Reporter Mei Jing from Financial Investment Network
Finally booked! I searched half of Haidilao in Zhengzhou. Ms. Yan, a college student studying in Zhengzhou, planned to have hotpot with her classmates on the last day of 2024 to celebrate the New Year. When she made the reservation, she found that many stores were already fully booked for that day. Data shows that as of December 26th, over 200000 tables of Hai Di Lao hotpot have been ordered for the New Year's Eve on December 31st, which is about five times more than usual.
The popularity of New Year's dining is closely related to the winter tourism craze and the enthusiasm of young people for "fancy New Year's Eve". Ice and snow tourism promotes "coming from south to north", and cross year planning such as food festivals, light shows, and pop-up parties in various commercial districts make the New Year's atmosphere stronger and bring more customers to the catering industry.
Haidilao has a strong New Year's Eve atmosphere
In order to create a sense of ceremony for the New Year, on the evening of December 31st, all Hai Di Lao hotpot restaurants across the country will sound a countdown to the New Year, bringing everyone together to welcome 2025. The "Hai Di Lao Jin" challenge, which started on December 6th, also brought customers a joyful PK atmosphere and good New Year's luck.
It is reported that consumers can get the opportunity to challenge themselves by verifying the "gold grabbing package" at the store or spending a minimum of 199 yuan. The rule of "fishing for gold" is very simple: within 30 seconds, use chopsticks to pick up 18 or more, 14-17, 9-13, and 5-8 gold beans in the pot respectively, and you can win different prizes. The top three on the national list each week will also receive an upgrade reward of 5g/3g/2g gold. The final national champion will also receive the ultimate prize "Golden Mushroom". According to the latest data, as of December 25th, the total number of participants in the "Hai Di Lao Jin" activity reached 2.675 million, and a total of 2465 golden beans were sent out.
With the introduction of the "240 hour transit visa free policy", many port cities have welcomed many foreign customers to their Hai Di Lao hotpot, and "Hai Di Lao Jin" has also sparked interest among foreign customers. In a Haidilao hotpot restaurant in Nanjing, a Cambodian customer tried the challenge and sighed, "It's amazing that Chinese people can use chopsticks very skillfully.".
Hu Xiaozheng, manager of Haidilao People's Square Store, said that since November 10, the number of South Korean tourists in the store has increased. "Our store is located in the People's Square business circle, and it is also one of the clocking places for foreigners to visit Shanghai. Hot pot is a favorite food for South Koreans. From the data, our store receives a total number of customers between 1200 and 1500 on an average day, of which about 150-200 are South Korean customers, accounting for about 15% of the total number of visitors.".
Considering that foreign customers are not familiar with the appointment process for special services such as nail art, Hu Xiaozheng also arranged for employees to help customers pick up their phone numbers and organized store employees to learn simple Korean. In addition, the store has also set up English directional signs in the restroom to provide convenient guidance for tourists.
Haidilao across the country welcomes the peak of New Year's passenger flow
The manager of Haidilao Hot Pot Zhengzhou Wanda Plaza, Gao Xing, said that due to the fact that seats can be booked one month in advance, the seats for New Year's Eve are already fully booked at the beginning of the month. "There will still be many customers calling to inquire every day, and the store should be very popular at that time. We will prepare according to the experience of previous holidays, and focus on stocking up on popular new products in the near future." He introduced that Haidilao has recently launched a series of fresh cut beef products in many places such as Henan, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, etc. The fresh cut beef products are all made from freshly slaughtered live cattle and delivered by special vehicles to "add freshness" to the hot pot tables in winter.
In order to cope with the peak passenger flow on New Year's Day and the upcoming Spring Festival, Haidilao has been preparing for employment since November. Gaoxing said that the store can provide various types of part-time positions, which increases the flexible choice space for many flexible employees in need. "We will provide Spring Festival subsidies to employees during the Spring Festival period and encourage them to bring their children together. While caring for employees, we also ensure the stable operation and service of the restaurant during holidays
The guarantee of food safety and dining safety is particularly crucial during peak traffic periods such as holidays. The relevant person in charge of the Quality and Safety Management Center of Haidilao stated that in response to the high customer flow during the New Year holiday, the company has sent a special inspection notice to all stores nationwide. "Our department will also conduct daily special inspections and provide guidance to stores based on problems to further strengthen their control level
The person in charge of Haidilao said, "We will do our best to bring diverse food choices and warm dining experiences to everyone on the occasion of the New Year