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recently, a blogger "cracked down on hidden cameras in a hotel and was surrounded by many people" in shijiazhuang attracted attention. it also caused many people to worry about whether there are more hidden cameras in the b&b and hotel industries.

mr. wang, who runs a b&b near zhuque gate in xi'an, has been paying attention to the progress of this matter these days. he said that he saw many people on the internet saying that there are more secret photos in the homestay industry. as an operator, he does not agree with this statement. "everyone spends hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on decoration, and it is impossible to do illegal things and ruin their investment. even if there is a case of b&b owners colluding with people who take photos secretly, it should be very rare."

▲june 29, 2024, xi’an’s unique leisure b&b. according to visual china

in interviews with red star news reporters, several b&b operators said that b&bs have become polarized in recent years. one category focuses on low prices, but the services are relatively poor, while the other category is mid- to high-end b&bs, where shop owners will invest in comparisons. give more "personality" to the b&b. "the former type of b&b will indeed cause some people to misunderstand b&bs as 'poor service or even risk of being secretly photographed'," said mr. ding, a b&b operator.

wang qiyan, senior researcher at the yangtze river economic belt research institute of renmin university of china and director of the leisure economy research center, said in an interview with a red star news reporter that the situation of someone secretly installing candid camera equipment in the hotel may be solved by relevant departments conducting regular inspections of the hotel. ways to prevent it.

b&b operator:

even though the industry is relatively "involved"

it's also impossible to hook up with the candid photographer

mr. wang runs a b&b near zhuque gate in the old city of xi'an. last year, he spent more than 3 million yuan to renovate the b&b, focusing on mid- to high-end lines.

"i don't have many rooms, less than 10. the charge in peak season is about 600 yuan per room per day. this price is relatively high among b&bs in xi'an." mr. wang said that every room in the b&b has a view of xi'an. there are floor-to-ceiling windows on the city wall, a bathtub, and free breakfast. overall, the operation is relatively normal.

mr. wang said that he has been paying attention to the "crackdown on hidden cameras in hotels that were blocked by many people" incident in shijiazhuang these days. he noticed that some netizens questioned whether there was a collusion between the b&b operators and the people who took the photos. in this regard, mr. wang said that the vast majority of b&b operators would not do such a thing. for the operator, after investing hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan in decoration costs, once a guest is secretly photographed, this is the internet age, and it will be exposed soon. then the b&b will definitely not be the same. way to continue operating. “it’s illegal to hook up with someone who takes secret photos, and there’s no guarantee of income. it’s definitely not worth the gain.”

mr. ding runs a b&b in luoyang, henan. his b&b is located in a commercial office building, and the price of each room is more than 100 yuan per day. he mentioned that the concept of homestay is actually very broad. "some like ours are relatively cheap, and some are mid-to-high-end. b&b products on the market are now basically polarized. for mid-range prices, people generally choose better express hotels."

mr. ding said that although the price of the b&b he runs is cheap, and even when there are no customers, he will use the "people nearby" function on wechat to find guests, but even if the business is difficult, he will not do anything to hook up with candid photographers. matter. "if you look at the police report on the shijiazhuang incident, it was finally stated that the b&b operator and the person who installed the camera did not know each other."

mr. ding told red star news reporters that the homestay industry is now relatively "involved." his b&b could be sold for more than 200 yuan a room before, but then everyone began to lower the price and competition became fierce. his b&b has also gradually lowered its price to more than 100 yuan now. "the main thing is to reduce prices on labor costs and hotel supplies."

some guests:

staying in a b&b is like "drawing a blind box"

prefer to stay in express hotels

36-year-old ms. wang told the red star news reporter that she has liked to travel since she was in college. later, she often traveled for work and was a frequent visitor to various hotels. “i used to like to stay in b&b hotels, but these days for various reasons, i choose to stay in express hotels more often.”

