Empowering global hotels in international destinations and in China to reach, convert, and retain high-value Chinese travelers across the end-to-end guest journey within the digital ecosystem.
Growth in Bookings
Greater Chinese Traveler Volume
Increased Average Guest Spending
Higher NPS & Guest Satisfaction
Boosted Loyalty Program Sign-Ups
The Key Target Audiences
Global hotels in China and in international destinations often need to engage three important Chinese audience segments: domestic Chinese travelers, outbound Chinese travelers, and overseas Chinese communities.
While their trip contexts differ, all three can be influenced by Chinese digital platforms, trusted reviews, localized content, and clear guest journeys.
Domestic Chinese Travelers
- Travelers who move within China for leisure, business, and holiday stays.
- For global hotels in China, they are a core audience for driving bookings, capturing seasonal demand, and encouraging repeat stays.
Outbound Chinese Travelers
- Travelers who plan trips outside China for leisure, business, shopping, or education.
- For global hotels in international destinations, this audience is especially important for capturing qualified demand and reducing booking friction.
Overseas Chinese Communities
- Ethnic Chinese communities who live, work, or study abroad.
- Chinese diaspora audiences can also represent a valuable segment for hotels, especially where Chinese-language content, familiar touchpoints like WeChat, and broader China-platform behavior still influence travel decisions.
To effectively engage these audiences (especially domestic and outbound Chinese travelers), global hotels need a clear Chinese traveler strategy built on the right mix of China-market channels, locally relevant content, and clear guest journeys to build trust, drive bookings, and strengthen loyalty.
Understanding the Challenges of Reaching, Converting, and Retaining Chinese Travelers
1. Limited Understanding
Many global hotels underestimate the distinct expectations and booking behaviors of Chinese travelers, often applying generic global strategies that fail to resonate.
2. Siloed Data
Prospect, traveler, guest, and loyalty data are often scattered across Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and CRM systems, preventing hotels from seeing the full guest journey and limiting opportunities for personalization.
3. Compliance Difficulties
Hotels serving Chinese travelers often need to navigate Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) requirements, broader China data governance expectations, and cross-border coordination challenges when guest data, campaigns, and platforms span multiple regions.
4. Fragmented Guest Experience
Global hotels often lack seamless integration across online bookings, on-property services, and post-stay touchpoints for Chinese guests, resulting in inconsistent experiences and lower retention.
Exploring the Unique Journey of Chinese Travelers
A strong Chinese traveler strategy for global hotels starts with meeting Chinese travelers on the platforms they already use and trust. That requires a localized, integrated digital ecosystem tailored to the Chinese market across awareness, booking, stay, and post-stay engagement.
1. Pre-Trip
- Inspiration & Discovery: Through Douyin (TikTok China), RedNote (Xiaohongshu), WeChat Official Accounts, and other Chinese social channels.
- Planning & Booking: Strong reliance on OTAs such as Ctrip and Qunar, as well as direct bookings through websites and WeChat Mini Programs.
- Pre-Arrival Engagement: Connect prospects and future guests with sales or service teams through WeCom for tailored offers, upselling, and cross-selling.
Outcome: Make your hotel easier to discover, easier to trust, and easier to book for Chinese travelers.
2. During-Trip
- Seamless O2O touchpoints: QR codes to WeChat Mini Programs for engagement, WeCom for itinerary updates, service requests, restaurant bookings, spa bookings, and exclusive experiences.
- Real-time Service Delivery & Promotions: Across wellness & leisure, accommodation, F&B, and guest support.
Outcome: Turn on-property interactions into stronger guest satisfaction and revenue opportunities.
3. Post-Trip & Retention
- Departure & Feedback: Review posts on Ctrip and RedNote (Xiaohongshu) to share experiences and guide future travelers.
- Loyalty and Referral Program Engagement: Incentives like coupons, points, and exclusive offers through WeChat Mini Programs.
- Personalized Retargeting: Through WeCom to maintain engagement with past guests and encourage repeat stays.
Outcome: Build recognition and long-term loyalty with Chinese travelers instead of treating each stay as a one-off transaction.
How ITC Supports Your Chinese Traveler Strategy
Top Hospitality Digital Consultancy in China
Guest Journey, Touchpoint & Competitor Analysis
Gain expert guidance on mapping and evaluating every touchpoint in the Chinese traveler’s journey — from social discovery and OTAs to on-property services and loyalty — to identify gaps, benchmark competitors, and prioritize quick wins that boost bookings, spend, and satisfaction.
End-to-End Strategy Consulting & Execution
Leverage our expertise in strategy consulting, creative, activation, and technical delivery — from defining the right guest experience and marketing approach to campaign activation, platform implementation, and change management — to help hotels move from strategy to execution without fragmenting ownership across multiple vendors.
Collaborate Globally, Execute Locally
Partner with ITC’s multilingual experts across China, Vietnam, Singapore, Dubai, and Paris to align global brand standards with local Chinese realities — ensuring hotel stakeholders worldwide stay in sync while execution remains fast, compliant, and culturally relevant.
