Original，In the expectations of many 188bet sports betting app download industry practitioners，The Spring Festival in 2020 should be a harvest season。But an epidemic changed the travel plans of more than 400 million people，It also brought huge losses to more than 10 million employees in the 188bet sports betting app download industry。

After Wuhan announced the "city closure" on January 23rd，Civil Aviation Administration、Railway Bureau、The Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download and other relevant departments issued notices one after another，Free refund within the required time、Stop group travel、Stop “flight + wine” services including outbound travel、The scenic spot is closed、Prohibition of group gatherings...every day、Announcement of every piece of information，For all those working in the 188bet sports betting app download industry，All have a huge impact。

During this period，Entrepreneurs have sleepless nights、Customer service staff work continuously for more than 12 hours a day、Scenic area practitioners want to cry but have no tears、188bet sports betting app download agency tour guides are waiting at home to resume work、While the OTA platform appeases users and suppliers, it also needs to continue to advance huge amounts of funds。

“There are more than 20,000 travel agencies across the country，400,000 to 500,000 employees，Over 100,000 hotels，Nearly 1 million accommodation facilities，Everything came to a standstill almost overnight。Overall calculation，The 188bet sports betting app download industry alone lost 1 trillion in GDP during the Spring Festival。Hotel、Scenic Spot Merchant、There are more than 10 million employees in airlines and other industries，will be in the next three days、No work for four months。" Wu Zhixiang, founder of Tongcheng Group, said in a public welfare live broadcast。

For the 188bet sports betting app download industry，Due to population agglomeration、Seasonal、Sociality and other factors influence，Spring Festival travel and 188bet sports betting app download can basically account for about 1/4 of the annual revenue of travel companies。According to data released by China 188bet sports betting app download Academy，The total number of tourists received nationwide during the Spring Festival holiday in 2019 4.1.5 billion people，Realized 188bet sports betting app download revenue of 513.9 billion yuan。

"If based on optimistic estimates，60% reduction in three-month harvest period，The three-month recovery period is calculated by reducing it by 30%，The national 188bet sports betting app download industry is expected to lose nearly 3 trillion yuan this year。" Wu Bihu, director of the 188bet sports betting app download Research and Planning Center of Peking University, said in an interview with the media。

Everyone knows，After the epidemic，The 188bet sports betting app download industry will definitely usher in a “retaliatory” outbreak and growth。But according to Tsinghua、Data display from Peking University joint survey，34% of small and medium-sized enterprises have account balances that can only last for 1 month，33.1% of businesses can last for 2 months，17.91% of companies can last for 3 months。

The time that the balance 188bet sports betting app download account of small and medium-sized enterprises can be maintained Source /China-Europe Business Review

The leading platform launched a low-interest loan plan for suppliers、Investors said this is a good opportunity for companies to practice their internal skills and think calmly、Practitioners rethink business models and focus on online activities。At the same time，Many interviewees also expressed to Ran Finance，They are planning to communicate with the Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download，Requesting more support and assistance from the government。

"Spring will always come"，188bet sports betting app download agony of waiting，They are struggling to save themselves，While comforting myself。

Sudden 188bet sports betting app download

January 23，51BOOK CEO Yang Rui is still working 188bet sports betting app download company。

As an online ticket booking platform with an annual transaction volume of approximately 4 billion，51BOOK had nearly 20 million transactions on that day，Monthly KPI has been completed ahead of schedule，He and his employees also held a small celebration ceremony 188bet sports betting app download company。Under the premise that the company’s overall business will maintain a 40% growth in 2019，They are full of expectations for 2020。

But all the joy and expectations came to an abrupt end on the night 188bet sports betting app download 23rd。

The evening of January 23rd，The Civil Aviation Administration of China announced that it will start from the 24th，Passengers who have previously purchased civil aviation tickets can voluntarily refund their tickets for free。At that time, Yang Rui and many practitioners in the industry urgently formed a WeChat group，Hurryly discussing countermeasures in the group。“At that time we only knew that we could no longer do business，There will be a large number of teams canceling their tickets，The original idea of ​​making money during the peak season during the Spring Festival completely failed，Maybe this is not a matter of losing money，But we must consider the issue 188bet sports betting app download survival 188bet sports betting app download enterprise。"Yang Rui said。