when ms. wang traveled in college, she often stayed in youth hostels and b&bs. she liked the feeling of communicating with strangers in youth hostels, and also liked the changing styles of b&bs. “at that time, the concept of b&bs was just emerging, and many of them were more interesting. compared with compared to ordinary hotels, b&bs feel more humane. ”

after joining the workforce, ms. wang often chose b&bs when traveling or on business trips. however, she gradually discovered that the "uncertainty" of b&bs was getting bigger and bigger, and it was more like "drawing a blind box." "for example, i was on a business trip and booked a panda-themed b&b. i thought it was very nice and interesting after looking at the photos they posted, but when i actually went there, i found it to be very shabby and many facilities and services were not in place." she said.

to be on the safe side, ms. wang now chooses mid-range express hotels more often when she goes out. "although it seems that she has lost some fun, at least the services and facilities of the express hotels are quite satisfactory and will not 'overturn', and now some high-end hotels hotel brands are also sinking, and prices are acceptable. ”

in addition, the prices of mid- to high-end hotels are becoming more and more "involved". according to data from a large travel platform, judging from the current booking situation, during this year's national day holiday, the average price of mid- to high-star hotels was also 20% lower than last year. , more friendly to tourists.

red star news reporters saw from multiple travel and lifestyle platforms that there were many posts about "complaining" about b&bs. "the entry standards for b&bs are too low now. some people rent a few rooms in residential buildings and dare to tell others that they are a personalized b&b. sometimes they don't even change the bedding." some netizens said.

expert advice:

relevant departments may conduct regular inspections

does the hotel have surveillance equipment installed?

red star news reporters noticed that some low-end b&b operators are also trying to make some transformations.

"we are now also starting to do long-term rental business." ms. xu, who runs a b&b in changsha, told the red star news reporter that she and her friends previously rented a two-story building as a b&b. "but later we found that it was very energy-consuming and labor-intensive. it’s also very high, and low-end and mid-range b&bs like ours often can’t sell at high prices. later, we switched to long-term rental business. some people may come to stay for a few months, or even a year and a half, so we don’t have to change bedding frequently. , although the single-day house price may have dropped a lot, if you operate it for a long time, your income is actually more guaranteed.”

regarding some people's concerns about the presence of many hidden cameras in b&bs, he zhihui, who is engaged in anti-eavesdropping work at a company in shenzhen, believes that it may be a rare case where b&b owners collude with the installers of candid camera equipment. "once a hidden camera is installed in a hotel, in this age of the internet, the news will spread quickly, and it will be difficult for the operator to do business in the future, not to mention that it is illegal in itself."

he zhihui said that seven or eight years ago, there was indeed a time when there were many hidden cameras installed in hotels. later, with the intensification of crackdowns by relevant departments and the improvement of laws and regulations, this situation has been greatly reduced in recent years.

wang qiyan, a senior researcher at the yangtze river economic belt research institute of renmin university of china and director of the leisure economy research center, said in an interview with reporters that in fact, whether it is a b&b or other type of hotel, there is a risk of being installed with secret camera equipment. "if conditions permit, relevant organizations can conduct such inspections on hotels regularly, just like fire inspections. of course, they should not be too frequent. they can be carried out together with fire inspections, so that hotels will take the initiative to prevent people from installing sneak camera equipment. "

he zhihui, who is engaged in anti-eavesdropping work, said in an interview that relatively professional anti-eavesdropping equipment can be purchased for a few thousand yuan, and it is not difficult to use. if the hotel checks the room during cleaning, it usually only requires it takes about 2 minutes to complete the inspection of a room, which is easier to operate than the guests themselves checking whether there is a hidden camera device in the room.

regarding the development of the b&b industry, wang qiyan suggested that whether it is a relatively cheap ordinary b&b or a mid-to-high-end b&b, only by providing basic services and developing a "personality" will attract more customers. “many people choose b&bs for their sense of relaxation and cultural attributes. compared with traditional fast hotels and guesthouses, this is also the advantage of b&bs. of course, the prerequisite for doing this well is to be able to provide customers with better accommodation. nowadays, everyone has a wide range of choices to choose from. if you just want to 'fool one,' you will definitely not be able to do it for a long time."

red star news reporter fu yao