B&B industry boosts employment, entrepreneurship

Sun Qian, a woman born after 1980, runs a B&B hotel in Beijing. (File photo)

China's B&B industry has recovered and seen growth this year. On Tujia.com, an online platform for booking B&B hotels, orders worth more than 1,000 yuan ($138.54) rose nearly 30 percent from the same period in 2019.

The burgeoning growth has attracted many people to engage in the industry. According to Tujia.com, in the first half of 2023, people joining the B&B business born after 1995 accounted for 70 percent of those who joined the business during the same period, up 50 percent over 2019.

Xiao Tong, who runs a B&B hotel in Beijing's Huairou district, used to be a bank clerk. Xiao, who studied hotel management overseas, has always had a keen interest in the B&B industry.

When she was a college student, Xiao thought about turning the Siheyuan, the traditional courtyard home of her family, into a B&B hotel when she was carrying out a project which studied the development of the B&B industry in China.

Then, she and her family transformed their courtyard home into a B&B hotel, incorporating elements of carpentry. The hotel has gained popularity after it was built. This year, it started to provide homemade meals.

Young people have their competitive advantages in running B&B hotels. They are adept at social media and can use these platforms to gain more attention for their hotels.

Working as a B&B housekeeper has also become a popular profession. In June 2022, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security added 18 new professions, including B&B housekeepers, to the list of recognized occupations. Over the past year, there has been a rising demand for B&B housekeepers.

Liu Yang, chief business officer of Tujia, estimated that this year, the B&B industry is expected to directly and indirectly create about a million jobs.

Xiao's B&B hotel employs five people. "The housekeeper of my hotel used to be a farmer. As a member of my hotel, the employee's family is able to earn an extra income of at least 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a year," said Xiao.

In addition to boosting employment, the B&B industry has driven the development of other businesses. In a village in Beihai city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local villagers not only provide accommodations, but are also engaged in a variety of complementary businesses catering to visitor interests. These include restaurants, shops and supermarkets, and tour guides.