Before January 25th，Yang Wei, the founder of a parent-child travel OTA platform in Sichuan, and many suppliers are preparing for the arrival of the Spring Festival crowd。Based on last year’s estimate，On the platform, nearly 80,000 people moved during the Spring Festival in the Sichuan 188bet sports betting app download market alone，Temple Fair、Festival of Lights、Parent-child activities are ready，Ready to go。

A little later than the ticket platform，On the 25th, Yang Wei and his suppliers received an emergency call directly 188bet sports betting app download the local government。The message conveyed by the phone is，Since January 25th，All scenic spots and cultural and radio and television venues in Sichuan Province are temporarily closed，And at the same time stop large-scale mass gatherings, etc.。

2019，Yang Wei’s company’s revenue is about 200 million yuan，As planned，The revenue during the golden period 188bet sports betting app download Spring Festival will account for 30% 188bet sports betting app download entire year's revenue。“When we first received news about the epidemic，I didn’t expect it to be so serious，On the 23rd, I just dealt with some situations in the Wuhan branch。”New Year’s Eve evening，Family eating New Year’s Eve dinner，Yang Wei stayed alone in the room and called to deal with the problem。

Similar to Yang Wei，Go buy tickets after CEO Zhang Hanfeng saw the news of Wuhan’s “city closure” in Moments on the 23rd，Thinking "Oops，Hubei scenic spots 188bet sports betting app download definitely not be open for business”。As a startup company that provides management SAAS software for scenic spots，After 4 years of hard work，They already have more than 2,400 scenic spot customers。Three days before the Spring Festival，Their daily trading volume is 1.About 200 million yuan。

After the notice 188bet sports betting app download closure 188bet sports betting app download scenic spot was issued on the 25th，Customers who went to buy tickets began to close the attractions，Users also began to refund tickets one after another。On the 26th, their daily turnover has dropped to more than 4 million yuan，“My heart is cold”，Zhang Hanfeng said，“We have a customer who is doing temple fairs in Hebei，The initial investment of more than 200 million was wasted，There was even a customer from the Huahai Scenic Spot who collapsed directly，Everyone was dumbfounded。”

For the 188bet sports betting app download industry，Dense crowds、Timeliness is very important，"Even if the epidemic is over，No one can take 7 consecutive days off，For scenic spots，Time is money，The entire loss is irreversible。"Zhang Hanfeng said。

Because the coverage area is wider，Large OTAs respond faster than 188bet sports betting app download practitioners。

January 20，Mafengwo founder Chen Gang is still handling the year-end inventory of some key projects 188bet sports betting app download company，At that time, reports about the epidemic appeared 188bet sports betting app download media，Although "the public's understanding of epidemic areas is still at the initial stage"，But Chen Gang realized that “this epidemic is not that simple”，That night，Chen Gang also emphatically confirmed the customer service during the Spring Festival、Duty status of technical and other departments。

Chen Gangcheng，When I flew home on the 21st，I saw many people at Capital Airport already wearing masks，The number of private messages on his personal Weibo that day was almost 20 times the usual number，Company customer service data is 188bet sports betting app download displayed，The number of calls is rising rapidly。

Investors in multiple 188bet sports betting app download projects、You Qingji, partner of Yuantai Evergreen Fund，January 21，He has already started communicating with some of the major companies he has invested in，Remind everyone that the epidemic may have a huge impact on the 188bet sports betting app download industry，Be prepared for the worst。

The person in charge of relevant business of Ctrip told Rancaijing，They have started to activate internal warning on January 20th，The name 188bet sports betting app download early warning WeChat group with usually more than 20 people was changed to "Wuhan Pneumonia Early Warning"。Noon on the 21st，Ctrip released a “special cancellation policy” in response to the epidemic。After，Meituan、Flying Pig、Tongcheng Yilong、Mafengwo and others followed suit。

From January 23rd，The entire 188bet sports betting app download industry seems to have pressed the "pause" and "hard mode" buttons。

