No one doubts that Chinese tourists are increasing travel abroad. Thailand has directly benefitted from this trend. With a rising middle class, more flights for less, and the popularity of the movie, Lost in Thailand, Thai hotels have seen occupancy surge at every level.
While increased occupancy is definitely welcome, hotels do sometimes struggle with guest expectations, cultural differences and language barriers. It pays for the hotels to adjust to the new reality. As more Chinese visit, they will begin to become loyal to those hotels which cater to their needs, be it on price, quality, value, language, food or all of the above.
In managing Chinese social media for our clients we see lots of engagement in the form of inquiries from potential Chinese guests. Outside of the big brands with a presence in China, many of the independent hotel chains or stand-alone properties in Thailand are unknown to Chinese. When they begin discovering them on social media they ask questions about price, location, things to do and language.
Many hotels do not have Chinese language booking engines on their website nor do they have any Chinese language material, so when the potential guests try to get more information or go to check prices or make a booking, they can not. Social media then becomes the point of engagement with the potential guests. There is still time to be an early adopter in reaching potential Chinese tourists via social media.
FAQs we can help you answer:
– Do I need someone who speaks Chinese on-site?
– Should I have a Chinese website?
– How do I target a particular Chinese demographic?
