China’s Hotel Market In Q4 2025: Strong Performance In Sanya, Weak Outlook For First-tier Cities

Published on October 23, 2025

In nan 4th fourth of 2025, nan edifice marketplace sentiment successful China’s first-tier cities showed important divergence. As nan summertime tailwinds began to fade, location was a noticeable displacement successful edifice capacity crossed nan country. While Sanya knowledgeable a beardown upturn successful demand, cities for illustration Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou struggled pinch continued pressure. Similarly, Shenzhen displayed resilience, benefiting from request connected nan user side, but nan wide edifice marketplace outlook remained cautious.

According to caller manufacture reports, nan edifice marketplace successful China saw declining occupancy, Average Daily Rate (ADR), and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) erstwhile compared to nan 3rd 4th of 2025. These declines are attributed to a operation of reduced business recreation demand, off-season effects, and rising operational challenges. A deficiency of short-term catalysts further dampened nan market’s near-term outlook, starring galore successful nan manufacture to adopt a much cautious stance heading into nan last months of nan year.

First-Tier Cities: Diverging Sentiment

In Sanya, nan edifice marketplace showed strength, pinch assurance continuing to emergence contempt broader challenges successful different parts of China. This tropical land destination has agelong been a celebrated retreat for home tourists, and its fame remained precocious successful Q4, which was further bolstered by section request and tourism promotions. As a result, hotels successful Sanya benefitted from improved occupancy rates and dependable capacity passim nan quarter.

Shenzhen besides demonstrated resilience connected nan request side. As a awesome economical hub, Shenzhen continued to use from user demand, peculiarly successful its leisure and hospitality sectors. The city’s beardown betterment successful tourism, peculiarly driven by home visitors, provided a much-needed boost to nan edifice market. However, contempt this affirmative sentiment, nan marketplace outlook remained nether unit owed to uncertainties surrounding firm recreation and rising operational costs.

On nan different hand, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou continued to look challenges successful nan 4th quarter. With tourism request slowing down post-summer and continued be aware from business travelers, these cities’ edifice markets faced downward trends successful occupancy and rates. The MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) segment, which traditionally drives a important information of demand, remained weak. This indicates that businesses were still cautious astir firm spending, limiting maturation imaginable for these cities’ edifice markets.

Second-Tier Cities: Cautious Sentiment Amidst Weak Business Demand

Second-tier cities successful China besides struggled pinch anemic demand, peculiarly from business and MICE travelers. These cities, which had been connected a maturation trajectory successful caller years, faced nan dual situation of expanding title from caller edifice developments and subdued business travel. While immoderate cities managed to find pockets of opportunity, peculiarly by catering to home visitors and leisure travelers, nan wide sentiment remained cautious.

Cities extracurricular nan first-tier region person seen an uptick successful title owed to caller proviso entering nan market. This has led to an intensification of value title and a narrowing of profit margins for hoteliers. The slower betterment successful firm recreation continues to effect wide edifice request successful these regions, making it much challenging for properties to support precocious occupancy rates and ADR levels.

The Corporate Travel Segment Faces Continued Challenges

One of nan cardinal contributing factors to nan weakened edifice marketplace outlook successful Q4 2025 is nan continued softness successful firm recreation demand. While immoderate businesses person resumed in-person events and meetings, galore companies stay cautious owed to uncertain economical conditions and continued unit connected firm budgets. According to manufacture data, nan gathering request scale for nan 4th remained profoundly negative, signaling a deficiency of assurance successful nan return of large-scale business events.

Corporate recreation request successful some nan home and world sectors remains subdued. With tightened budgets, companies are opting for much cost-effective recreation solutions, further impacting edifice performance, peculiarly successful awesome business-centric cities for illustration Beijing and Shanghai.

Forecast for Q4 2025 and Beyond

Looking ahead, astir manufacture experts expect nan downward inclination to proceed into nan last 4th of 2025. While immoderate regions for illustration Sanya and Shenzhen whitethorn use from beardown home demand, awesome cities for illustration Beijing and Shanghai are apt to acquisition continued pressures successful occupancy and ADR.

Industry forecasts foretell that nationalist edifice occupancy is group to diminution by astir 11% quarter-on-quarter, pinch ADR falling by 2.8% and median RevPAR dipping by astir 13.5%. The anticipation of further operational accent is compounded by nan absence of short-term request drivers and world uncertainties that proceed to power recreation trends.

Conclusion: A Cautious Outlook for nan Hotel Market successful China

The forecast for China’s edifice marketplace for Q4 2025 remains mixed. Some cities, specified arsenic Sanya and Shenzhen, proceed to show signs of request growth. Other first-tier cities, specified arsenic Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, stay nether strain. The overarching temper remains pessimistic, pinch concerns regarding subdued business travel, nan MICE sector’s sluggish recovery, and rising title from second-tier cities’ caller edifice construction. The capacity of nan edifice assemblage continues to exemplify nan world uncertainty, pinch galore operators focused connected costs minimization and redefined request responsiveness.

The remainder of nan twelvemonth will surely bespeak really overmuch diversification and leisure tourism arsenic good arsenic bespoke firm packages nan outlined strategies will usher for request successful 2026. While nan betterment for nan manufacture remains elusive, proviso deficiency and enhancing impermanent acquisition connection promising resolutions to nan unyielding turbulence.