There is an unwritten consensus in the 188bet industry，“100 hotels” is considered to be a “threshold” in the development of 188bet chains，After crossing this threshold，Only when hotels can achieve large-scale operations。

From an economic perspective，When the 188bet reaches a certain scale，The operating cost of a single store begins to decrease，Total profit begins to rise。simultaneously，100 188bet is beginning to take shape，The starting point of transforming from quantity advantage to brand advantage。

2016，Huazhu and Accor signed a strategic alliance agreement，Successfully promoted the strong development of a series of cooperative hotel brands in the Chinese market，Mercury is one of them。2021，With the opening of the 100th 188bet hotel in China - 188bet Nanjing Railway Station，This "Chinese-French" hotel has crossed the 100-store milestone，Entering a period of rapid growth。

A time in the afternoon recently，Huazhu Group Global High-end Hotel Division Intercity&Mr. Gu Lin, CEO of 188bet Brand，Exclusive interview with the author，From his answer，We extracted the product、Service、Standardization、Localization and other keywords，And try to answer the following questions:

How did 188bet achieve its current development results?

Relying on the advantage of "mixed blood"，Meju’s future strategy，What has changed and what remains unchanged？

As Huazhu’s “Everest Base Camp” aiming at mid- to high-end products，What obligations and roles will 188bet assume?？

Intercity&Meju brandCEO Mr. 188bet

Meju’s 188bet “Acceleration”

2016，Huazhu and Accor signed a strategic alliance agreement，Huazhu is responsible for the 188bet brand in mainland China、Development and operation in Taiwan, China and Mongolia。At that time，Sino-foreign cooperative hotel brands are the trend of the industry，Plateno joins hands with Hilton to develop Hampton by Hilton brand in China，Marriott authorizes Dongcheng to manage cooperation with Wanfeng brand, etc.。Cooperating with international brands，Become a "key" for local hotel groups to get rid of anxiety and leverage the mid-to-high-end market。

The reason，A major premise is，Economic development boosts consumption upgrade，Budget hotels show weak growth，The mid- to high-end 188bet market has broad growth prospects。Public information display，Since 2016，The growth of budget 188bet chains has declined significantly，Growth is only 12.4%，The annual growth rate of contract signings for mid-range and above hotels continues to maintain an increase of more than 25%。

Also，Local 188bet giants mostly started as budget hotels，At development speed、Has advantages in localization，Leverage the brand advantages and business philosophy of international giants，Able to quickly implement mid- to high-end brands in China。

In Gu Lin’s opinion，International brands entering China mostly focus on luxury hotels，Leading to a tilt in resources and focus。"Be a luxury 188bet，The annual management fee may be 600 to 8 million，Build a mid-range or mid- to high-end 188bet，Management fee is about one to two million。From the perspective of group investment，The difference in resource investment will not be too big，The return of the latter is much lower than that of the former。”Under profit orientation，International brands pay more attention to investment in high-end luxury hotels，The development of mid-range or mid-to-high-end hotels has been ignored to a certain extent。

Huazhu targets this market gap and industry pain points，Lead 188bet into a period of accelerated development in China。Public information display，The 188bet Shanghai Hongqiao Hub opened in September 2016，With the support of Huazhu and AccorHotels dual channels，The room is continuously full after only one month after opening，The ratio of Chinese and foreign guests is about 7:3。2019，The total number of 188bet hotels opened in China exceeds 50。CEO Gu Lin took office in June 2019，Within one year，More than 30 188bet newly opened hotels。Entering 2021，The number of 188bet hotels opened in China officially exceeded 100，Among them 4 months，Meju opened its doors in Chengdu astonishingly、Urumqi、9 stores including Shijiazhuang，Mercury Beijing Zhongguancun RevPAR in May (average actual operating revenue per available room for rent)，It reached 660 yuan。

Mercury 188bet Room

To complete the goal of opening multiple hotels in a short period of time，First of all, we need to find an owner who is willing to invest，Secondly, it tests the hotel’s supply chain system。The advantage of Huazhu lies in standardization，“We have reached an agreement with Accor，Start with product，Make 188bet a standardized product，Based on standardization，Integrate personalized design,” Gu Lin said。

