Now that the middle class is growing in China and getting a visa is easier, major hotel brands in the United States are looking for a way to entice Chinese tourists into give them their business, the Huffington Post reports. In fact, over a million Chinese people visited the U.S. in 2011, up 36 percent from 2010, according to the Department of Commerce. By 2016, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. each year is expected to reach 2.6 million. What's even better is that these visitors are here for pleasure, as opposed to business. In 2011, Chinese tourists spent over $5.7 billion when visiting the country.
In response, hotel chains like the Hilton and Marriott are starting by offering familiar comforts, like congee for breakfast, hot tea in their rooms, and the ability to communicate with Mandarin-speaking staff.These adjustments are part of "welcome programs" that note the cultural differences that the hotel's employees should be aware of. For example, the Mandarin word for "death" sounds similar to the English word "four," so Chinese tour groups should not be placed on fourth-floor rooms. The color white is also considered a bad omen, but the color red and the number eight are seen as signs of luck and wealth.
The programs are being well-received by travelers. "They're very relieved, like finally somebody's doing these things that make sense," said Robert Armstrong, a sales manager at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. It's his job to handle all bookings for Cinese tourists staying at the hotel. "Finally somebody's catering to them," he said.
To appeal to Chinese clientel, who often travel in large groups, Marriott International now offers several Chinese breakfasts, depending upon which part of China is home to the traveler: there are salted duck eggs and pickled vegetables for Chinese tourists from eastern China, while dim sum and sliced pig's liver are offered to those from the south.
In addition to food, Armstrong says he's careful to make sure that room assignments don't mistakenly connote any disrespect. "We try to make sure nobody's on a higher floor than their boss," he said. "Even if the boss is on a beautiful suite on the eighth floor, if the assistant is in a standard room on the 38th floor, it doesn't translate."
Not only are hotels trying to attract Chinese clientel in the States, but they also want to create loyal customers within Asia. For this reason, hotel companies like the Ritz-Carlton and Starwood often have employees live in China to become familiar with the customs and practices.
"It's important for our leaders to understand what's going on there at a more personal level than just the statistics," said the Ritz's V.P. of marketing, Clayton Ruebensaal. "Everybody's going after this market because of the sheer volume of luxury customers. At the same time, it's a very crowded landscape."
Rich Harrill, the director of the Sloan Foundation Travel & Tourism Industry Center at the University of South Carolina, says there's much more work to be done before the United States is ready for the influx of Chinese tourists. "We're not as ready as we should be," Harrill said. "We don't have the language skills. We have an opportunity to be on the ground floor of something that could be very, very big."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