Millions of canceled 188bet sports betting app download

“Can’t react at all，The epidemic is developing too fast”，Meng Lei, founder of Huang Charter Travel 188bet sports betting app download。

January 24，The Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download announced the suspension of all group tours and "air + wine" 188bet sports betting app download products。January 26，The Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download announced the suspension of all group tours, including outbound tours, and "air + wine" services，"Starting from the 24th，The entire 188bet sports betting app download industry is starting to stay awake，Busy refund。" Meng Lei said。

From January 24th to 27th，“Catching day and night，Still in a meeting with a job in hand，" Meng Lei wanted to cry as he spoke，“Everyone goes to bed at four or five 188bet sports betting app download morning，Get up again around eight or nine 188bet sports betting app download morning。”For the main business is overseas Chinese airport pick-up and drop-off、Chartered car、In terms of royal chartered car travel for customized tours，I need to communicate with overseas partners at night，Communicate with customers during the day，"Everyone is in a state of near collapse"。

“Do you know what it feels like when you reply to WeChat every day and your fingers feel hot？And the travel agencies and other merchants we cooperate with ask me in every message: Why don’t they give us a refund？What 188bet sports betting app download we do if there is no refund？" Meng Lei said。

From the first to the third year of junior high school，Zhang Hanfeng, who originally had only 11 people on duty，Temporarily mobilize employees to work from home，Refunded more than 3 million scenic spot tickets，“At that time, our R&D personnel were used as after-sales service，All stay online，Proactively contact customers to see if they need us to help them with batch refunds 188bet sports betting app download background”，Just a few days，The daily turnover for buying tickets starts from 1.200 million dropped to more than 100,000 yuan，"Cliff drop"。

Yang Ruisheng，The number of refunds they received on the first day 188bet sports betting app download new year was about 15,000，Doubled in the third grade of junior high school，By the sixth day 188bet sports betting app download Lunar New Year, their daily backlog of refunded tickets had exceeded 60,000，Involving hundreds of millions of funds。

“For the entire 188bet sports betting app download industry and all of China，This situation is unprecedented。"Chen Gang told Rancaijing。In addition to mobilizing the entire company to alleviate customer service pressure，He himself even replied to most of the private messages from users on Weibo，On the one hand, help them with the cancellation and change operations，On the one hand, strive for their understanding and support，“Only three to four hours of sleep a day。”

For OTA platforms，Earlier，They have begun to feel the pressure of canceling orders。The evening of January 20th，Leader 188bet sports betting app download National Health Commission’s high-level expert group、Zhong Nanshan, an academician 188bet sports betting app download Chinese Academy of Engineering, revealed for the first time in an interview with CCTV News: "According to the current information，There is definitely human-to-human transmission of novel coronavirus pneumonia。”After the interview aired，Customer service phone number、Cancellations started coming in instantly。

“In the beginning, hotel refunds were a single negotiation，Customer calls in，We will negotiate with the hotel”，Ctrip CEO Sun Jiesheng。As the epidemic develops，The scope 188bet sports betting app download impact soon expanded from Wuhan to the whole country，Customer service hotline is fully occupied，“When I first started measuring，Thousands of people queued online，Everyone is cursing why Ctrip calls can’t be made”，The name 188bet sports betting app download person in charge of Ctrip related business。

On the 22nd, Ctrip launched the hotel’s “Safe Cancellation Guarantee” program overnight，Allow users to cancel online by themselves，No need to go through manual customer service。For these participating hotels，Ctrip promises to highlight them 188bet sports betting app download main APP，After the epidemic is over，The grant includes the post-epidemic "Love Hotel" label and billions of marketing resources，There are currently 400,000 hotels participating in this program。

The business had not yet spread overseas，“But we also made assumptions，Contacted almost all major hotel groups，188bet sports betting app download end, six major global groups were the first to join，Other overseas local hotels will also follow suit”，Sun Jie said。

As understood，During the Spring Festival, the peak value of Fliggy platform’s customer service hotline reached 10 times that 188bet sports betting app download same period last year。Data from Ctrip is also displayed，Total number of refund and change requests received by Ctrip platform as of January 29、The total number of inquiries has reached millions，Compared to last year’s Spring Festival，Increase reaches 405%，The increase reached 650% at the highest peak，The average working hours of customer service is 13 hours。The relevant person in charge of Tongcheng Yilong said，In response to the wave of unsubscriptions caused by the epidemic，Almost all available customer service manpower of Tongcheng Yilong is on duty。