Leverage Huazhu’s supply chain advantages，Single room cost of 188bet Hotel、Construction time and cost have been significantly reduced。Gu Lin gave an example，“A certain international big-name mattress has become the standard equipment of 188bet，One piece 1.The price of an 8-meter mattress in the retail market is about 6,000,000 yuan or more，The price of purchasing goods through Huazhu’s supply chain can be reduced to about 1,400 yuan。”From mattresses to soundproof doors and windows，Even toiletries，Meju can always get the best quality products at the most affordable price，Reduce hotel costs to the greatest extent。

Standardized products and modular furniture，And strong central procurement capabilities，Can significantly shorten the construction period，Saving time and cost。Gu Lin once made calculations in media interviews，Assuming that Shanghai property rent is 5 yuan/square meter，The monthly rental cost is 2 million，Standard products through 188bet，Shortening 2 months can save 4 million in rental costs。

After the epidemic，The advantages of 188bet are more prominent。Gu Lin said，In 188bet’s opened hotels，Except 15 self-operated stores，Over 53% of the properties are self-owned，Based on real estate background。Past，Hotel investment led by real estate，Pay more attention to reputation (face)，Instead of profit (里子)。Post-epidemic era，Tightening control policies，Investors with real estate background are turning to the pursuit of profitability。In this context，Meju has the reputation of an international brand，There is Huazhu traffic again、Technology、Profitability given by efficiency，Easier to be favored by investors。

Localization decoding of international brands

“Before the epidemic，More than 90% of our customers，Is Chinese，must use Chinese、Decoding brands from an Eastern perspective，Moving foreign products directly here will definitely be a dead end。”When talking about the operation of international brands in China，188bet emphasized the localization of products。

Detailed to 188bet，The localization focuses on customers、Three major aspects of products and operations。Among them，Customer localization is a prerequisite。As a Sino-foreign cooperative hotel，Most of 188bet’s customers are Chinese，And this trend will become more obvious after the epidemic。According to Gu Lin，During the epidemic，The proportion of foreign customers in all 188bet stores dropped to about 1%。

Hand-painted murals at 188bet Hotel

Under the premise of customer localization，Meju retains French tonality，Comprehensive localization transformation of products。In terms of overall decoration，Highlight French genes through Morandi colors and furnishings，Remaining restrained and not too abrupt。In 188bet’s words，"Put it in France，It’s definitely not French enough，But in China，It just feels like France。”

Mercury 188bet Lobby Public Area

While retaining Western-style catering，Localized food、Localized drinks and handicrafts have also become the three major features of the 188bet brand，Shanghai 188bet’s handmade wontons，Xi’an 188bet’s Roujiamo、芊子面，Chengdu 188bet’s Dan Dan Noodles、Zhong Dumplings，Arctic Ocean at 188bet Beijing、Zhajiang noodles，Suzhou 188bet’s Suzhou-style red noodle soup...the catering feature of “one city, one delicious food”，Further promoted the localization transformation of Meju products。

Another important localization of 188bet，Reflected at the operational and commercial levels。Compared to international hotels，Local brands tend to quickly adapt to environmental changes and make adjustments。After the epidemic，Gu Lin was the first to discover the business opportunity of reworked housing，And signed the first housing requisition order on January 23, 2020，Becomes the first hotel requisitioned by Huazhu。After the epidemic，Hotel revenue increased by 1% compared with before the epidemic.5 times。

In addition，Gu Lin also told the author，End of 2019，Huazhu internal user portrait result display，The average age of American residents is around 33 years old，70% of them are male customers，This means that 188bet is largely a business-oriented hotel。

According to Gu Lin’s idea，Mercury’s customer base needs to be transformed into the model of “188bet Club + Corporate Membership”，This involves the adjustment of the company’s “member-centric” pricing strategy，Still need to keep exploring，“The ideal customer source structure is，60%~65% from 188bet Club，30% are corporate members，Below 10% comes from OTA。”

Play the role of "Everest Base Camp"

At the 2020 188bet World Conference，188bet highlighted its high-end strategy，Stick to the brand、The core strategy of technology and traffic，Focus on one at the same time、Second-tier cities and tourist destinations，Deploy 500 high-end hotels by the end of 2023。

In Gu Lin’s opinion，Huazhu wants to achieve its goal of becoming a world-class great enterprise，Required in scale、Quality、Layout three levels to achieve breakthroughs，"With Marriott、Hilton comparison，Huazhu’s brand layout is taking the opposite route，Walk up from the budget 188bet，This is determined by the characteristics of China’s wealth distribution。To become a world-class great enterprise，The layout of mid- to high-end hotels is an unavoidable hurdle。”The mid- to high-end strategy is to make up for the shortcomings of Huazhu’s high-end market layout。

