Before 2019，Many companies in the hotel industry believe that with the increase in residents’ income levels and the emergence of consumption upgrade trends，The era of rapid development of budget hotel chains in China is over。One time，Whether it is a foreign-funded hotel or a local hotel，Efforts are being made to lay out the mid-range market。

However, the epidemic that broke out at the beginning of the year impacted the domestic economy，The hotel industry bears the brunt。In the process，一、Second-tier cities have a large floating population，Difficult to manage，Social operations are recovering slowly。Dan San、Fourth-tier cities recovered relatively quickly，So sink three、The fourth tier has become an important strategy for Huazhu Group to deeply explore the Chinese market this year。

Famous space designer、Zhou Guangming, Chief Product Officer of Huazhu Group，The future of budget hotels will still be full of hope。He said，in the country，The budget hotel market has a demand of nearly 1 billion people，But many peers are gradually ignoring 188bet app download the importance of this market。

According to Huazhu Group’s second quarter financial report this year，The occupancy rate of the group’s hotels is 68.8%，Significant improvement year-on-year in the first quarter。Hanting accounts for nearly 40% of the number of Huazhu Group hotels，Average occupancy rate has returned to 80%-85%。

In this context，Hanting, the budget hotel brand of Huazhu Group, is undergoing product upgrade——3.Version 5 will be fully rolled out soon。Zhou Guangming thinks，Once Huazhu Group’s iterative new products form a network，Within two years，Foreign budget hotels are no match in terms of cost performance，Huazhu will become the world’s strongest budget hotel brand。

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"21st Century": Present，188bet app The domestic hotel industry has entered the stage of stock competition，Transformation and upgrading have become the only way。As the operator of the iterative upgrade of Hanting under Huazhu Group，What do you think of hotel product iterations？What are the driving forces behind it？

Zhou Guangming: I think product iteration is inevitable。Products change with people’s lifestyles and needs。In the Internet era，Our lifestyle is quietly changing，Our knowledge structure、Lifestyle habits、The way of thinking is changing，So product iteration is inevitable。I think this phenomenon is natural，Unless your brand does not pursue sustainable development。If you want to continue operating sustainably，You must adapt to this market。The market is business，The value of business is to create value for your customers，Meet customer needs，Customers can make you money。

The first driving force for hotel iterative upgrades is changes in lifestyle，Even though what I just said。The second one is the user’s preference，For example, we like Apple products，But Apple is still iterating，Why？Users’ aesthetic fatigue，Enterprises need to provide users with a sense of freshness。

The reason why Huazhu spends so much money to create product iterations，Just to create business value。We must meet the needs of our customers，Make them like it、Use Huazhu’s hotel。

"21st Century": As far as we know，This Hanting 3.Version 5 has been significantly upgraded compared to the past，In what specific aspects？

Zhou Guangming: After more than ten years of development, budget hotels，The industry has encountered consumption upgrades。Since then，Almost all hotel groups have begun to deploy in the mid-to-high-end field。But at the same time，Almost few companies create a better experience for economical users。

The previous iterations of Hanting were just the superposition of functions、Cost optimization，But 3 released this time.Version 5 is an important turning point for Huazhu Group to achieve the "Return of the King"，That is, we want to pass 3.Version 5 once again returns to the economical market center。

In China，The budget hotel market has a demand of nearly 1 billion people，But many hotel groups have gradually ignored 188bet app download the importance of this market。When the development of budget hotel products is relatively stable or even slightly downhill，We need to reinstall it with "new rockets"。In this process，Our 3.Version 5 adds two "weapons": the first one adds intelligent elements，Internet intelligence allows labor costs and management costs to be effectively controlled；The second one is to increase the appearance，But beauty does not necessarily require money，Sometimes you spend more money but it does not meet the positioning of a budget hotel，So our designers focus on designing beauty at a low cost。

"21st Century": You just mentioned that the Han court was in 3.In version 5, intelligence and appearance are emphasized，So in terms of intelligence，Hanting 3.What specific applications are implemented in version 5？

Zhou Guangming: Hanting 3.The intelligence of version 5 is not a gimmick，To bring convenience to users。Let me give you an example，As soon as the customer comes in，We have self-check in、Room of your choice，It can help customers complete check-in more quickly and conveniently while protecting personal privacy。Also，We have set up food delivery、Water Delivery、Intelligent robot that delivers goods(15.700, 0.51, 3.36%)，Reduce labor costs。The robot’s error rate is extremely low，I won’t complain about long working hours。We also have smart robot phone service，The robot intelligently asks customers about check-in, check-out, etc.，Greatly improved service efficiency。In addition，TV smart projection、Smart call front desk、The combination of different smart products such as lighting control will greatly improve our customer experience。