Services We Offer
Pillar 1: Customer Experience
Omnichannel Experience Audit
Evaluate every online and offline touchpoint in the Chinese traveler’s journey to identify friction, missed opportunities, and quick wins.
Digital Go-To-Market Strategy
Develop and implement targeted digital strategies to successfully launch and promote global hotel offerings, with a special focus on the Chinese market.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Centralize and manage prospects, guests, past guests, and VIPs to enhance engagement, loyalty, and personalized communication across hotel services and touchpoints, leveraging both global and China-focused CRM solutions.
Other CRM Solutions
Customer Data Platform (CDP)
Integrate traveler, prospect, guest, and loyalty data from multiple channels to drive more personalized, data-led engagement tailored to the Chinese market.
Marketing Automation & Social CRM
Automate communications and manage interactions across the entire customer funnel — prospects, first-time guests, and past guests — especially via WeChat Official Accounts, to boost engagement, conversions, and loyalty.
WeCom & Clienteling
Leverage WeCom as a professional clienteling platform to deliver secure, personalized communication with Chinese guests and partners via WeChat.
Loyalty Program Strategy
Create customized loyalty programs that captivate Chinese guests, drive repeat visits, and foster lasting brand loyalty for both domestic and international audiences.
Data Governance & Compliance
Ensure all data handling complies with China’s regulatory requirements and safeguards guest information across platforms and regions.
Cybersecurity & Risk Management
Protect systems and data through strong security measures and proactive risk management.
MarTech Operations Management
Operate and optimize marketing technologies (including CRM, CDP, Social CRM, WeCom, and loyalty engines) to enable seamless, compliant, and insight-led marketing execution.
Pillar 2: Chinese Outreach (Chinese Traveler Marketing)
Social Listening & Analysis
Track and analyze insights, trends, and guest sentiment across Chinese digital platforms to inform hotel strategy and marketing decisions.
Creative Direction & Content Creation
Concept and craft culturally relevant content, visuals, and narratives that resonate with Chinese travelers.
Social Media & Community Management
Manage hotels’ official accounts, handle guest inquiries, and foster ongoing engagement to strengthen brand presence and reputation in China.
RedNote (Xiaohongshu)
Douyin
KOL/KOC/Influencer Marketing, PR & Media Relations
Partner with top KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers), and media outlets for endorsements and press coverage that boost visibility and credibility among Chinese audiences.
Campaign Activations
Plan and execute creative marketing campaigns — including livestreams, events, roadshows, and other offline activations — to drive engagement and bookings from Chinese travelers.
RedNote (Xiaohongshu) & Douyin O2O & Content Solutions
Support hotel-focused campaign, content, and online-to-offline journeys on RedNote and Douyin (Chinese TikTok), helping turn discovery into qualified interest, inquiries, and on-property revenue opportunities such as restaurant reservations, spa bookings, and package promotion.
Photo & Video Production
Produce high-quality photo and video content for Chinese platforms, with KPI tracking and cross-cultural consulting to maximize engagement and bookings.
Pillar 3: Technology Enablement
End-to-End Development
Create, develop, and deploy secure digital platforms and tools — such as global and China websites, loyalty apps, Mini Programs, and other guest-facing experiences — to provide smoother access to hotel information and services.
Landing Page
WeCom Mini Program
RedNote (Xiaohongshu) Mini Program
Native App (iOS/Android)
SaaS Platform
Internal Tool & Dashboard
E-Commerce
Design digital experiences that help hotels promote add-on services, dining, spa, packages, and other guest experiences across websites, apps, and WeChat Mini Programs — supporting on-property revenue and a smoother guest journey.
Content Management System (CMS)
Build and manage content-driven digital platforms (Mini Programs, websites, apps) for efficient content publishing and updates.
WordPress
Other Custom Development
Deliver tailored digital solutions to address the unique operational needs and challenges of global hotels.
Laravel
System Integrations
Design and map data flows, then integrate and optimize systems (such as PMS, CRM, CDP, loyalty engines, and Social CRM) to enable seamless connections between global systems and China-specific platforms, ensuring smooth connectivity and efficient service delivery.
DevOps & Infrastructure Management
Oversee, monitor, and enhance digital infrastructure to ensure operations remain reliable, secure, and scalable.
Pillar 4: Experience Design
UX/UI Research & Strategy
Understand user behavior and map guest journeys to deliver engaging, user-first digital experiences for targeted markets.
UX/UI Design
Develop intuitive, accessible interfaces that deliver effective digital solutions for guests and internal teams alike.
Pillar 5: Talent Augmentation
Specialized Headhunting
Identify and recruit leading professionals in digital transformation for global hotels, including roles such as CIO, CDO, CTO, IT Director, and Head of Digital Services.
Full-Cycle Talent Recruitment & Management
Lead end-to-end recruitment for digital transformation projects, ensuring smooth hiring, onboarding, and continuous support.
Impact We Deliver
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