A recent development has drawn widespread attention: after nearly 12 years, Chinese authorities have revised regulations on "practicing frugality and opposing waste," signaling a renewed national push for austerity.
In short, internal government meetings must be simplified, and training sessions are encouraged to move online whenever possible.
A hotel executive remarked, “In addition to government departments, businesses are also drastically cutting their meeting budgets. It's clear that corporate meetings are becoming increasingly rare. In the first five months of this year, our meeting revenue dropped by about 20% compared to last year.” He added with a wry smile, “This year might be the best we’ll see for the next decade.”
In recent years, major corporations have visibly tightened their controls over travel and meetings.
For example, social media users recently revealed that Ant Group rolled out its strictest-ever travel policy, banning non-essential business trips for employees below Level 16. Even for essential travel, individuals are limited to five days per month, and the top 10% in travel expenses are automatically flagged for audit.
“Travel only when necessary, go virtual when possible” has become the prevailing corporate approach to business travel and meetings.
According to a research report by Guosen Securities, the average travel expense per employee among A-share listed companies dropped by 2.9% year-on-year in 2024—and by nearly 15% compared to 2019.
A hotelier managing a high-end property in eastern China reported feeling the chill in the meetings market.
“At our Beijing branch, where we serve several long-term state-owned enterprise clients, we’ve noticed significant changes—fewer meetings, no post-event banquets, not even coffee breaks. Now a meeting often means just one cup of black tea per person,” he noted.
“You might find it hard to believe, but in some of our directly managed hotels in Wuxi and Changzhou, many meetings no longer generate venue fees. Clients negotiate bundled deals with accommodations and meals in exchange for free meeting rooms. Sometimes we have no choice but to take the loss to retain the business.”
“This year I’ve talked to many companies—private, foreign-invested, Hong Kong-based—and in 90% of the cases, the top-down directive is clear: reduce meeting costs by 20% to 30%.”
A visible trend is that hotels are now pivoting aggressively toward private social events to offset the decline in business travel. Hoteliers are focusing marketing efforts on housewarming banquets, weddings, graduation parties, and appreciation dinners.
