The 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday combination created a "Super Golden Week" that concluded successfully. The 8-day holiday drove nationwide tourism market growth and positioned the hotel industry as an important indicator of consumption recovery.

Zhao Huanyan, a senior economist in the tourism and hotel industry, stated: "This year's National Day Golden Week showed overall stability in the hotel industry, with controlled price increases in areas experiencing supply shortages." He believes the industry has emerged from post-pandemic adjustments, achieving "progress within stability" this year - characterized by rational pricing, high occupancy rates, and diversified demand.

H World Group data shows that during this year's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the group's hotels served over 10.55 million guests, representing a 36% year-over-year increase. International guests exceeded 57,000, up 75% compared to last year. Overall occupancy rates exceeded 80% during the holiday, peaking on October 3rd when over 8,100 properties reached full capacity. Mid-to-high-end brand hotels in popular cities like Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Changsha were nearly impossible to book.

Two days before the Golden Week, H World Group's premium hospitality brand Floral Hotel opened its Beijing Tiananmen Yudao location. Situated in the cultural core area along the southern section of Beijing's central axis, the hotel embodies ancient capital heritage while integrating international brand resources. This opening represents a significant step in H World Group's high-end hotel strategy expansion.

"Floral Hotel is not just a hotel, but an extension of our 'urban resort' strategy," noted a H World Group insider. "We aim to provide immersive and experiential resort experiences in city centers." The brand's choice to open before the National Day holiday, beyond capitalizing on holiday benefits, signals new trends in hotel industry recovery and structural upgrades.

**Cultural Tourism Drives Second and Third-Tier City Hotel Demand**

The 2025 "Super Golden Week" not only brought crowds back to major domestic tourist cities but also elevated numerous "hidden gem cities" to prominence.

From northern autumn forests to southern harvest villages, this year's "autumn-chasing fever" paralleled "celebrity-following trends." Tujia data shows that bookings in destinations like Yichun in Heilongjiang, Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia, and Changbai Mountain in Jilin doubled year-over-year, while Xinjiang's Altay region grew 56%. Homestay bookings in Jiangxi's Wuyuan Huangling Village increased nearly 40%, with local "autumn drying" scenes becoming popular travel keywords on social platforms.

"Young travelers are seeking more personalized and authentic travel experiences through homestays. Travel is not just about destinations, but a lifestyle," said Hu Yang, Vice President of Tujia Homestays.

Meanwhile, music festivals and sporting events became new consumption drivers. Qunar data shows that Anhui Maanshan's "Gourd Fruit Music Festival" and Sichuan Luzhou's "Galaxy Left Bank Music Festival" boosted local hotel bookings by 2.6 times and 2.1 times respectively. Hotels near Beijing's Olympic Sports Center saw bookings increase 116% due to the China Open and WTT China Grand Slam events. Chengdu's rowing open championship leveraged "ticket stub economy" to drive cultural tourism integration, with Sichuan attractions occupying three of the nation's top ten popular destinations.

A guest staying at a Tujia homestay in Lijiang recalled: "On Mid-Autumn night, we played dice games with strangers to win mooncakes and chatted over drinks. That relaxed and lively atmosphere couldn't be found at any tourist attraction."

Data shows over 80 concerts and 30 music festivals were held nationwide during this year's National Day holiday. The combination of popular events and performances drove hotel price increases and capacity saturation in third and fourth-tier cities. Industry insiders note that the synergy between music festivals, sporting events, and local cultural tourism is becoming a new driver for regional consumption and city brand enhancement.

**Off-Peak Travel, Night Economy, and Outbound Tourism Surge**

This year's 8-day holiday was jokingly called the "working professionals' vacation miracle week." Qunar data shows over 30% of office workers chose to "take 3 days off for 12 consecutive days" through staggered travel, extending the holiday peak from September 27 to October 12, achieving "16 days of effect from 8 days of vacation."

From October 2-5, domestic flight volumes increased 20% year-over-year, while outbound travel grew 30%. In the three days following the holiday (October 9-11), overseas destination hotel bookings nearly doubled compared to last year. Ctrip Research Institute analysis suggests: "Staggered off-peak travel reflects both rational consumption and helps alleviate peak-period supply-demand pressure while improving overall experience."

