International hotel groups have set their sights on China's mid-range hotel stock market

Less than three months after the official announcement of the Jia Ge Hotel brand's entry into the Chinese market, there are rumors in the market that Series by Marriott is about to enter the Chinese market. Before that, there were also reports about the signing of "Unscripted by Hyatt" in the Chinese market.

These three brands belong to InterContinental, Marriott, and Hyatt respectively, and they are all positioned for the renovation of mid - range hotel inventory. After China's hotel industry entered the inventory era, many international hotel groups have gradually expanded their business downwards from luxury and high - end soft brands, competing with local hotel groups for a share of the mid - range inventory market.

More importantly, almost all other international hotel groups have similar products. If the above three brands can successfully open up the local market, it is not ruled out that more similar international brands will enter the market one after another.

By then, the battle between Chinese and foreign hotel brands in the mid - range inventory market may be about to start.

Mid - range inventory market welcomes international big players

Series by Marriott is a new brand newly developed by Marriott International. It emerged in May 2025, with its first stores opened in India. Currently, it is mainly concentrated in the markets of India, the United States, and Japan.

It is positioned to focus on the mid - range inventory hotel segment. On the premise of retaining the original brand name, space design, local cultural characteristics, and independent operation advantages of local hotels, it helps high - quality local hotels access the Marriott Bonvoy global membership system.

Within the Marriott system, it together with Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, The Luxury Collection, and Autograph Collection form the five selected collection brands.

Currently, brands such as Tribute Portfolio and Design Hotels have entered China. It is not difficult to see that Series by Marriott mainly targets the mid - range inventory market, complementing the above - mentioned brands in terms of positioning and market, and adding another piece to Marriott International's mid - range market in China.

According to "Hotel Management Finance", with the improvement of China's market status, more and more international brands are starting to enter. Moreover, many young brands can't wait to test the Chinese market.

Unscripted by Hyatt, with the Chinese name "Kayue Yixuan", was also established in 2025. Its first batch of hotels are also all independent inventory hotels. There are reports that Unscripted by Hyatt is expected to land in Shanghai and Fujian in 2026. Its positioning is also a mid - range and mid - high - end inventory brand.

In addition, the Jia Ge brand, which was officially announced to enter China in March this year, is a new brand launched by InterContinental Hotels Group in 2023, targeting the mid - range and mid - high - end markets. Before entering China, the number of its opened and under - construction stores globally was nearly 200. This product is also aimed at the mid - range inventory market.

Similarly, during the May Day holiday this year, Hyatt signed a general franchise strategic agreement with Dongcheng Group for the Chinese mainland market to exclusively develop and operate Hyatt Select brand hotels, which mainly target the mid - high - end inventory market. However, it is said that in the Chinese market, Hyatt Select is also open to greenfield projects.

Previously, "Hotel Management Finance" has mentioned many times that the mainstreaming of inventory brands, the matrixing of mainstream brands, and the group - based full - link support have become the future trends for China's hotel industry to deeply cultivate the inventory market.

In this process, international hotel groups are "slow to react". Currently, they are implementing the matrixing of inventory brands and starting to move towards the mid - range market with a larger market capacity.

From a global perspective, in the field of the mid - range inventory market, there are still many brands of international hotel groups that have not entered the Chinese market.

To simply list, these unentered brands also include:

Spark by Hilton - a new brand launched by Hilton Group in early 2023. Hilton defines it as a new choice for high - end economy accommodation. We believe it belongs to the "light mid - range" or entry - level mid - range hotel brand. It mainly focuses on the inventory market and has relatively inclusive requirements for properties, with a core volume of 60 to 100 rooms.

There are also Sleep Inn (which we believe also belongs to the entry - level mid - range brand) and Ascend Hotel Collection under Choice Hotels International.

According to "Hotel Management Finance", if the above "pioneers" achieve good expansion results, it is not ruled out that these unentered brands will start a new round of layout.

A new battlefield for Chinese and foreign brands

Data shows that among the inventory hotels that have been in operation for more than 5 years, economy and mid - range hotels account for a higher proportion, about more than 85%. Most of these hotels face problems such as aging facilities and backward service standards.

Moreover, these mid - range hotels are not doing well.

