Accommodating climate 适者生存
——The Economist 20201205 How China’s Jin Jiang and Huazhu put Marriott and Hilton to shame Two Chinese hospitality groups thrive as Western rivals struggle 中国的锦江和华住是如何让万豪和希尔顿蒙羞的,在西方竞争对手苦苦挣扎之际,两家中国酒店集团蓬勃发展 Dec 3rd 2020 | BEIJING COVID-19 HAS, received wisdom has it, been terrible for hotels. The share prices of the eight biggest listed Western groups by room count have slipped by 14%, on average, this year. The glum consensus is, though, being challenged by two big Chinese chains. Both are enjoying resurgent demand for domestic travel as China has tamed its epidemic. And strength at home is fuelling ambitions abroad. 人们普遍认为,COVID-19对酒店来说很糟糕。按客房数量计算,八大上市西方集团的股价今年平均下滑了14%。不过,这种悲观的共识正受到两家中国大型连锁企业的挑战。随着中国遏制了疫情的蔓延,国内旅游需求都在复苏这两家集团也因此受益。而国内的实力也助长了海外的野心。 glum adj. "sad, quiet and unhappy 忧郁的;死气沉沉的;闷闷不乐的",举个: eg. The players sat there with glum looks on their faces. 队员们愁眉苦脸地坐在那儿。 tame v. "to make sth tame or easy to control 驯化;驯服;使易于控制",举个: eg. Lions can never be completely tamed. 狮子永远不能被完全驯化。 Jin Jiang, the world’s second-biggest hotel firm by capacity, boasted an occupancy rate of 74% in the third quarter, in line with last year and more than double that of its bigger rival, Marriott International. Its market value has soared by three-quarters this year, to $6.4bn, above better-known Asian brands such as Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental. Huazhu, which like Jin Jiang is based in Shanghai, saw revenue per available room recover by 40% from the second quarter, to 179 yuan ($27). The group is now worth $16bn, behind only Marriott and Hilton Worldwide among the world’s listed hoteliers. 按客容量计算,锦江酒店是世界第二大酒店集团,该公司宣称第三季度的入住率为74%,与去年持平,是其更大的竞争对手万豪国际集团(Marriott International)的两倍多。其市值今年已飙升四分之三,至64亿美元,超过了香格里拉(Shangri-La)和文华东方(Mandarin Oriental)等更为知名的亚洲品牌。和锦江一样总部位于上海的华住酒店,每可用客房收入较第二季度回升了40%,至人民币179元(合27美元)。该集团目前的市值为160亿美元,在全球上市酒店企业中仅次于万豪和希尔顿。 Similarly to their big Western rivals, Jin Jiang and Huazhu each owns a portfolio of brands that cater to different customers. Jin Jiang, which is controlled by Shanghai’s local government, operates everything from budget digs (think Marriott’s Fairfield Inn) to the upper end of the mass market (like Sheraton). Huazhu is a more all-encompassing group, which also competes in the luxury segment. Both companies prefer to offload the costs of hotel construction to franchisees in exchange for lower franchise fees, which enables them to expand much more rapidly. 与西方大型竞争对手类似,锦江和华住都拥有一系列迎合不同客户需求的品牌。锦江酒店由上海地方政府控股,经营范围从经济型酒店(如万豪的费尔菲尔德酒店)到高端大众市场(如喜来登酒店)。华住是一个涵盖范围更广的集团,也在奢侈品领域展开竞争。两家公司都倾向于将酒店建设成本转嫁给特许经营人,以换取更低的特许经营费用,这使它们能够更快地扩张。 portfolio n. "the range of products or services offered by a particular company or organization (公司或机构提供的)系列产品,系列服务",举个: eg. a portfolio of wines 系列葡萄酒 franchisee n. "a person or company that has been given a franchise 获特许权的人(或公司);特许经营人(或公司)". The pair indeed look poised to capture a greater market share at home, reckons Yulin Zhong of 86Research. In America chain hotels accounted for 72% of all hotel rooms at the end of 2019. In China the equivalent figure was just 27%. 86Research的钟玉林(音译)认为,这两家公司看起来确实有望在国内占据更大的市场份额。在美国,到2019年底,连锁酒店占所有酒店客房的72%。在中国,这一数字仅为27%。 poised adj. "in a position that is completely still but is ready to move at any moment 处于准备状态;蓄势待发",举个: eg. Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张,手悬在电话机上。 As incomes rise and Chinese travellers become more discerning, the standardised, dependable amenities and good service that big chains guarantee begin to look more appealing. Domestic providers of such things enjoy a substantial first-mover advantage. The number of hotel rooms in China held by Wyndham, the biggest foreign operator, is merely a third that of Huazhu and a fifth that of Jin Jiang. And their advantage is growing—the two firms have more than 7,300 hotels under development between them, mostly in China, equivalent to 47% of their existing stock. 随着收入的增加和中国游客的鉴赏力的提高,大型连锁酒店提供的标准化、可靠的设施和优质服务开始变得更有吸引力。这类产品的国内供应商享有巨大的先发优势。最大的外资酒店运营商温德姆(Wyndham)在中国拥有的酒店客房数量,仅为华住的三分之一,锦江的五分之一。这两家公司的优势是不断增长的——两家公司共有7300多家酒店正在开发中,大部分在中国,相当于其现有股份的47%。 discerning adj. "able to show good judgement about the quality of sb/sth 有识别力的;有眼力的;有洞察力的". amenity n. "a feature that makes a place pleasant, comfortable or easy to live in 生活福利设施;便利设施",举个: eg. The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。 In a bid to break into the global market, two years ago Jin Jiang purchased a majority stake in Radisson, the world’s 11th-biggest hotel operator by capacity, for $332m. In January Huazhu paid $868m for Deutsche Hospitality, a posh German group. Such tie-ups allow the new owners to study the nuances of serving a sophisticated foreign clientele without spending millions on marketing their unfamiliar brands in the West (or raising the sort of hackles that Chinese acquisitions often do in more sensitive industries such as technology or finance). As American and European hoteliers continue to reel amid the pandemic’s second wave, more last-minute deals may be on offer for the Shanghai duo. 两年前,为了打入全球市场,锦江斥资3.32亿美元收购了丽笙酒店(Radisson)的多数股权。按运力计算,丽笙酒店是全球第11大酒店运营商。今年1月,华住斥资8.68亿美元收购了德国豪华集团德意志酒店集团(Deutsche Hospitality)。这样的合作可以让新东家研究为成熟的外国客户服务的细微差别,而不必花费数百万美元在西方市场推广自己不熟悉的品牌(或者激起中国企业在科技或金融等更敏感的行业通常会遇到的那种不满)。随着美国和欧洲的酒店经营者继续在疫情的第二波浪潮中步履蹒跚,上海的这两家酒店可能会获得更多最后一刻的优惠。 nuance n. "a very slight difference in meaning, sound, colour or sb's feelings that is not usually very obvious (意义、声音、颜色、感情等方面的)细微差别",举个: eg. He watched her face intently to catch every nuance of expression. 他认真地注视着她的脸,捕捉每一丝细微的表情变化。
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