The China Hotel Market Sentiment Survey aims to provide Chinese hoteliers with insights into the industry’s outlook and future performance expectations. This 46th survey conducted by Horwath HTL focuses on expectations for hotel performance in the fourth quarter of 2026, covering three key indicators: occupancy rate, average daily rate (ADR), and total revenue. By comparing the latest findings with historical sentiment indices, the survey highlights regional differences in market expectations across China’s hotel industry.
In the performance outlook section, the sentiment index reflects respondents’ overall expectations for hotel market performance. The index ranges from -150 to +150, where “-150” represents an extremely pessimistic outlook, “0” indicates a neutral outlook, and “+150” reflects an extremely optimistic outlook.
Sentiment Falls Further, Revenue Expectations Face Growing Pressure
In Q4 2026, the national Hotel Market Sentiment Index fell 5 points to -22, marking a second consecutive quarterly decline. While Occupancy and ADR indices remained relatively stable at -12and -24, Total Revenue and F&B Revenue indices dropped to -30 and -37, indicating growing pressure on overall revenue.
Regionally, South China remained the only region in positive territory, with an index of 4. Southwest and Northeast China recorded the weakest sentiment at -40 and -38, respectively, reflecting persistent pressure on pricing and revenue recovery.
Guangzhou Rebounds, Sanya and Shenzhen Remain Ahead
In Q4 2026, Sanya continued to lead Tier-1 markets with a sentiment index of 46, supported by strong ADR and revenue expectations. Shenzhen remained positive at 4, with the upcoming APEC summit expected to support business and MICE demand.
Guangzhou recorded the strongest improvement, rising 16 points to -1, as the 140th Canton Fairboosted expectations for occupancy and pricing. Shanghai and Beijing remained cautious at -13 and -23, respectively, with revenue recovery still lagging.
Concerts Support Tier-2 Markets, ADR Pressure Persists
Tianjin led Tier-2 markets with an index of -3, up 20 points from Q3, supported by strong summer performance. Nanjing ranked second at -19, while concerts and the “ticket-stub economy”provided additional demand in Nanjing and Qingdao.
Xi’an, Chengdu, and Kunming recorded indices of -40, -36, and -38, respectively. Their ADR indices all fell below -40, reflecting continued pricing pressure as new hotel supply intensified competition.
Inbound Demand Remains Resilient, Domestic Demand Weakens
Inbound leisure demand remained relatively resilient. The Foreign Leisure FIT index held at -9, while Foreign Leisure Group improved to -18, supported by continued inbound travel facilitation measures.
Domestic leisure sentiment weakened, with FIT and Group indices falling to -25 and -36, respectively, as travelers became more price-conscious. Business and MICE demand remained subdued, with the MICE index at -37, despite a modest quarterly improvement.
Policy Support Continues, New Supply Intensifies Competition
Central Government Policy and Local Tourism Development Trends remained positive, both recording indices of 6.
Continued tourism support measures and newly introduced autumn school breaks may stimulate additional family travel.
However, Consumers’ Willingness to Spend remained weak at -42. New Competitive Supply Additions recorded the lowest index at -62.
According to the HOHI Data Platform, 767 midscale and above hotels opened nationwide in September, further intensifying competition in an already challenging market.
Occupancy Expected to Decline, ADR Likely to Edge Up
Following a summer peak in August, national hotel performance softened in September as travel demand normalized. Looking ahead to Q4, Occupancy is forecast to decline 6.1% quarter-on-quarter, while ADR is expected to increase slightly by 0.6%, resulting in a 5.5% decline in RevPAR.
The forecast suggests that seasonal demand weakness, rather than pricing, will drive the decline. Hotels are increasingly prioritizing rate integrity over aggressive discounting during the traditional low season.
2027 Outlook Remains Cautious, Budgeting Requires Greater Precision
The survey introduced full-year 2027 performance expectations, revealing continued caution but moderating pessimism. The Occupancy index stood at -3, while ADR, Total Revenue, and F&B Revenue recorded -13, -11, and -14, respectively.
Approximately 46% of respondents expected ADR to decline, mostly by no more than 5%.
Against this backdrop, hotels should adopt evidence-based budgeting, focusing on local demand, competitive supply, guest and channel mix, and operational efficiency. Inbound tourism, MICE, and entertainment-driven demand may provide selective growth opportunities despite the uneven recovery.
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