On August 8th, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics released the main economic indicators of corporate units in the accommodation and catering industry above quota for the first six months of 2025. According to the data, there are a total of 5135 corporate units in this sector in Beijing, achieving operating income of 73.775 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.7%; operating costs were 36.019 billion yuan, down 1.2% year-on-year; total profits were 2.47 billion yuan, a sudden decrease of 67%.
Among them, there were 1613 accommodation units with a year-on-year decrease in operating income of 7.3% and total profits of 59.8 million yuan, a staggering decrease of 92.9%. The 3522 catering units saw a year-on-year decline in operating income of 2.3%, with total profits amounting to 188 million yuan.
In response to this, senior columnist Xing Haiyang of “Sanlian Life Weekly” wrote that with 1613 enterprises having a profit of 59.8 million yuan, the average profit per enterprise is less than 40,000 yuan, which is just the cost a company may pay for one employee in half a year. In a company with dozens or hundreds of people, hiring an extra employee in the kitchen or lobby could lead to losses, reflecting a precarious operating situation. Despite Beijing being a popular tourist destination, the challenging conditions faced by hotels are truly unbelievable.
Xing Haiyang analyzed that the reason behind this is the tightening financial situation of local governments, leading to a reduction in official activities such as business trips, training, and meetings. “As the total profits of state-owned enterprises in the first half of the year decreased by 3.1% year-on-year, and state-owned holding enterprises saw a 7.6% decrease in total profits, the corresponding expenses for team building, business trips, and training were also compressed, causing the hotel industry in Beijing to lose a consumer group that is not sensitive to prices.”
Some netizens expressed disbelief, saying, “I thought tourism was booming, how could this happen?” However, more netizens indicated, “There’s less eating and drinking during travel,” “I work in edible oil production and interact with the catering industry every day. It’s really bleak.” “Due to the ban on drinking and new social security regulations, from high-end to low-end catering, it’s a comprehensive blow!” “As official expenses for dining, drinks, and travel become more restricted, the revenue of hotels and catering will decrease.”
“The cycle of competition within the manufacturing industry has ended, and the service industry has begun. Even five-star hotels are now setting up stalls and offering takeout, so what about regular hotels in the general society? Originally, everyone catered to different consumer groups, from low-end to high-end, but now they are intertwined.” “It’s similar in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.” “Behind the numbers, there is so much human suffering.”