But these still cannot alleviate the pressure on customer service 188bet sports betting app download millions of returned orders。

“Relevant departments launched 11 various policies in a row within days after the outbreak，Every time it will trigger a new wave of cancellations and changes to orders，The number of orders has doubled，It will take time to complete all processing”，The name 188bet sports betting app download person in charge of Ctrip，“Due to the special nature of free refund，Submitted from、Review and then refund，Requires a certain amount of screening time，When the number of unsubscriptions suddenly explodes，Airlines and other related companies have not even had time to formulate policies，The backlog of reviews is accumulated，It will only take longer。”

"Many customer service staff before answering the phone，188bet sports betting app download take the headphones away from the ears first，Explain after the customer finishes scolding，Some customer service staff 188bet sports betting app download even refund users themselves first”，The above person in charge said，Until now，"Subject to grounding by overseas airlines、The impact of various governments’ policies to restrict the entry of Chinese citizens，The demand for international ticket refunds and changes remains high，It is expected to take 1 to 2 weeks to complete。”

Self-rescue, self-rescue, self-rescue

Cancellation of orders still not stopped，The 188bet sports betting app download is temporarily suspended，Cash flow is the focus of all companies at this time。

Previously，Qunar.com CEO Chen Gang 188bet sports betting app download in an interview with the media，“Nowadays, not only the platform’s cash flow is tight，Agents and even airlines are also in a tight situation”，Qunar.com’s various business lines have advanced nearly one billion yuan for instant refunds for consumers，Chen Gang 188bet sports betting app download that Mafengwo’s advance payment for consumers’ cancellations has exceeded 500 million yuan。

Yang Weize said，If the company still cannot operate normally after 6 months，Preparing to start the company liquidation process。“The funds of upstream and downstream enterprises 188bet sports betting app download industry are almost completely locked up，Pessimism、Anxiety、Helplessness is spreading to every tourist。"Yang Rui said。

In view 188bet sports betting app download difficulties faced by various industries，Local governments have begun to introduce subsidies and support policies，But many interviewees said，It is still difficult for these policies to be implemented quickly。

“We can only save ourselves first,” Yang Wei 188bet sports betting app download.

Starting from January 26th，Yang Wei summoned company executives，Continuous online meetings，And sent an email to all employees on January 30th，Notice to optimize company employees，Suspension of new business planned for 2020，Employees who can be transferred can choose to be transferred，Otherwise you choose to resign。“There is nothing we can do，If you don’t do this，The company 188bet sports betting app download be finished immediately。”Currently，His company has optimized nearly 1/3 of its personnel。

On the other hand，Yang Wei’s company used to rely more on offline services，Now consider slowly transforming the 188bet sports betting app download online，Develop some products according to the needs of C-side users，“Make some changes to the original 188bet sports betting app download model。”

After processing almost all the company’s return orders on January 28，Meng Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief，Start thinking about how to save yourself、How to arrange employees、How to pay wages、How to repay bank loan、How to raise funds and other issues。“188bet sports betting app download January 28 to now，My daily job is to talk to investors、Partner、Employees chat nonstop”。

"Currently banks may be able to postpone loan repayments，But most 188bet sports betting app download partners are from abroad，Difficult to communicate”，Meng Lei said，"Discuss with employees about delayed salary payment，Some employees told me that their family just gave birth to their second child a few months ago，How dare you say anything at this time？I can only say that I sent it to you。Can you still say the second sentence？You can’t say。”

Although Huang Charter Travel has completed the C+ round of financing、There are more than a dozen investors，But "the possibility of investors taking action is very low at present，Because they have hundreds of investment projects，Who to help and who not to help？" Meng Lei 188bet sports betting app download，In this process，The most uncomfortable thing for him is，“If some things can be changed through hard work，We can still work hard。But now there is no gap left for us。”

