Holiday Hotel Bookings Peak as 13-Day Leave Strategy Drives Longer Stays

Key points

• With only three days between this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, the 'take 3 days off for 13 days' leave strategy has gone viral; data from multiple online travel platforms show hotel bookings entering a peak period, with long-haul travel leading the market.
• Meituan data show Shaanxi's overall culture and tourism bookings rose 50% year on year during the holiday, with flight and train ticket bookings up 51% and hotel and homestay bookings up 49%.
• Gao Wen, manager of Xi'an Yaman Oriental Courtyard Hotel, said Mid-Autumn was the hottest period, with occupancy near 80% on Sept 25-26, mostly short-haul family guests; the National Day peak shifted to Oct 2-3.
• Platform data show users booking flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year during the holiday, while users combining flights and high-speed rail to connect multiple cities rose 14%.
• Li Liufeng, general manager of Shenyang Huafu Tiandi Lexington Hotel Management, said holiday volume and pricing were solid, with stable occupancy and revenue structure, and a rising share of 4-5 night stays.
• Many hotels launched intangible heritage experiences, family activities and local cuisine, such as Wuyuan Xinbang Hotel's Huizhou Carnival, Huaqing Yutang Hotel's Tang-style garden party, and Shenyang Conrad Hotel's family activities.
• Hotels increased investment in Douyin and Meituan livestreaming channels, bundling accommodation with scenic area performances and fireworks shows; OTAs remain the main source of orders.
• Tongcheng Travel data show that in late August, search heat for Mid-Autumn and National Day keywords rose 116% month on month, and bookings made more than 30 days in advance were over 20% higher than the same period last year.