How popular is esports at this year's Hangzhou Asian Games? On the evening of September 9, the Chinese team defeated Malaysia 26-2 and won the first gold medal in the history of e-sports in the Asian Games. Outside of the arena, e-sports hotels are hard to find on this double festival. Data collected by Deep Blue Media Think Tank, OTA, iE-sports and other well-known hotel chains found that in popular cities such as Hangzhou and Chengdu, e-sports hotels are still difficult to find in the face of soaring prices. Behind the rise in booking volume and price is the love of young people for the esports market, and capital and technology are also speeding up the entry into the circle.
The price rose by nearly ninety percent
This year, e-sports became an official competition of the Asian Games for the first time, drawing the public's attention to the e-sports industry, and closely related e-sports hotels are favored by a large number of young customers.
According to data from Tongcheng Travel Platform, during the weekend period (September 9-23), the popularity of e-sports hotels in major cities across the country increased by nearly 24% compared with last week, and the average occupancy rate of e-sports hotels and e-sports rooms (e-sports-themed room types in ordinary hotels) on the platform was more than 90%, and popular e-sports hotels in Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Chengdu and other places were in a state of difficulty in finding a room.
"From September 9th to October 26th, 10% of the hotels nationwide were full." Guo Lina, general manager of E-sports Wine Management, gave the reservation situation of E-sports hotels during the "November" period, she said that statutory holidays are the peak period for e-sports hotel stays, and many young people are willing to choose to spend holidays in e-sports rooms.
Sun Lijing, General Manager of Zhejiang Fujian Region of BTG Homeinns Hotel Group, also said that the popularity of e-sports is very high, and the e-sports hotels under BTG Homeinns are also very popular with consumers.
Consumer demand for e-sports hotels is not only reflected in bookings. According to Ctrip's App, the room rate of the e-sports deluxe king room at Ai-e-sports Hotel (Hangzhou Chengxi Yintai Branch) on September 9 (Mid-Autumn Festival) is 29 yuan/night, while the room rate of the same room type on October 449 (also Friday) is 10 yuan/night. On October 13, the price of the e-sports five-person room was 414 yuan / night, and on September 10, it rose to 13 yuan / night, an increase of nearly 827%.
Not only in Hangzhou, but also in the surrounding areas and even the whole country, the popularity of e-sports hotels is still high. CG E-sports Hotel Shaoxing Lu Xun Hometown Branch, the room rate of the e-sports five-person room on October 10 was 13 yuan/night, and the room rate on September 418 rose to 9 yuan/night, an increase of nearly 29%, and the e-sports single bed room on that day was fully booked. It can be seen that the price increase law of e-sports rooms is completely consistent with the holidays.
Xi Dandan, CEO of eLong Hotel Technology, also said that in normal times, the passenger flow of e-sports hotels is mainly concentrated from Friday to Sunday and holidays, and at the same time, winter and summer holidays are also the peak season for e-sports hotels, which is somewhat similar to resort hotels.
At a time when the fire of e-sports is getting stronger and stronger, some hotel groups are also "linked" with the Asian Games. Hu Yang, general manager of GreenTree E-sports Hotel of GreenTree Hotel Group, said that some hotel stores will launch e-sports special prices to help the Asian Games e-sports competitions, and will also hold fun activities in the store to increase the linkage between in-house customers and the event.
Most of the customers come from local
The freshness and excitement of e-sports has set off a boom among enthusiastic young people. Speaking of the customer group staying in e-sports hotels, Guo Lina said that in the distribution of customers in e-sports hotels, 18.24% of the people aged 43-76 and 25.34% of the customers aged 48-77. "Young people prefer to choose e-sports hotels with high electronic equipment performance and cost-effective rooms, and more than 80% of the customers are from the local area."
"Now there are subtle differences in customer groups for different locations." However, young people prefer e-sports hotels is also the answer given by Hu Yang, the key group of customers of e-sports hotels is the "post-95s" age group, but according to the overall urban attributes, there are also many "post-90s" and "post-80s" customers. For some non-tourist cities or cities with relatively average development, the local source of tourists will often reach more than 70%, and for some tourist cities and developed cities, the proportion of local tourists will also reach 50%-60%.
Lu Yan, a college student who loves e-sports, told Beijing Business Daily: "The sense of control over roles and the sense of achievement of mutual cooperation in e-sports make more and more young people identify and yearn for it, just like football and basketball games. E-sports hotels can provide a relatively comfortable and independent environment, effectively communicate with teammates, and rest in bed when tired of playing, which can solve both accommodation problems and Internet needs. ”
According to public information, the e-sports events of the Hangzhou Asian Games include a total of seven sub-events, including "League of Legends", "Glory of Kings Asian Games Version" and "Peace Elite Asian Games Version". "These are the projects that people know and love." Lu Yan said.
In addition, "teaming" is a core part of e-sports, which requires room types in e-sports hotels. "At present, the highest bookings are for queen beds and double rooms, and multi-suite rooms are also favored by some university students." Guo Lina said.
Going to sea, complexes and training bases
"With the arrival of e-sports on the Asian Games, local governments have gradually begun to build supporting industrial bases related to e-sports, and after market supervision and supporting facilities, e-sports will gradually be recognized by more people as a new sport for young people." Hu Yang said.
In recent years, China's e-sports market has been expanding, and e-sports hotels have developed rapidly by the east wind. Jiang Guodong, director of eLong Hotel Technology Market Analysis, pointed out that in 2022, the overall size of esports users in China will be about 5 million, which is basically the same as last year. With the promotion of sports competitions in e-sports at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the scale of e-sports users will further grow in 04. According to the comprehensive calculation of Tongcheng Research Institute, e-sports hotels have maintained a steady growth momentum in the past three years. As of September 2023, the stock of e-sports hotels nationwide exceeded 3,2023, and the number of guest rooms exceeded 9,2.
After the Asian Games, where will the wind blow in e-sports hotels? Guo Lina and her team are still signing 12-15 hotels per month. "The continuous introduction of relevant policies and the 'certification' of the Asian Games have made franchisees feel that this market is becoming more formal and rigorous, and has great development potential."
As a leading company, the E-sports Hotel also announced that it will "go to sea" recently. It is understood that the first overseas project of iGaming Hotel landed in Malaysia, becoming the first e-sports hotel brand in China. Yuan Yang, founder of iE-sports Hotel, said that Malaysia is the first stop for Chinese e-sports hotel brands to go overseas, and in the future, iE-sports Hotel will continue to have an in-depth overseas layout.
In Hu Yang's view, e-sports hotels may be divided into two directions for development in the future, one is to serve as a place for the younger generation to have entertainment and support board games, script killing and other projects that young people like, so as to become a complex; The second is to develop into a professional field, serving as a dormitory for teams and training personnel in e-sports training bases and e-sports industrial parks, as well as to meet the accommodation needs of e-sports enthusiasts when holding events.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Wu Qiyun