The National Day holiday is approaching. Recently, many netizens have posted that when making travel plans, they found that the National Day holiday increases in hotels in many places were too high, making people say that they “can’t afford to stay”. On September 22, a reporter from Upstream News (report email: baoliaosy@163.com) found that the price of business hotels in some popular domestic tourist cities has exceeded 1,000 yuan/night, and the price of many hotels in Jiuzhaigou exceeded 1,700 yuan/night. Some netizens canceled their travel plans because the hotel prices were too high. Some netizens also complained that "small cities can no longer afford it." Although the price of a hotel per night did not exceed 1,000, the increase was two to three times. Some experts said that in principle, it is not illegal to increase hotel prices during holidays, but it does not mean that prices can be increased at will.
Recently, media reported that the price of a room at the Space Hotel (Yiyao Museum Branch) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi was about 1,000 yuan during the National Day holiday, while the price of the same room type in September was only about 90 yuan, an increase of more than ten times. At present, relevant departments in Jiangxi have opened an investigation into the hotel and will seriously investigate and deal with it in accordance with laws and regulations.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, reporters from Upstream News searched on multiple platforms and found that house prices in many popular tourist cities and scenic spots increased during the National Day. For example, the usual price of a sea view resort hotel in Sanya, Hainan is 290 yuan. However, if you check in on October 1st for the same room type, the booking price is 667 yuan, an increase of 130%.
During the National Day, the price of a hotel near Qingdao’s May Fourth Square rose to more than 1,000 yuan. network diagram
Jiangsu netizen Xiao Pan told an upstream news reporter that he wanted to visit Qingdao during the National Day, but found that hotel prices had increased significantly. A room in a chain hotel near May 4th Square that usually cost more than 300 yuan increased to more than 1,000 yuan during the National Day. A room in a chain hotel near Qingdao University of Science and Technology usually costs 300 to 400 yuan, but it has also increased to 800 to 900 yuan.
Xiao Tan, a netizen from Hubei, originally planned to visit the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area during the National Day. When he checked out hotels at the end of August, he found that the price of a superior twin room in a chain hotel that cost 400 to 500 yuan in the off-season had increased to more than 1,500 yuan. On September 22, an upstream news reporter saw on a certain platform that the highest room price of the hotel on October 1 was more than 1,800 yuan per night. Xiao Tan said that he had canceled his plan to travel to Jiuzhaigou.
The highest price for a hotel chain in Jiuzhaigou from October 1st to 2nd was more than 1,800 yuan a night. network diagram
An industry insider told an upstream news reporter that hotel operating costs increase during holidays, and it is understandable to make appropriate adjustments to prices. In addition, due to the surge in the number of people traveling during the holidays, tourists also have certain psychological expectations for the increase in travel costs.
In addition to popular tourist cities and scenic spots, netizens also complained that some small cities are unaffordable. On September 22, Sichuan netizen Xiao Zeng told an upstream news reporter that he traveled to Pu'er, Yunnan during the National Day in 2024 and booked a king-size bed room in a chain hotel and spent 732 yuan in two days. Because he likes local food, Xiao Zeng went to the hotel to book a room again around the same time this year. He found that the same room type in the same hotel cost 744 yuan per day. "This is the price after discounts. Of course I know the price will increase during holidays, but is it too outrageous to be twice as expensive as last year's National Day?" Xiao Zeng told an upstream news reporter that he also gave up his National Day travel plan to Pu'er and went to Kunming instead.
An upstream news reporter inquired about the National Day room rates of this chain hotel in Pu'er. The customer service staff said that the hotel was put into trial operation in September last year. This year, the prices were adjusted according to the requirements of the headquarters, and there were also increases during the National Day.
When upstream news reporters inquired about the hotel on the online platform, they found that from September 22 to the end of September, the booking price fluctuated between 293 yuan and 457 yuan per night. On October 1, the booking price rose to 753 yuan per night, and on the 4th it rose to about 800 yuan per night, an increase of nearly three times. In the second half of the holiday, prices began to drop again, and the booking price dropped to 338 yuan per night on October 8. It can be clearly seen from the price changes that holiday prices have increased significantly compared with normal prices.
A hotel chain in Pu'er, Yunnan, paid 732 yuan for a two-day stay last year, and this year's National Day stay starts at 774 yuan. Photo provided by interviewee
Lawyer Yin Yu, senior partner of Guangdong Guanghe Law Firm, said that in principle, holiday hotel price increases are not illegal, but they are by no means "increasing if you want". Price increases must not only comply with market rules and be clearly marked, but also ensure that the increase is reasonable and must not break the bottom line of law and fairness. According to Article 3 of my country's Price Law, hotel room prices fall within the category of market-regulated prices, which are independently determined by operators based on production and operation costs and market supply and demand. This gives hotels a certain degree of pricing autonomy, but it does not mean that they can increase prices at will.
Zhao Zhongkui, an associate professor at the School of Economics at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said that according to the "Price Law", "Administrative Punishment Regulations for Price Violations" and other regulations, hotel operators who drive up hotel prices through illegal means and promote hotel prices to rise too quickly or too high may be ordered to make corrections by the competent authorities, confiscation of illegal gains, fines, orders to suspend operations for rectification, or even revoke their business licenses, depending on the circumstances. Zhao Zhongkui said: "When consumers encounter these chaos, from the perspective of reducing the cost of rights protection, they can first negotiate with the hotel. If the negotiation fails, ask the platform to intervene. If the dispute still cannot be resolved, they can sequentially adopt methods such as requesting consumer associations or other mediation organizations for mediation, complaining to relevant administrative departments, and filing lawsuits in court to protect their rights in accordance with the law."
