On June 28th, the first store of Yaduo 4.0 version "Jianye" opened at the south gate of Xi'an. 11 years ago, the first Ato Hotel was born here.
Yaduo's positioning begins with a lifestyle brand group focused on accommodation. From the perspective of the hotel sector alone, Yaduo has become the largest mid to high end chain hotel group in China. Recently, a reporter from Shanghai Securities News walked into the headquarters of Yaduo Group and had a conversation with its founder and CEO, Wang Haijun.
Reject mediocrity
Yaduo adheres to the concept of "rejecting mediocrity".
Rejecting mediocrity does not mean that if others can do 95 points, we can do 98 points; it means that if others cannot do things, we can do them well. "Wang Haijun said that Yaduo should be innovative and incremental. Even if it's only 60 points at the beginning, it's still a kind of lead.
In Wang Haijun's view, rejecting mediocrity represents the gene of innovation.
Since its establishment, Yaduo has been innovating: selecting the track of the mid to high end market, implementing an "experiential" approach, proposing the core concept of "not managing rooms but managing people", and focusing on young consumers who pursue quality of life.
On November 11, 2022, Yaduo Group listed on NASDAQ in the United States, known as the first stock of China's new accommodation economy.
On the day of listing, Wang Haijun wrote an internal letter to his partners. From today on, we will also connect the world, making China a scenery of the world and allowing the whole world to feel the warmth from China
The reason why it is called the new accommodation economy, Wang Haijun explained, is that the traditional accommodation economy is to operate hotels, while the new accommodation economy is not to operate hotels, but to operate people.
Some overseas investors have expressed confusion about how hotel services reflect neighborhood culture?
Pushing open the door, the atmosphere is warm and relaxed, making you feel at home; closing the door, quietly enjoying your own exclusive space, "said Wang Haijun. Yaduo does not prioritize efficiency, but focuses more on user experience, creating a warm culture that is as close as neighbors.
In 2023, Yaduo proposed a three-year strategic goal of "China Experience, Two Thousand Good Stores".
The latest financial report data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Yaduo Group opened 97 new hotels and has 1302 operating hotels, a year-on-year increase of 34.5%. As of March 31st, the registered members of Yaduo Group exceeded 71 million, a year-on-year increase of 86%.
To achieve 2000 stores, the pursuit is not just a quantity target, but the most crucial thing is to grasp high-quality growth and ensure that every store is of high quality, "said Wang Haijun. In addition to the more than 1300 hotels that have already opened, there are still more than 600 reserved.
Expand the second curve
In addition to the hotel business, the second curve of Ado's business map - retail business - has emerged rapidly in recent years.
In the first quarter of 2024, the GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) of Yaduo Group's retail business reached 495 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 277.4%. Among them, online channels have shown strong performance, with GMV accounting for 90%. Nowadays, the proportion of retail business in the overall business of the group has increased to 28.37%.
Yaduo Planet "is Yaduo's retail brand. This brand has both self operated channels and deployed on multiple top e-commerce platforms. Open the "Yaduo Planet" mini program and focus on sleep products with fresh and elegant colors for sale. In product introduction and brand promotion, 'deep sleep experience' is a keyword.
Wang Haijun introduced that the hottest and most popular product on Yaduo Planet now is the Deep Sleep Pillow PRO, with sales exceeding 1.2 million units in 2023. Yaduo has been launching sleep products since 2017, but its research and development process has been 10 years, forming independent intellectual property rights and accumulating many patented technologies.
In the product display area, the reporter saw pillow core materials of different materials, which have different tactile sensations and strengths when pressed by hand.
Taking this pillow as an example, the R&D team innovated from the source, striving for excellence in material ratio, curvature, and partition design. After 6 rounds of iteration, they created this popular product. "Wang Haijun held a product and said that the advantage of Yaduo's product development lies in facing customer needs, having a large amount of user data and feedback, constantly iterating, and providing a more appropriate experience.
In addition to the sleep series, there are also pan sleep series products in Ado's retail products, such as the odor aesthetic brand - Sahe. In addition, "Tea from Yaduo Village" has also entered retail channels.
Wang Haijun is enthusiastic about the tea from Yaduo Village. Yaduo Village, located in Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, is the original intention of the Yaduo brand.
