中国经济型酒店扩张海外生意

Following in the footsteps of the Chinese companies that bought high-end tourism assets abroad, China's budget hotel chains are beginning their own overseas push to serve the country's swelling numbers of international travellers.

追随赴海外收购高端旅游资产的中国公司的脚步，中国的经济型连锁酒店开始了自己的海外扩张之旅，主要目的是为本国日益增多的出境游客服务。

Anbang, the conglomerate, was among the investors making headlines in the sector when it bought New York's Waldorf Astoria for $1.95bn in 2014. Now it is the turn of the low-cost hotel groups.

安邦集团就是旅游行业登上新闻头条的投资者之一，该公司在2014年以19.5亿美元收购了纽约的华尔道夫酒店。如今，轮到了低成本的酒店集团走出国门。

With some 2,500 hotels in China, the 7 Days Inn is a mainstay of budget travel in the country. As its home market slowed, the brand opened locations in Austria's Linz and Salzburg last year, while a 95-room "7 Days Premium" hotel will this week open in Vienna with easy connections to the Schonbrunn Palace. Other 7 Days Premium hotels are due to open in Berlin, Munich, Leipzig and Venice in the next 12 months.

在国内大约拥有2500家酒店的"7天连锁酒店"是中国经济型旅游行业中的主要品牌。随着国内市场放缓，该品牌去年在奥地利的林茨市和萨尔茨堡市开设了酒店，同时，拥有95个房间的"7天优品酒店"将于本周在维也纳开业，从该酒店可以很方便地前往"美泉宫"。今后12个月内，柏林、慕尼黑、莱比锡和威尼斯等地的"7天优品酒店"也将陆续开业。

Another budget hotel chain, GreenTree Inns, has opened branches in the US, Thailand and Vietnam since 2015, while rival Huazhu Group formed an alliance with French company Accor last year aimed at international expansion.

另一家经济型连锁酒店集团格林豪泰自2015年以来在美国、泰国和越南开设了酒店，同时其竞争对手华住酒店集团去年与法国公司雅高结盟，寻求进行国际扩张。

"We started with a brand that was totally unknown in Europe," says Tomasz Janczak director of distribution for the European office of Plateno, which owns 7 Days. When Chinese travellers "see the brand they know from the home market they are definitely going to choose that one," he adds.

铂涛欧洲业务分销总监托马什·扬恰克表示："我们的品牌最初在欧洲默默无闻。"7天酒店隶属铂涛旗下。他补充称，当中国游客"看到在国内熟悉的品牌，他们当然会选择这家酒店入住"。

After it bought a majority stake in Plateno and acquired French budget chain Louvre Hotels, state-run and Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group became the fifth-largest hotel chain in the world last year.

在收购铂涛多数股权和法国经济型连锁酒店卢浮酒店之后，上海锦江国际酒店集团去年成为全球第五大连锁酒店。锦江国际是一家在香港上市的中国国有企业。

The number of budget hotels in China leapt from fewer than 500 to more than 16,000 in the decade to 2014. But the sector has become less profitable since 2011, and 7 Days put a freeze on new openings in top tier cities amid reports of overcapacity. "The explosive growth period is gone," says Kiki Yang, a Hong Kong-based partner at consultancy Bain, with brands "looking for a hedge".

在截止2014年的十年间，中国经济型酒店数量从不到500家猛增至逾1.6万家。但自2011年以来，经济型酒店盈利能力下降。随着有报道称市场已经过剩，7天酒店不再在一线城市开设新店。贝恩咨询公司驻香港合伙人杨奕琦表示："爆炸性增长的时代已经结束"，品牌正在"寻求防范措施"。

But over the same period, Chinese outbound travel has grown, with some 40m overseas trips made last year. Plateno operates in locations in Thailand, the most popular Chinese tourist destination, and Malaysia. Jin Jiang has two budget hotels in the Philippines, and plans a dozen more.

但在同一时期，中国出境旅游业务大有发展，去年出境游达到约4000万人次。铂涛在泰国和马来西亚运营酒店——泰国是最受中国游客欢迎的旅游目的地。锦江国际在菲律宾有两家经济型酒店，并计划再开十几家。

"There's a general feeling that it's time for the Chinese hospitality industry to go more global," says Mitch Presnick, a founder of Super 8 China, the only major foreign group in China's budget hotel market.

速8酒店中国创始人柏力表示："人们普遍感觉，中国酒店业现在是时候走向全球了。"该公司是中国经济型酒店市场上唯一的主要外国集团。

Macy Marvel, an analyst at research group Mintel, says that expansion of Chinese budget brands overseas makes sense as outbound tourism increases. But she adds: "Asian destinations are more suitable for Chinese budget hotel expansion, because they attract higher volumes of Chinese outbound tourists."

研究集团英敏特分析师梅茜·马弗尔表示，随着出境游增多，中国经济型酒店在海外扩张是明智的。但她补充称："亚洲旅游目的地更适合中国经济型酒店扩张，因为它们吸引了更多的中国出境游客。"

China's budget hotel chains are maintaining an asset-light approach overseas. "We are using some of the experience that we developed in China," says Roland Paar, Plateno Europe's vice-president. "We don't own the hotels, but we operate them ourselves."

目前中国经济型连锁酒店在海外采用"轻资产运营"的方式。"我们采用在中国取得的一些经验，"铂涛欧洲副总裁罗兰·帕尔表示，"我们不拥有这些酒店，但我们自己来运营它们。"

Chinese hotels have been leaders in online bookings. Plateno says 75 per cent of its customers use its in-house reservation system. European 7 Days branches can be booked easily on Chinese websites and paid for with social networking software WeChat, which claims 700m Chinese users. In contrast "the majority of hotels in Europe don't know about WeChat," Mr Paar says.

在线上预订方面，中国酒店一直走在前面。铂涛表示，75%的客户使用其内部预订系统。人们可以轻松地在中国网站上预订欧洲的7天酒店，并通过社交网络软件微信付款，后者号称有7亿中国用户。帕尔表示，相比之下，"欧洲多数酒店不知道微信"。

The company plans to take over existing hotels in eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, which are hosting rising numbers of Chinese tourists. "We are much more flexible in our approach, the western brands are stricter in terms of where they can go," says Mr Paar.

该公司计划在捷克共和国等东欧国家收购现有酒店——这些国家接待的中国游客数量越来越多。帕尔表示："我们的做法要灵活得多，而西方品牌更加墨守成规。"

But he emphasises that the European branches are aiming for a "budget-premium" experience, a step above their domestic equivalents — where convenience noodles and bundles of disposable slippers come as standard.

但他强调，旗下欧洲酒店旨在提供"经济型优品"体验，标准要高于国内——在国内经济型酒店，方便面和一次性拖鞋包是标准配置。

"Western companies have always had problems attracting Chinese clientele. In the past, we thought you put congee on the buffet and slippers in the room, and that was it," Mr Paar says, adding: "A lot of Chinese travellers want a hearty breakfast."

帕尔表示："西方公司在吸引中国客户方面总是存在问题。在过去，我们认为在餐车上摆上粥、在房间里放上拖鞋就行了。"他补充称："现在许多中国游客想要丰盛的早餐。"