迎合中国消费者

By newsdoug on July 12, 2011

Hoteliers welcome Chinese travelers I don’t know if this is coincidence, but two of the world’s top hotel operators — Starwood (NYSE: HOT) and Hilton — have just announced strikingly similar programs targeting Chinese travelers, highlighting the growing impact Chinese are having on the overseas travel markets. Both programs offer an array of amenities aimed at the Chinese traveler, ranging from Mandarin-speaking staff at select hotels in major gateway cities, to tea kettles in rooms, written materials in Chinese and local favorites like soy milk and congee on restaurant menus. (Starwood announcement; Hilton announcement) The pair of announcements comes as millions of newly mobile Chinese families prepare to take their summer holidays, and clearly many have the money to spend on expensive hotels like Hilton, Westin, Sheraton and Marriott (NYSE: MAR), providing a huge new opportunity for these chains much the way that Japanese travelers first did in the 1980s. Like their Japanese counterparts, Chinese tourists are often happy to pay big bucks to stay in famous-brand hotels and visit big-name tourist attractions like Disneyland and Las Vegas. So, who exactly is set to gain from the trend besides the big Western hotel names? Other big beneficiaries should include the major Chinese airlines like Air China (HKEx: 753; Shanghai: 601111) and China Southern (HKEx: 1055; Shanghai: 600029), and China travel agencies and online sites like Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) could also reap big bucks if they position themselves to reach this group. As with anything, execution will be key to cashing in on the trend, and the new campaigns by Hilton and Starwood, while small, seem to offer some good examples that others would be smart to follow.

Bottom line: Hilton, Starwood and other travel-related firms could earn big bucks from a new breed of Chinese travelers if they position themselves correctly to reach this increasingly affluent group.

我不知道这是不是巧合，但世界两大酒店运营商——喜达屋<HOT.N>和希尔顿都刚刚宣布了针对中国旅行者的类似计划，凸显出中国人对海外旅游市场不断增加的影响力。两家公司均向中国旅行者推出了一系列针对性的配套设施和安排，从在主要门户城市的部分酒店安排讲中文普通话的员工，到在房间布置茶壶和中文说明，再到饭店菜单上的豆浆和粥等中国人喜欢的饮食等等，不一而足。适逢数百万计中国家庭将过暑假，许多人显然有钱入住希尔顿、威斯汀、喜来登和万豪<MAR.N>等奢华酒店，从而为这些酒店连锁提供巨大商机。正如1980年代的日本游客一样，中国游客往往乐于花大笔钱，入住品牌酒店，再到迪士尼和拉斯维加斯等名胜旅游。所以，除了西方大牌酒店，谁还会从中受益呢？其它主要受益方包括中国国航<601111.SS><0753.HK>、南航<600029.SS><1055.HK>、中国各大旅行社、携程<CTRP.O>和艺龙<LONG.O>等网站。像做任何事情一样，执行环节是在这一趋势中盈利的关键。希尔顿和喜达屋发起的行动尽管规模不大，但仍提供了好榜样，聪明者自会仿效。

一句话：中国出游人数日益增多，所以希尔顿、喜达屋和其它旅游相关企业若能正确定位，势将从这一趋势中获得巨大利润。