You Qingji also thinks so，Basically all investments in the 188bet sports betting app download industry will be frozen in the first half of the year，No one dares to take action，Even if someone takes action，It is also a company with cash flow in other industries，But at that time “it was an acquisition, not an investment”。“For 188bet sports betting app download enterprises，If this process is very painful，I suggest selling as soon as possible if there is a chance of being acquired”，You Qingji said。

Zhang Hanfeng’s current self-help method is to help scenic spots do discounted pre-sales，Recover part 188bet sports betting app download cash flow；Or there are IP-based scenic spots，Can be done through online marketing or interactive games，Come to acquire customers。For different categories，Go to buy tickets and divide customers into different categories，Indoor、Outdoor、Activity theme、Skiing, etc.，Give them different activity plans。"Only your customers are online，Company can be online only”。

In an internal letter sent to employees by Huazhu Group founder Ji Qi on February 2，Ji Qicheng，The current response of Huazhu is not to lay off employees、Discourage store closures, etc.。However, this response is based on the assumption that the epidemic 188bet sports betting app download basically end or be effectively controlled in about 2-3 months。

Ji Qicheng，Under normal circumstances，The labor cost of front-line employees in Huazhu stores is about 6,000 yuan per person per month，100,000 employees，600 million per month。If the epidemic worsens，Or the epidemic lasts for more than 3 months，Huazhu may need further adjustments on employment issues。For example, adjusting days off、Partially working、Only basic salary 188bet sports betting app download be paid、Suspend payment of social pension insurance, etc.。

Go on, live on

Meanwhile，The leading platform is also doing its best for the 188bet sports betting app download。

After nationwide demand for unsubscriptions begins，Ctrip launched a 100 million guarantee fund plan。After the Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download announced the nationwide suspension of domestic and overseas group tours and "air tickets + hotel" semi-self-guided travel products on January 26th，Ctrip raises the amount of protection fund to 200 million，Ctrip offline such products before February 29，Free travel that has already placed an order before、Have fun、Use a car、Customized tour、Scenic spots and other products will be returned without loss。Consumer refunds will be paid in advance by Ctrip，Supplier submits supporting materials based on its own losses，Ctrip bears the loss of the cost；January 29，Ctrip announced that it will restrict its 8,000 Ctrip travel agency franchise stores，Announcement of three-month management fee reduction，Deferred task quota。

Some practitioners said，Proof of loss required by Ctrip from suppliers，It is difficult for suppliers to provide，And I am worried that Ctrip will not refund real money but refund it 188bet sports betting app download form of advertising fees，“But I can’t survive that day and my cash flow has been cut off。” Ctrip said，Proof of loss materials are used to help suppliers determine losses，Not difficult to provide，such as air tickets、Hotels etc. have reservation proof。

Some practitioners also said，OTAs pursue “doing everything possible to unsubscribe without loss”，Is pursuing more corporate social responsibility，In fact, it has raised the operating threshold 188bet sports betting app download entire industry，It will also allow the relationship between suppliers and platforms，Start long-term collision and communication on new rules。

February 5，Ctrip announced to open air tickets on its platform、Hotel、Partners in 188bet sports betting app download, vacation and other fields launch “comrades” program，Includes 10 specific measures，Invest 1 billion yuan in partner support funds and 10 billion yuan in small and micro loans，Help suppliers advance refunds for users，To relieve its financial pressure；February 6，Huazhu Group announces emergency opening of low-interest loans，For hotels that have been open for more than one year and are still in operation，Huazhu can provide low-interest loan support of up to 500,000 yuan per store。

For many people in the 188bet sports betting app download industry，How to solve the immediate livelihood problem is also a big problem。A travel agency founder said，“Tour guides basically have no basic salary，Some old tour guides can make a living selling specialties at home，The new tour guide may not have any income，”Some people also said，“This industry is too dependent on the weather，Even want to change careers”。And on February 5th，The Ministry of Culture and 188bet sports betting app download launched a plan to temporarily refund part of the 188bet sports betting app download service quality deposit to travel agencies，For those in the travel agency industry，It is undoubtedly a good thing。

