A 4-diamond hotel near Xi’an Bell Tower has reduced room rates from over 600 RMB during the 7-day National Day Golden Week holiday to as low as 1 RMB immediately after the holiday. This unprecedented price cut illustrates an unusually sharp decline in hotel prices in Xi’an, a known industry pattern but rarely at this magnitude, according to eu.36kr.com.
Tourism Volume and Hotel Occupancy During National Day
During the National Day holiday, Xi’an welcomed 18.988 million tourists, marking an 8.08% year-on-year increase. Tourist spending reached 18.605 billion RMB, rising 6.53% compared to the previous year. Hotel occupancy rates surged to 92%, with star-rated hotels experiencing a 6.8 percentage
point increase year-on-year, and rooms in key business districts such as Bell Tower, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and Muslim Street were fully booked each day.
Online Travel Agency Rankings Confirm Xi’an’s Rising Popularity
Meituan Travel ranked Xi’an second among long-distance travel destinations in China during the holiday, with a 31% increase in consecutive hotel stay orders year-on-year. Tongcheng Travel also placed Xi’an in the national top 10 for overnight travel destinations during the same period. These figures confirm sustained high demand for cultural tourism in Xi’an despite escalating market supply.
Occupancy Rates Contrast with Declining Prices and Reservations
Although occupancy reached 92% during the holiday, UrCove data revealed slight decreases in both average hotel room prices
and reservation numbers per hotel year-on-year. Xi’an Tourism Group’s hotel business reflected this trend, with the average room rate dropping approximately 30% from 343.18 RMB in 2023 to 239.31 RMB in 2025. The group reported a net loss of 291 million RMB in 2025, primarily due to declining occupancy and lower room rates in its hotel and homestay segments.
Hotel and Homestay Supply Growth Outpaces Demand
By 2024, Xi’an hosted 9,495 hotels with 354,157 rooms, including 1,107 chain hotels. The total number of operating hotels surpassed 10,000 in 2025, with approximately 1,400 new hotels opening within two years. Homestays near core scenic areas expanded by 300% annually
from 2020 to 2025, exceeding 100,000 rooms in total. However, aggressive market competition led to 90% of homestays participating in price wars and ownership transfer waves in 2026, according to the Xi’an Homestay Industry Association.
Market Factors Driving Fierce Competition and Luxury Hotel Delays
The 2026 Q2 comprehensive prosperity index for Xi’an’s hotel industry registered at -31, reflecting pessimistic outlooks for average room prices amidst continuous new supply, as reported by HVS Hotel Consulting. The city’s administrative, business, and transport hub status in Northwest China supports relatively stable off-season hotel demand. Nonetheless, the surge in hotel and homestay openings has intensified market competition, driving aggressive price cuts to maintain
occupancy.
Luxury hotel openings by Four Seasons, The St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria scheduled for 2026 have been postponed. Meanwhile, Xi’an currently operates multiple luxury hotels including The Ritz-Carlton, Sofitel Legend, InterContinental, Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott, and W Hotel, underscoring an already established high-end hotel market facing oversupply concerns.