The "Insight Report on Brand Changes in the Chinese Hotel Market" released by the Houhai Data Platform in 2025 shows that in the whole year of 2024, more than 1,000 mid - range and above hotels closed down, and nearly 95% of them were general mid - range hotels. This means that many mid - range hotels are facing a survival crisis.

According to "Hotel Management Finance", local hotel groups started to layout the mid - range inventory hotel market earlier. They are more sensitive to the market and act more quickly.

For example, the Xingcheng hotel brand under Huazhu "saves on renovation, renovates quickly, and earns quickly" and has launched three renovation models: "minor renovation, semi - renovation, and full - renovation".

Brands such as Golden Tulip and Magnolia under Jinjiang Hotels target old three - star hotels and traditional business hotels.

The Vancent Hotel under BTG Hotels mainly targets mid - range business travelers and attaches more importance to catering and intelligence.

The Borman Hotel under Dongcheng Hotel Group has been deeply cultivating the inventory market, and its renovation concept has gone through multiple iterations, such as from "no two stores look the same, but with consistent experience" to "beauty - treatment - like renovation for a better experience", and then to "reshaping the business model and upgrading the check - in experience".

Meilihao (mainly targeting mid - high - end inventory) and Yizhi (the main force in mid - range inventory) under Elong Hotel Group. With the empowerment of Elong Hotel Technology, they can achieve modular construction, which is very attractive to many mid - range inventory properties.

It is not difficult to see that almost all hotel groups have one or several hotel brands that mainly focus on the inventory market. With international hotel groups moving down to the mid - range inventory market, direct competition between Chinese and foreign brands is inevitable.

According to "Hotel Management Finance", in the mid - range inventory market segment, Chinese and foreign hotel brands each have their own advantages. However, local hotel groups still have a certain lead, but the lead is not significant.

Let's elaborate.

Compared with full - service hotels and high - end hotels, most mid - range hotels operate in a leasing model and pursue efficiency and investment return more. In this regard, local hotel groups have more cards to play.

Especially in the inventory market, investors pursue "small investment, big return". Relatively speaking, the brands under local hotel groups are more flexible, and the teams understand the Chinese market better. In terms of upfront investment, local brands have more advantages.

Moreover, local leading hotel groups including Jinjiang, Huazhu, BTG, and Elong have already established a strong supply chain system. These capabilities help them reduce costs and increase efficiency for investors in every link in the inventory market.

Take Elong Hotel Technology as an example.

They have created the concept of an "ecosystem". In addition to the brand, other aspects such as engineering, procurement, technology, operation, membership, finance, and talent form a real - life ecosystem. It provides full - link empowerment in aspects such as the command and empowerment end, product and engineering end, procurement end, technology and operation end, membership and marketing end.

However, for international hotel groups, brand power and premium ability are still one of their core competitiveness. They still have a certain moat in product design, style, etc.

In the view of "Hotel Management Finance", the competition between Chinese and foreign hotel groups in the mid - range inventory market will become more intense. This is not only manifested in more brands joining this battlefield but also in more intense direct "conflicts" between brands, and there may be more cases of "poaching" among similar hotel brands in terms of inventory properties.

Where is the future of the mid - range inventory market heading?

Just from the market structure, the situation of local and international brands competing on the same stage will exist for a long time. For investors, there will be more choices in inventory renewal.

However, from a practical operation perspective, the future mid - range inventory market will gradually shift from "single - unit" to "chain" and from one chain brand to another.

This means that some chain hotel brands and hotel management groups with weak competitiveness in the current market will become important "revolutionary" targets for strong inventory renewal brands to achieve their KPIs.

At the same time, brands will keep a closer eye on each other, especially on some high - quality inventory projects.

Previously, we learned that many projects in the market have changed up to 3 brands from signing to opening. Even in some projects where the construction has been completed, they were "poached" by competitors just before the trial operation.

From the operation end, the mid - range hotel inventory market will be more "money - oriented", and all rebranding actions will focus on making money. Especially in the current market situation, investors need to see a clear return path for every penny they spend.

In this process, international hotel groups need to build a team that understands the Chinese market better and is more in touch with the ground to gain more advantages in this close - range battle.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Hotel Management Finance", and is published by 36Kr with authorization.