Parents snap up bargain rooms for exam takers

The average room rate of hotels near test sites of this year's national college entrance examination hit a five-year low, while bookings for such rooms went up year-on-year, industry data and reports show.

The annual exam, or gaokao, saw a record 11.93 million candidates sign up this year. Except for a postponement in Shanghai due to COVID-19, the exam kicked off on Tuesday nationwide and concluded on Wednesday in some regions and on Thursday or Friday in others.

Every year, some candidates who live far away from their exam venues book rooms in nearby hotels in order to rest between tests and avoid getting held up in traffic.

According to data from online travel platform Qunar, the average rate of hotel rooms for gaokao candidates booked on the platform was 300 yuan ($45), the lowest in five years. That was a decrease of around 20 percent from last year, Beijing Daily reported on Monday.

The prices of gaokao rooms booked through online travel agency Ctrip averaged out at 340 yuan, which was lower than last year's 375 yuan, Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald reported.

"Instead of raising the prices, we are actually offering our gaokao rooms at prices lower than our normal rate," Hu Yurong, deputy general manager of Worldhotel Grand Jiaxing Hunan, in Changsha, Hunan province, told local newspaper Sanxiang Metropolis Daily the day before the exam.

"Our parent-child suites, priced above 800 yuan during normal times, are now available at only 388 yuan per night," Hu added.

At the same time, the volume of bookings increased. A report released by online travel agency Tongcheng Travel on June 2 indicated that as different regions across the country announced venue information for the exam, hotels close to the venues experienced a surge in bookings.

As of June 1, bookings for gaokao rooms on the platform had soared by nearly 105 percent year-on-year. Bookings for such rooms in four-star and five-star hotels had risen nearly 20 percent compared with the same period of 2021, 21st Century Business Herald reported.

One of the reasons behind the drop in rates was lower occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions.

A parent surnamed Fang from Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu province, booked a room at the local New Victory Hotel for her son, who was one of this year's gaokao candidates.

She told Lanzhou Daily that there were many rooms for her to choose from and they were also cheaper than last year, when her colleague went through much difficulty to get a room at the same hotel due to high occupancy.

"Interprovincial tourism has yet to fully resume as a result of COVID-19," a staff member of the hotel told the Lanzhou-based newspaper. "Our occupancy rate was over 90 percent during the same period last year. This year it was less than 40 percent. As a result, we are offering the rooms at a lower price than last year."

Chinese hotel operator Huazhu reduced the prices of gaokao rooms in many of its properties this year. For example, Crystal Orange Hotel Taojin in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, offered a 15 percent discount off their usual standard rates for gaokao candidates, according to a report from Chinese news aggregator Toutiao.

The main reason, according to the report, was that Huazhu was acting out of corporate social responsibility to benefit more candidates and their families during times when various sectors have been affected by COVID-19.

Some parents also hesitated on whether to book a gaokao room for their children.

"We considered booking a gaokao room to make sure that the children would have a good rest and take the exam feeling refreshed," a parent told Dezhou Evening News based in Dezhou, Shandong province.

"But I'm also worried that my child will not be able to adapt to a strange environment. So, after careful consideration, I decided not to book one," the parent said before the exam.