On November 6, China Tourism Association, Peking University Cultural Resources Research Center, and Douyin Life Service jointly released "Short video live broadcast activates new consumption, hotel and B&B content operations break through growth: 2026 China Hotel Industry Digital Operation Trend Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") in Beijing. The press conference invited scholars, hotel and B&B operators, and platform representatives to conduct exchanges on how content management can help the industry increase revenue, enhance the travel experience, and promote long-term development. It combined industry research with front-line practice to provide a reference for hotels and B&Bs of different sizes and different positionings to explore digital business paths.
"Report" press conference site
From “finding a room” to “setting out for an experience”, content opens up new business space
Under the combined influence of supply expansion, upgrading of consumer demand and changes in information media, competition among hotels and guesthouses is extending from hardware and price to unique experience, service quality and brand recognition. Consumers are not only concerned about “where to live”, but also increasingly concerned about “what they can experience by living here”. The "2026 Douyin Culture and Tourism Consumption Trend Report" shows that in the past year, users viewed wine and tourism-related videos on the platform more than 402.5 billion times, and searched for related content 67.7 billion times. The content platform provides different types of hotels with equal opportunities to be "seen" and flexible business options.
More and more hotels are increasing their “content management” efforts on Douyin
Short videos, live broadcasts and guest sharing allow the hotel’s space atmosphere, service details and local culture to be perceived before check-in. Consumers can gain travel inspiration from this, and can more intuitively judge whether room types, packages and peripheral features meet their needs. Hotels have the opportunity to shift from passively waiting for searches to proactively connecting with potential customer groups, turning unique resources into operational advantages. This further promotes the transformation of the hotel consumption model from "people looking for rooms" to "stores looking for people".
Zhang Yiwu, director of the Cultural Resources Research Center of Peking University, believes that content management is not simply adding a sales channel, but a systematic reconstruction of the value logic of the hotel industry. Different types of hotels have different “content management” priorities. The common path is “content planting – transaction conversion – value improvement – user precipitation”: arouse interest with real content, adapt products to meet demand, deliver experience with offline services, and accumulate user trust through continued operations.
Zhang Yiwu, director of the Cultural Resources Research Center of Peking University, released the "Report"
Based on its own characteristics, explore different paths from content exposure to real consumption
The "Report" sorts out the diverse practices of group hotels, high-star independent hotels, and small and medium-sized hotels and B&Bs. Different entities have different resources and investment methods, but they do not need to copy the same business model. The key is to clearly explain their own characteristics and use real products and services to absorb the attention brought by the content.
Managing Director of Rushihai Resort gave a speech at the press conference
Rushihai Resort combines accommodation, seaside afternoon tea, beach experience, etc. into a complete seaside vacation product, and presents seaside life through live short videos, live broadcasts and celebrity content. Huiyou Hotel Group uses the group's official account and founder's IP as a starting point to display daily services and city experience to consumers in advance, and uses demand feedback from comments and consultations to improve products. The former highlights vacation scenes, while the latter emphasizes personalized communication and daily details, reflecting the differentiated path of content management.
China Overseas Kaili Hotel Management Co., Ltd. carries out content management through group coordination and store hierarchical operation. It adopts different expressions for vacation and business needs, and pays attention to the connection between inventory, reservations and in-store fulfillment. As of August 2026, the cumulative write-off amount of the group's 12 active hotels on the Douyin channel has increased by 40% year-on-year. Located in the Jiuzhaigou area, Zhongcha·Shiwai Snow Mountain Wild Luxury B&B continues to output content based on natural scenery and space aesthetics, and tries experiences such as afternoon tea, dining, and horseback riding photography to expand consumption scenarios beyond accommodation. Small-scale operators can also explore relatively lightweight content management methods based on their own talents.
Pan Xinfeng (second from left), deputy general manager of China Overseas Commercial Company and general manager of China Overseas Kaili Hotel Management Co., Ltd., He Yiyi (third from left), co-founder of Huiyou Hotel Group, and Ye Mei (first from right), manager of Jiuzhaigou Zhongcha World Snow Mountain Wild Luxury Homestay, held a roundtable discussion around "How hotels can rely on content to amplify features and boost business growth"
From short-term orders to long-term operations, offline delivery remains the key. Pan Xinfeng, general manager of China Overseas Kaili Hotel Management Co., Ltd., emphasized in the roundtable discussion that "products are the foundation, and content is the long-term asset that delivers hotel value and continues to operate users." He Yiyi, co-founder of Huiyou Hotel Group, proposed that content is connected to both sales and products, and urban routes can also become part of the experience. What the guest ultimately purchases is still a one-night real accommodation experience. The promises made in the founder’s IP and content must be steadily fulfilled by the store every day.
From increasing revenue in a single store to co-building destinations, allowing digital value to benefit more entities
The "Report" points out that the social value of content management is not limited to the hotel's own revenue increase. Through "accommodation + local experience", the hotel can connect surrounding restaurants, scenic spots, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and leisure businesses, allowing tourists to extend their consumption from a room to destination life, and also bring more opportunities for local merchants to be seen and chosen. Regional culture is shared with tourists through participatory travel experiences, gaining a new communication carrier.
Zhang Yiwu pointed out that when the path to increase revenue of a single store gradually becomes clear, the value boundary of the hotel will further extend to the surrounding business formats and industrial systems: from an accommodation place to a local consumption entrance, from a business space to a regional cultural communication window, from an independent store to a carrier for the coordinated development of regional business formats. This provides new ideas for hotels and B&Bs to participate in the deep integration of culture and tourism and enrich the supply of high-quality accommodation.
Zhao Yansong, head of hotel operations in Douyin Life Services and Entertainment Industry
The role of the platform is to provide content, transaction and operational support to help merchants transform unique experiences into perceptible and purchasable products. Zhao Yansong, head of hotel operations in Douyin's lifestyle service and entertainment industry, said that the platform supports hotels to be seen and consumed through business methods and incentive measures for different hotel formats, as well as the "heartbeat destination" strategy, heartbeat list hotels, etc., promotes the transformation of one "heartbeat" into long-term business, and integrates the long-term business of each hotel into the long-term prosperity of more destinations. At the same time, the "Report" emphasizes that service guarantees and governance should be continuously improved to reduce experience gaps such as lack of room in stores, temporary price increases, and false propaganda, so as to support long-term operations with consumer trust.
Content management is not a simple superposition of low-price promotions or popular traffic. Different hotels and B&Bs should rationally balance investment, revenue and brand building, continue to improve products and services, accumulate user reputation, and form synergy with local cultural and tourism resources. Based on high-quality supply, connected by content, and guaranteed by experience, digital operations can move from short-term revenue growth to sustainable development and better respond to the public's demand for high-quality cultural and tourism life.
