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| Bed & Breakfast News | Summer 2017
The Chinese B & B business model
The business model being used in the Pudong area for the B & Bs we saw ( see p14 ) is quite different from the UK . Rather than being owner-managed and started by entrepreneurs , as in Britain , there the Government licenses B & B development businesses , who purchase leases on rural buildings from their farmer owners .
The company ( for example , Suyu ( Shanghai ) Homestay Ltd ., who developed the riverside B & B on our front cover ) then refurbish the property – to a very high standard , as you can see in our feature in this issue ( p14 ). They put in trained young managers to run the B & B .
The farmer – why would typically have previously been running the property on a subsistence farming basis , just growing not much more than the family could eat , on a completely uneconomic basis – then receives lease income for 15 years , and also often some income for purchasing his fresh local produce for the B & B guests . After 15 years , the farmer gets back a refurbished property .
So the model seems to be aimed as much at improving neglected villages and creating income for subsistence farmers , as at a commercial return .
And importantly for the big picture , it achieves the Government ’ s aim of creating new capacity for domestic tourism outside the crowded cities of China .
So , a Government which recognizes the huge value of B & Bs to its tourism industry and puts in place practical policies to encourage and grow the sector … it made us feel rather wistful !
Pushing such unpatriotic thoughts aside , it was rewarding to be able to ‘ fly the flag ’ for Britain – and especially of course , British B & Bs , in the world ’ s most populous country . Some useful new contacts were made , and the B & B Association may be involved in helping people from the nascent Chinese B & B sector discover British B & Bs in visits to this country in the coming years .
We are also hoping to take part in the next International Conference , which the Shanghai Morning Post has indicated might be held in Japan - or the UK . We are of course trying to persuade them of the benefits of the UK , and will be working with VisitBritain , the tourism department and others to do so . Watch this space !