Bed and Breakfast Lodging Development in Mainland China: Who is the Potential Customer?

The various types of bed and breakfast (B&B) or “commercial home” represent a great opportunity for the growth of entrepreneurship in Mainland China. The “commercial home” first emerged in Mainland China in the 1990s with the development of Chinese domestic tourism in the form of the “rural family hotel” (an English translation of the Chinese name ). Today, there is opportunity for further expansion of all types of “commercial home”, but we have to know more about potential customers. Therefore, this study focuses on one major market for Mainland China, Hong Kong residents, and their willingness to stay in different types of “commercial home” (B&B and homestays). The results from an annual population survey of Hong Kong residents on leisure travel indicate the market segment that might have the most potential would be younger males, certainly a difference from the customer in Western culture. The targeted customer also would not be the one with the highest levels of education or income, or the lowest. Additionally, respondents indicated more desire to stay in B&Bs than homestays.