In the book "Unfinished Beauty: Fifteen Years of Huazhu"，Gu Lin compared 188bet breakthrough in high-end and luxury brands to climbing Mount Everest，Meju is equivalent to 188bet ‘Everest Base Camp’。

Why 188bet assumes this role and positioning？Details the current layout of Huazhu in the mid-to-high-end field，Including Xiyue、Huajiantang、188bet、Grand 188bet、Novotel、IntercityHotel、Steigenberger, etc.。Among them，Huazhu’s layout in the mid-to-high-end market began with 188bet, which cooperated with AccorHotels、Grand 188bet、Novotel, the three French brands。According to Gu Lin，Number of rooms、Looking at the personnel structure，Meju has become Huazhu’s largest brand in the mid- to high-end segment。Mount Everest is 8843 meters tall，Meju has climbed to the base camp at 5200 meters。

In Gu Lin’s opinion，Huazhu’s approach to the high-end market，It will be different from the way of doing budget hotels in the past，It will also be different from international brands，Take a different path。There is no man’s land ahead，Mercur as ballast stone and foundation，Naturally, we have to take on the role of pathfinder。“Competition between mid- to high-end and above，It is a competition for brand influence and added value，Huazhu can only make a brand like 188bet solid，At the same time, accumulate enough high-end customer groups，Only have the opportunity to reach the "peak of Mount Everest"。

From this perspective，Meju is making various attempts on products，Try to expand the boundaries of 188bet services。On product，Mercury also started to develop full-service hotels、Building a resort 188bet，Slave service mode，The entire cost must be re-polished。On personnel，Huazhu’s high-end business unit has attracted a large number of talents from international hotels，How to integrate Huazhu’s philosophy and their experience，It also poses a test to management。

Back to the fundamentals of service

Xia Nong once said，188bet breaks through high-end and luxury brands，The biggest challenge currently facing，There are fewer and fewer outstanding young people willing to work in the service industry。

The 188bet industry human salary data report released by Best Eastern in April 2021 shows，The average salary in the 188bet industry in first-tier cities is 6,982 yuan，After the report is released，Many people say that they are “averaged”，Even said "I can't even get half of it"。In modern society where the cost of living and work pressure are increasing rapidly，High staff turnover has become a common phenomenon in the 188bet industry。But in the field of mid-to-high-end hotels，People and services are still irreplaceable options。

"Old Hotel Man" Gu Lin，Insist on doing the hard but right things。In such an industry context，He set a mid-term goal for 188bet—the OTA customer score reaches 4.9 points - this is a score that many luxury hotels cannot achieve。And from 4.6 points，4 to now.82 points，It took 188bet less than two years。

188bet told the author，Rise in online ratings，Inseparable from the empowerment and motivation of front-line employees。Meju’s authorization to employees，refers to the first time，Within the authority to use the amount authorized by the company to employees，Quick、Effectively solve customer needs and problems。Not only can provide services in a timely and effective manner、Solve the problem，Improve customer experience，It can also make employees feel trust，Help it grow。

In terms of motivating front-line employees，Meju launched the selection of "Meiyu Ambassador"，Used to commend one’s own initiative，Employees who make full use of their authority to provide guests with better services，And select outstanding cases for monthly sharing and selection within the brand，Select the top 3 in each region every month，Reward a bonus and a certificate of honor 188bet Meiyue Ambassador。

Message on 188bet official public account

In the tweet of Ambassador Meiyue published by 188bet’s official public account，A guest left the paragraph in the picture at the end of the article，And there are more similar situations，In Tweet，Almost every Meiyue ambassador can receive a thank-you letter written by a customer。

Among the more than 100 hotels that 188bet has opened，There are already more than 20 stores with a comprehensive network score of 4.9 points or above。Meju also has corresponding incentives for the store as a whole，Gu Lin said，There are 4 inside 188bet8 and 4.9 two scales，Online review 4.Hotels with more than 8 points，Each employee can receive a bonus every month，4.Each employee of a store with a score of 9 or above can receive double incentives。

From reward sales，To reward score (service)，What is reflected behind this is the change in 188bet management values，Rewards are more about service quality，Instead of operating performance。Their ultimate purpose，Just as Xia Nong said，"High-end and luxury brands，Go back to the basics of service—sincerity、Smile、Communication, etc.，Need to have a culture that advocates service，Establish an emotional link with guests through service。”