Yaduo Village has an altitude of 800 to 3000 meters and is filled with high mountain tea. In the summer of 2012, Wang Haijun came here for the first time and felt the power of inner peace, which inspired the inspiration of the Yaduo brand. After 5 years of entrepreneurship, Wang Haijun returned here again.
We're back to report on our work, "Wang Haijun joked. This time in Yaduo Village, Wang Haijun led a team to collaborate with local villagers to build tea gardens and standardized tea factories. In January 2018, Spring Tea was launched, and "Tea from Yaduo Village" entered every hotel in Yaduo.
Nowadays, offering a cup of tea has become an essential part of Ado's experience. The tea plantation area in Yaduo Village is getting larger and larger, and the villagers have achieved employment at their doorstep. Many young people have returned from other places to work in their hometowns.
Do well in addition and subtraction
For the development of Ado, Wang Haijun has a concept of addition and subtraction in his mind.
Compared with traditional high-end positioning hotel enterprises, Yaduo needs to make additions, have a deeper understanding of service, etiquette, and hospitality, and increase service experiences that are more in line with user needs.
Compared with the relatively standardized five-star hotels in the West, Yaduo needs to make subtraction, reduce red tape, cultivate Chinese culture, and advocate a warm, moderate, and humane neighborhood culture.
As a service industry, soft power is crucial. And how to implement it depends on the people.
Yaduo's startup team had less than 10 people, but now it has over 4200 people. Unlike in the early stages of entrepreneurship, Wang Haijun currently focuses more on shaping a unique culture to better stimulate the vitality of the enterprise and the creativity of the team.
The hotel industry is ultimately a people-oriented industry, and we believe that future challenges will also revolve around people. This is where I remind myself every day to constantly improve and perfect, "said Wang Haijun.
Within Ado, everyone is not commensurate with their position. This is to hope that everyone can quickly solve customer problems from the perspective of "user first", rather than emphasizing more hierarchical relationships within the organization.
In the selection and appointment of personnel, Ado advocates that 'those who are capable have a place'. The positions of department heads are all filled through competitive bidding. The enterprise likes the platform and has roast channels. Employee evaluations and likes are important indicators. If an employee complains to another person, the other person needs to reply within 48 hours.
We hope to provide employees with a channel for expression through such a system design, "said Wang Haijun.
At Yaduo, many innovative services and product inspirations come from the front line. Wang Haijun introduced that frontline employees of Yaduo have a disposable limit of 500 yuan, regardless of their position. Employees do not need to consult with their superiors and can meet some reasonable needs and ideas raised by customers, which is the unique "Yaduo characteristic" full staff authorization system.
The service of 'L ü Meng Road Early' comes from this. Lv Meng is a staff member of the Yaduo Hotel in Chengdu High tech Zone. The hotel restaurant usually opens for breakfast at 7 o'clock, and many guests who catch early flights often rush hungry. After noticing, Lv Meng came up with a good idea: pack breakfast in advance and give it to guests who leave early.
In Ado's view, travelers on the road are all fighters. Nowadays, this heartwarming breakfast service is named after Lv Meng and has become a standard service at Yaduo.
As a leading enterprise in the industry, Yaduo has launched many leading products and services, not only benefiting from innovation itself, but also driving the development and transformation of the hotel industry.
From managing rooms to managing people, the transformation brought by Yaduo to the industry is not only innovative in concept, but more importantly, it has achieved tangible commercial value, proving that this path is feasible, "said Wang Haijun.
Regarding the development of Yaduo, Wang Haijun talked about two aspects of pressure: on the one hand, it comes from constantly changing user needs, and only by keeping up with user needs can we lead in the competition; On the other hand, it is the cultivation and reserve of talents. Yaduo needs to constantly innovate and provide the best services and experiences, which requires the cultivation and absorption of more outstanding talents.
Running a business requires both motivation and pressure. Entrepreneurs need to have strong determination to internalize pressure into a driving force for development, "said Wang Haijun.
80% of Ado's layout is in second tier and above cities, with a focus on the mid to high end hotel market. We believe that the Chinese market is the world market, "said Wang Haijun.
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