China's consumption has weakened, and high-end hotels have begun to go to the countryside. In recent years, a large number of rural primary schools that have been abandoned for a long time have suddenly become "hot cakes" (loved things) in the eyes of hoteliers. Chinese media pointed out that in the past 20 years, 329,000 rural primary schools and teaching sites in China have closed down, leaving a large number of idle school buildings. International hotel groups including Marriott, Hilton, Intercontinental and other have also successively moved into county areas. Chinese local brands such as All Seasons, Atour and Lavande have also simultaneously seized the market. Some old school buildings have also been transformed into B&Bs and resort hotels.
Chinese media pointed out that a business that seems to have cheap rent and easy renovation actually has three hurdles: operation, renovation costs and compliance with laws.
Data show that since 2001, China has reduced the number of rural primary schools and teaching locations from 491,000 to 163,000 due to policy adjustments such as "dismantling sites and merging schools." Between 2020 and 2025 alone, the number of ordinary primary schools nationwide will decrease by 29,700. After the students left, the school buildings remained in place, and many buildings remained idle for a long time.
Nowadays, these old school buildings have attracted the attention of the hotel industry. An important reason is that the conditions for renovation are relatively simple. The school building layout is usually regular, with few special structures that are difficult to deal with. It also has its own playground and large public space, which is suitable for parent-child travel, corporate team building and short vacations. Most rural primary schools are located in the core locations of villages or towns. Compared with purchasing new land to build hotels and renovating existing school buildings, the construction period and initial investment are relatively easy to control.
Another background is that the traditional hotel market is becoming increasingly difficult to operate. According to the "China Hotel Investment, Operation and Brand Development Report 2025", the number of hotel rooms will grow by 6.94% in 2024, and the expansion rate has slowed down; as of the first half of 2025, the national hotel RevPAR has decreased by 5% annually, putting further pressure on profit margins. Competition in popular business districts in cities is fierce, and hotels have to face rent, labor costs, and diversion from B&Bs, short-term rentals and other business formats.
At the same time, the demand for short-distance "micro vacations", parent-child study, senior health care and corporate team building has increased. Rural school buildings that were originally not suitable for traditional business accommodation have scene and space advantages. However, the "cheapness" of old school buildings may also be the biggest misunderstanding. There are three thresholds that need to be overcome.
The first threshold is operations. Unlike urban business hotels, rural hotels lack a stable source of business travelers on weekdays, and their income is highly dependent on weekends, holidays, study tours and team building. Therefore, it also tests the ability of the hoteliers to create travel purposes and activities.
The second threshold is the cost of renovation. Low rents and even no transfer fees may seem quite attractive, but once you actually move in, you may face expenses such as fire re-implementation, land use adjustment, house type reconstruction, and sound insulation projects. Any of these may significantly increase the budget, and the originally saved property costs may also be reinvested in rectification.
The third and most critical threshold is legal compliance. A large number of rural schools belong to land allocated for education and cannot be directly converted into commercial accommodation. It also involves land use adjustment, property rights arrangement, fire protection acceptance and cultural tourism-related filings. In other words, such projects cannot be opened as long as funds are available.
Therefore, turning an abandoned school building into an Internet celebrity hotel seems to be a low-cost "leave-picking". The real test is not who can buy the property at the lowest price, but who can solve the problems of customer source, renovation and other issues.