"21st Century": If it is too intelligent，Guests staying in the hotel lack human service，Would it make him feel a lack of humanity？

Zhou Guangming: We might have argued about this issue ten years ago。But to this day，When smartphones become popular，We have adapted to an intelligent lifestyle。And we enjoy the convenience brought to us by intelligence。Actually, it is in the budget hotel level，The fewer people’s services, the better。Because we will not spend money to hire high-end service personnel，Machines will make us feel more comfortable。

188bet sports betting app download "21st Century": the aspect of intelligence，The economical positioning determines that the fewer people’s services, the better。But now the market is sinking，Many consumers may not be very familiar with this type of intelligent application，How to make some balance？

Zhou Guangming: Let’s sink to three、four、Fifth-tier cities，Do you want the product to be changed？My answer is no。Because intelligent technology has turned the whole world into the same space。

First，Our products are not only for third- and fourth-tier people，People from the first and second tiers come to third and fourth tier cities，He will choose our products，Because of trust，Enjoy the same products in third- and fourth-tier cities as in first-tier cities。In addition to intelligence，We also have manual services，We will try to serve people who cannot effectively use smart devices for the time being。

"21st Century": You just mentioned Hanting 3.The beauty of version 5 is not built with money。Then，It is very difficult to spend limited money to design a budget hotel with beauty。What do you think are the challenges behind this？

Zhou Guangming: I think the biggest challenge is the design and production process。In design，We have to use limited materials，Find the best solution that allows everyone to feel the performance of our design。We know how to use color、More gentle arc corners and warm lighting create the beauty of the entire space。In addition，The production process is also very important，It is necessary to control costs，But also to ensure quality。To solve this problem，We use modular design extensively，Replace humans with robots。

Cost-performance is the biggest advantage of Hanting version 3.5

"21st Century": You mentioned that there is a demand for budget hotels now by 1 billion people，How do you think the experience can be upgraded without increasing the price？ Hanting 3.Is the overall investment in version 5 lower than some previous versions？

Zhou Guangming: There are two ways not to increase the price: first，Quantity is large enough，Small profits but quick turnover - enough hotels，The price will remain unchanged。In the past we might open hundreds of stores a year，Now via modular design，We can open 500 stores a year。188bet app download Five hundred stores equals 50,000 more rooms。At this time，Costs can be controlled。

Second，Control costs。Cost includes labor cost、Operating costs and production costs。Production costs and operating costs can be reduced through extensive use of factory modular design。

On the other hand，Factory production will reduce product costs。Moreover，The use of intelligent robots greatly improves service efficiency，Reduced labor costs。We use these ways to reduce the cost、Control costs，No price increase until reached。

Hanting 3.The investment for version 5 will definitely be lower in the future。It’s early days，The cost is slightly higher。But I think this model expands to after the first 300 to 500 stores，Our costs will be optimized。To 4.At version 0，I think our cost will be the same as 2.7 version、3.Version 0 remains in a similar state。

"21st Century": As you said，Some hotel groups are reducing their investment in economy，And Hanting hopes to pass 3.Version 5 "The Return of the King"。Then，How can this version make more consumers return to this brand？

Zhou Guangming: Hanting 3.Version 5 focuses on cost-effectiveness，Use cost-effectiveness to regain customers’ confidence in Hanting。Customers can get a good product experience at a relatively low price，So we need to change quickly，Let 3.Version 5 is everywhere。Differences in brand products will damage customers’ experience with the brand，So within the next two years，Hanting 2.Product lines below version 7 will basically be eliminated。

Through unique price/performance ratio，We can even bring guests from all seasons。Although our two brands belong to the Huazhu Group，But we can also "force" and continue to move forward throughout the season。

We want “The Return of the King”，Because it has been silent for too long。Like the whole season in 3.After version 0 is successful，Launch 3.Version 5、4.version 0，in 6 years、7 years，Iterated three times。But our Hanting is in a downhill place，We want to pull it up like a tick，It takes a lot of effort。

We must first expand our store quickly，The second is to quickly achieve product consistency，Put 1.version 0、2.Version 0 is quickly phased out。So these two 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino years are actually a critical period for our Hanting，This is a challenge。

Hanting now has more than 2,600 stores，Actually, the "ship" is quite big，We need to put in a lot of effort，This is how you can hook yourself up。But small profits but quick turnover，Once we form a network，That is, if there are 5,000 Hantings 3.Version 5 or even 4.version 0，Within two years，Foreign budget hotels will not be our rivals in terms of cost performance，We will become the strongest budget hotel brand in the world。

"21st Century": Therefore, Hanting's future expansion plan is 5,000 stores？

Zhou Guangming: We are doing it，Will be rolled out soon，It is expected to reach 10,000 stores by 2028.Until then，Look at Hanting again，We allow many people to spend the same money and enjoy a different life。