Chinese hotels turn to selling food as guests tighten their belts

The staff of Beiyuan Grand Hotel, Beijing, set up street stalls every evening to sell freshly-cooked gourmet food in order to compensate for the falling revenues indoors, as Chinese consumers, firms and companies cut back on spending on conferences, banquets and travel.

Anwen Xu explains that the company needs to look for new revenue streams. "In these days, people don't just come because you offer discounts or lower prices -- they won't even come," she said.

According to social media sites and Chinese news websites, Beiyuan was among 15 high-end hotel chains in China that sold food outside during the past few weeks. Staff said that their sales were affected by a weaker demand from consumers, reduced corporate and official travel budgets, and fewer banquet reservations.

Xu claimed that Beijing's earlier measures to enforce austerity and discipline on public sector employees and party members - including bans on large group dining and alcohol restrictions - had also hurt the business.

Analysts believe the hotel hawkers could be another sign of deflationary pressures in the second largest economy, which is more dependent on exports and manufacturing than consumer spending.

In July, consumer prices were flat on an annual basis.

He-Ling Shi is an economist at Monash University, Melbourne.

This phenomenon shows that China's economy is facing a significant deflation risk.

Analysts cite flash sales at supermarkets and 3 yuan breakfasts ($0.40) as signs of deflation.

Official statistics show that China's catering revenues grew by 0.9% on an annual basis in June. This is down from 5.9% growth in May. According to data from the government, in Beijing, profits for the accommodation industry fell by 92.9% on an annual basis during 2025's first half.

Wei Zheng is a member of staff at the Grand Metropark Hotel, Beijing, where street food was first sold on July 10.

Wei said that many hotels use methods like selling outside to increase revenues. The hotel makes an additional few thousand yuan per day by selling braised ducks, fish stew, or crayfish.

Xu, at Beiyuan, said that their outdoor bestseller is the hotel's crispy roast pigeon for 38 yuan (5.29 dollars), which costs 58 yuan in the restaurant.

Since the opening of the stall on July 28, it has sold around 130 pigeons per day, as opposed to 80 a few days ago.

Xu reported that within a few weeks, the private dining room usage had fallen from a full one-third to an average of 100-150 yuan per head.

She said the outdoor stall has a margin of 10% to 15%, which is better than average but not enough to offset the decline in business indoors.

'HESITANT' CONSUMERS

Yaling Jiang is the founder of ApertureChina. She said that consumers are "continuing to seek value and novelties in an economic recession" but "hesitant" with high-end purchases.

Seven Chen, a customer who purchased barbecue pork at the Beiyuan Hotel, said that he understood the hotel's intentions, and added that he stayed in hotels of a higher standard less frequently than he used to.

Chen, a local resident and finance professional who lives in the area, said that "the main problem is that people do not have enough income."

According to their social media pages, the JW Marriott Chongqing, and Hilton Wuhan Riverside, both in Wuhan, have adopted a street-food strategy. A Marriott employee said that the hotel serves street food outside between 5 and 6 pm. The hotel did not elaborate.

The River & Holiday Hotel, a five-star hotel in Chongqing says that its daily revenue has risen to 60,000 yuan after installing food stalls on its parking lot last month. Shen Qiuya, marketing and sales manager at the River & Holiday Hotel in Chongqing, dismissed online criticisms that this practice could undermine brand value.

Shen stated that "every industry faces difficulties this year." Survival is important. "Face is not worth anything." ($1 = 7.1798 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(source: Reuters)