The encyclopedia · Software & IT · Strategic decision · 2010–2026
Huazhu's app empire: 312M members book 75% of rooms direct, beating OTA fees
Huazhu built its own Ctrip—the 华住会 app—so members bypass OTAs and franchisees pay the group, not platforms.
Huazhu Group (华住集团)
the move
Chinese hotel chains pay online travel agencies 8–10% commission per booking, plus optional promotion fees. Huazhu, founded by one of Ctrip's co-founders, chose a different path: build its own guest base through the 华住会 membership app. By early 2026 it had 312 million registered members and more than 75% of room nights booked through its own channels, with the central reservation system (CRS) contributing over 65% of bookings.
That private traffic pool is monetized through franchisees. Every franchise hotel must connect to the CRS and pay a central-booking fee of 8% of room revenue, plus membership registration fees, management fees and system fees. In the first three quarters of 2025 franchisees generated ¥70.3 billion of turnover, of which Huazhu took ¥8.7 billion—a 12.38% effective take rate, higher than Ctrip's commission.
Meanwhile Huazhu's own dependence on Ctrip shrank to 1.18% of revenue in 2024 (¥283 million), and Ctrip even paid Huazhu ¥112–146 million in service fees in 2023–2024. Distribution, normally a cost, became a profit center.
why it works
- A direct channel avoids the 8–10% OTA commission on every booking
- Membership data lets Huazhu price, target and run hotels better
- Franchisees pay the group instead of paying platforms
- Scale of private traffic compounds: more rooms, more members, more data
what transfers
The moat is distribution ownership: whoever owns repeat guests sets the fees, so build the direct channel before the platform does.
what came after
Huazhu's direct-booking model made it China's largest hotel group by rooms, but franchisee economics and quality control became contentious as it expanded fast—a reminder that distribution power must be paired with franchisee trust.
references
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