AMID the unstoppable rise of the Chinese outbound traveler, a new portal was launched to help hospitality professionals around the globe judge their adaptability to Chinese customers.
The “Feel Like Home” platform claims to be the world’s first website dedicated exclusively to Chinese travelers, and one that helps provide as pleasant an experience as possible for them.
The site says that adapting to Chinese tourists is important to create a Chinese-friendly environment that helps establishments reach a wider audience and delivers a message of care for them.
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Instead of star ratings, the site uses a dragon symbol to indicate adaptability; one dragon signals that the hotel or restaurant in question is least Chinese-friendly, while five stars indicate otherwise.
According to the criteria for earning one dragon rating, the hotel must, at the very least, have a translated version of their site included at registration.
Hotels must follow a set of criteria in order to be categorized as Chinese-friendly. Source: Shutterstock
Meanwhile, to earn the full five dragons, the criteria includes at least one Chinese-speaking employee, a Chinese online booking system, fast check-in and check-out service, city maps and guides in Chinese, and group activities and tours conducted in Chinese.
In terms of amenities, the hotel must provide Chinese menus, slippers for each guest, stock three varieties of tea including jasmine, at least one Chinese television channel, certain foods at the breakfast buffet including hard-boiled eggs and congee, and condiments such as soy sauce and sesame oil.
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For restaurants to earn full marks, they should have at least one Chinese-speaking employee, one or more Chinese alcoholic beverages such as Huangjiu, one or more Chinese dishes such as noodles or dim sum, Chinese condiments and sauces, a fresh fruits selection, still water, chopsticks, and of course, a Chinese version of their menus.
According to the site, the most popular countries for outbound Chinese travelers are Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, France, and Italy.
Currently, more than 150 hospitality companies from the world over have applied and are in the process of evaluation and certification.
The post This new website rates Chinese-friendly hotels and restaurants appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
