Homestays prepare to welcome expo visitors

Homestays in Shanghai's Chongming district are getting ready to host visitors to the upcoming 10th China Flower Expo which will run from May 21 to July 2.

Efforts to increase capacity and upgrade service quality started last year, with the number of homestays on the island growing from 430 last year to the current 630, according to the district authority.

Some homestay managers said that requests and orders for rooms during the expo are arriving on a daily basis and that the construction of supporting facilities such as parking spaces, public restrooms, reception rooms and smoking areas have mostly been completed.

The district government said that its hospitality sector has been booming over the past few years as the island's reputation as a place of natural beauty grows.

Visitor numbers to the major tourist spots in the district totaled more than 300,000 during the Spring Festival this year, an increase of 400 percent from 2019. Tourist spots were closed during Spring Festival last year because of the pandemic.

In collaboration with the local justice authority and market watchdog, the district authority has since the latter half of last year provided training for food safety, management of fruit and vegetable picking, safety risk prevention, and public health to homestay managers to help standardize and improve service levels.

The market authority in Jianshe town, which is located near the main venue of the expo, said that the number of complaints received last year about price hikes during holidays and hygiene problems had decreased by nearly 70 percent compared to 2018.

Among those looking forward to the expo is Gu Hongbin, who has since 2012 been running Uncle Gu's Homestay in Hongqiao village of Jianshe town. To date, 37 of the 39 families in the village have followed in Gu's footsteps, operating homestay businesses under his brand.

These homestays will offer nearly 200 rooms with more than 300 beds during the expo period. All the roads, alleys and gardens in the village have also received a facelift in preparation for the major event.

"For some rooms, the mattresses have also been changed to more comfortable ones to cater to visitors' rising needs for better quality service," said Gu.

Proceeds from the Uncle Gu's Homestay collective amounted to nearly 10 million yuan ($1.53 million) last year, with each family receiving at least 100,000 yuan, he added.

Yu Shunkang, Party secretary of Hongqiao village, said that the homestay business has not only helped the village residents get a higher income but also boosted their morale.

"Many of the villagers here are in their 60s and 70s. Seeing the hospitality sector in Chongming become more vibrant makes them more confident about life in their twilight years," said Yu.

"Many of them have mastered how to use WeChat to communicate with their guests before their arrival and have learned to take the initiative to greet customers when they arrive. They're becoming more and more professional."