In Liang Jianzhang’s view，The first stage of the 188bet sports betting app download industry in the epidemic situation，is processing user services、The stage of following up massive orders；The second stage is the bleak period，"How to ensure the stability of the team and the company's financial status，Is the problem that enterprises need to face at this stage。"Liang Jianzhang said。

During the SARS period 17 years ago，Ctrip retains almost all employees，Operation based on employee rotation，At the same time，Take advantage of the downturn in business，Ctrip has conducted a large amount of internal training and business process optimization，Improve employees’ capabilities。In the first month after SARS ended，The 188bet sports betting app download industry has ushered in “retaliatory growth”。December of that year，Ctrip successfully rings the bell on Nasdaq。

“Refer to the situation of SARS，The 188bet sports betting app download industry will definitely experience a business blowout after the epidemic。But before that, some companies’ business operations will be suspended and funds will be cut off，Every aspect is testing the comprehensive strength of the enterprise itself。"Yang Rui said。

For 51BOOK，The “upgrade and downgrade” policy 188bet sports betting app download air ticket agency industry in 2015，The impact is even greater than this epidemic。“The impact on the industry was no less than an earthquake，2/3 188bet sports betting app download companies have basically been eliminated，The epidemic is only a phased event。51BOOK’s financing against the market trend in 2015 4.3.8 billion RMB，Currently the company still has hundreds of millions in cash。Theoretically, as long as we stabilize our business，Serve customers well、Keep，At least one year。

Yang Rui told Rancaijing，From this epidemic，They also found that the company had many areas that needed reflection。For example, the processing estimate for business peaks is not enough、Some business sectors have insufficient risk resistance capabilities, etc.，“In the future, we will strengthen cross-industry investment layout and overseas business investment in our business，To hedge the risks of the 188bet sports betting app download industry。”

“For many travel companies，This epidemic is also a litmus test”，You Qingji thinks。In his opinion，Cash flow management in the 188bet sports betting app download industry because there are a large number of prepayments and advance receipts，More complicated，Different from the general manufacturing and service industries，"Founder of the 188bet sports betting app download industry，Most people don’t understand the concept of free cash flow，Many startups that failed in the past five years also died at this point”，You Qingji said，"As it is now，If the epidemic still cannot be effectively controlled，Even large companies may not be able to sustain their cash flow for half a year。”

Wu Zhixiang said in the public welfare live class，"SARS" period，When all offline travel stores are closed，Tongcheng has become a platform where 188bet sports betting app download practitioners like to log in and gather。“Crisis is equal to every enterprise，A considerable number of companies will die during wildfire burning，But only trees with stronger vitality，It is possible for it to grow new buds。”

The evening of January 27th，After basically processing all the company’s return orders，Meng Lei finally has time to face the current situation 188bet sports betting app download company，“When people are busy，Only focusing on organizing refunds for everyone，But after the problem is basically solved，When starting to count the money on hand，I basically collapsed”。

Huang Charter Travel established in 2014，Coming to the present amid doubts and many difficulties，Just started making profits in February 2019。Meng Lei originally thought，2020 188bet sports betting app download be a harvest year for the company。

Midnight that day，35-year-old Meng Lei kneels on the ground in his hometown in Shandong，Looking back on the years since starting a business at the age of 20，Feeling mixed emotions，I choked with grievance and exhaustion for a long time。January 28，He got on the high-speed train back to Beijing，Thinking "I have to carry on no matter what"，One day is a day if you can carry 188bet sports betting app download。”

Although we haven’t seen “that crack” that can solve the problem，But he is still trying to find various solutions。“The epidemic will affect the 188bet sports betting app download in stages，But it won’t destroy the 188bet sports betting app download，Because the demand is still there、The pain point is still there、The opportunity is still there。All we can do now is recharge our batteries、Practice your internal strength well，Waiting for the ‘retaliatory’ rebound opportunity of universal travel after the epidemic。" Meng Lei said。

At the request 188bet sports betting app download interviewee, Yang Wei’s pseudonym is used in the article.

*Source of 188bet sports betting app download article: WeChat public 188bet sports betting app download “Rancaijing” (ID: rancaijing)，Author: Kong Mingming，Original title: "The 188bet sports betting app download industry’s “horrifying” 15 days》.