Night tourism became another holiday highlight. Ctrip data shows "night tour" search volume increased over 200% month-over-month. Activities like Shijiazhuang's immersive "Dream of Red Mansions" night tours, "My Country and I" flash mobs, and Chang'e fairy parades attracted numerous visitors. Night openings at venues like Shanghai Pudong Art Museum and Nanjing Museum saw visitor numbers increase over 5 times year-over-year. Over 300 large-scale light shows nationwide made night tourism a core destination attraction.

For outbound tourism, Qunar platform data shows users booked hotels in 4,588 overseas cities during the holiday. The top ten destination countries by booking volume were Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, Russia, the United States, and Singapore. Egypt hotel bookings tripled, while Norway increased 1.2 times.

Meizi, a Chinese homestay operator in Tokyo for over ten years, explained: "This year's National Day holiday homestays were fully booked by late August. From guiding transportation transfers to recommending restaurants, I hope to help first-time overseas travelers feel secure."

Qunar data shows Chinese-operated homestay bookings in over 50 overseas cities nearly doubled year-over-year. "Language accessibility and strong sense of security make Chinese-operated homestays increasingly popular among outbound travelers," noted a Qunar analyst.

**New Competition in Experience Economy**

As consumption upgrades and experience economy deepens, China's hotel industry structure is undergoing significant changes. High-end, personalized, and cultural experiences are becoming mainstream trends. Zhao Huanyan noted: "The mid-range hotel market has reached saturation. Developing high-end hotel brands in ideal locations with ideal properties is the correct future direction."

Floral Hotel's expansion exemplifies this trend. As H World Group's premium hospitality brand, Floral Hotel has centered on "local culture + modern aesthetics" since its founding, creating unique cultural living spaces at each property. Since joining H World Group's high-end hotel portfolio, Floral Hotel has achieved brand elevation through the group's membership system and digital platforms. As of Q2 2025, Floral Hotel operates nearly 100 hotels with nearly 5,000 rooms, with 200 hotels in development across major tourism and business cities including Lijiang, Dali, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, and Xiamen. The Beijing Tiananmen Yudao location opening marks its formal entry into first-tier city core business districts and signals the implementation of its "urban resort" strategy.

H World Group management stated at the opening ceremony: "We hope Floral Hotel becomes a buffer zone between 'city and nature,' connecting guest emotions, culture, and space, allowing people to find peaceful corners even in bustling cities."

The success of Guizhou Zilin Mountain Haurivilla Hotel similarly confirms the high-end trend. Operated and renovated by Grace Hotel Group, the property was previously the unfinished "World's First Water Department Building." Zhao Huanyan revealed: "After resuming construction in 2024 with an ecological wellness theme, rooms were in short supply during National Day, with prices ranging from 500 to 3,600 yuan, and all high-end room types sold out."

China Tourism Academy research shows new generations and new middle-class groups have become core high-end resort customers, focusing more on unique cultural experiences and emotional resonance rather than simple accommodation comfort.

Shen Jiani, Senior Researcher at Ctrip Research Institute, pointed out: "Travelers are no longer satisfied with merely 'arriving' at destinations but yearn to 'integrate.' They hope to experience local culture through hotels, dining, and activities, marking an important sign of China's tourism market maturation."

Zhao Huanyan believes growing personalized demand is reshaping hotel service logic: "Consumers expect hotels to provide customized services based on interests, dietary preferences, and even travel purposes, forcing hotel groups to continuously innovate in product development and digital operations."

From "Floral Hotel-style urban resorts" to "Grace-style wellness transformations," from cultural narratives to immersive experiences, the "Super Golden Week" not only drove high hotel occupancy rates but reflected accelerating consumption upgrade and brand differentiation trends.

This "Super Golden Week" helped people rediscover travel's multiple meanings - some chased autumn in the north, others explored night scenes abroad, and some immersed themselves in spaces blending culture and nature. For the hotel industry, this represents another milestone in demand upgrading: consumers are more rational yet more discerning; they don't just stay in hotels but seek lifestyle extensions.

Stable pricing, full occupancy rates, and personalized experiences form the three-fold foundation of China's 2025 hotel market. As high-end brands like Floral Hotel continue expanding, experience economy is becoming the industry's new growth engine.

Zhao Huanyan concluded: "Hotels are no longer just accommodation but comprehensive carriers of emotion, culture, and social interaction. This year's National Day showed us a more mature and layered tourism consumption market."