No Lease, No Hassle: Young Renters Check Out Hotel Life
After graduating from university in 2022, Hu Weiwei faced the typical struggles of renting an apartment in China’s northern city of Tianjin: hefty upfront payments, vague lease contracts, and unpredictable landlords.
“For someone with social anxiety like me, dealing with landlords is the worst part. It’s a nightmare,” the 24-year-old professional gamer told Sixth Tone.
After crunching the numbers, she found that a shared apartment in Tianjin would cost about 1,000 yuan ($140) a month, while a place all to herself would be 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. Or, she could negotiate a long-term hotel stay for 2,500 yuan a month. “It’s more cost-effective — no deposit, no agency fees, and utilities are included,” Hu said.
What clinched it was the convenience. “I don’t have to clean, the air-conditioning runs 24/7, and right outside there are stores, restaurants, and a subway station,” she said, explaining that her daily routine of waking at noon, ordering takeout, gaming or shopping in the afternoon, and working online late into the night fits well with hotel living.
“There are surveillance cameras in the corridors, so even a woman living alone doesn’t need to worry (about security),” Hu added. The only downside was minor issues like low tables and dim lighting, but she has solved these by buying her own furniture. “This lifestyle hasn’t even affected my social life, as my friends are scattered anyway.”
Hu has since stayed long term in hotels in Shanghai and Suzhou, in the neighboring Jiangsu province, and now resides in her hometown in the northeastern Jilin province. She insists that this kind of accommodation will remain her top choice for the foreseeable future.
China has seen a surge in long-term hotel stays among young adults, according to Qunar, a major online travel platform. From November to January, bookings for stays lasting more than a month increased by 2.5 times compared with the same period in 2019, with the biggest jump among guests aged 25 to 30. The average monthly cost was 2,700 yuan, about 90 yuan a day, with warm southern destinations in Yunnan province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Fujian province, and Hainan province seeing particularly high demand.
During the recent winter break, 22-year-old university student Tang Miaomiao and her boyfriend rented a hotel room for two months in the coastal city of Qingdao, in the eastern Shandong province. Unlike Hu, who stays for longer periods, Tang values the economic aspect of short-term accommodation. “With traditional rentals, you need to pay a full month’s rent as an agency fee. It’s not worth it for short stays,” she said.
But what impressed Tang most was the hospitality. “The hotel staff specially made dumplings for us on New Year’s Eve, and the breakfast team remembered that I liked noodles,” she recalled.
However, some aspects of hotel living did take time to adapt to. The narrow window in Tang’s room looked onto a corridor and couldn’t be opened, which made the room feel “depressingly dark” at times. Also, not having a kitchen meant the couple had to spend more on takeout meals.
According to data from Jin Jiang Hotels China Region, a national chain headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, from Jan. 1 to March 19, the number of guests aged under 40 staying at one of its properties for more than a month increased by over 1.5 times compared with the same period last year. The trend spans business travelers, freelancers, and young professionals drawn by cost savings, flexibility, and amenities like cleaning services and gym access.
“Some hotels are introducing extended-stay pricing discounts that are closely aligned with the rates of apartments in comparable neighborhoods, minus costs like deposits and utilities,” a staff member at Jin Jiang Hotels China Region told Sixth Tone. “Staying in a hotel long-term allows for a ‘pack-up-and-go’ lifestyle — being able to adjust your location according to your needs at any time, avoiding the inconvenience and losses caused by renting a property.”
This shift has impacted China’s traditional rental market, with average rents for residential properties in 50 major cities dropping 3.25% in 2024, despite policy support from the central and local governments and increased supply.
Long-term hotel rentals emerged as an innovative solution during the pandemic’s toughest period, as businesses struggled with the slump in tourism and business travelers. With rooms sitting empty, many properties slashed their rates and repurposed vacant spaces into long-term rentals, creating extra revenue streams.
“During mobility restrictions, budget hotels became incredibly affordable, often cheaper than traditional apartments,” said Wu Ben, an associate professor of tourism at Shanghai’s Fudan University. “This price advantage naturally attracted young renters.”
While the industry remains bullish on the potential of long-term stays, Wu noted divergent strategies across market segments, such as luxury hotels catering to quality-seeking clientele, while budget properties are leveraging competitive pricing.
“Operationally, long-term guests are ideal. They’re less demanding about room upkeep,” Wu said. This arrangement helps hedge the risks of market fluctuations, she added, and though discounts may shrink in peak seasons, long-term renters will likely remain a valued, reliable customer base for the industry.
Environmental awareness
On the lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, young renters cite affordability, safety, and services such as laundry as key reasons for choosing hotels over serviced apartments. For 40-year-old Casey Cheuk from Hong Kong, home is a Marriott hotel in Shanghai’s upscale Xuhui District, a choice based on location and lifestyle flexibility.
As a Marriott member, Cheuk enjoys global reward points, but the perks go deeper: a 24-hour gym aligns with her schedule, and floor-to-ceiling windows offer skyline views unmatched by typical rentals. While the 10,000-yuan monthly rate exceeds average rental prices, she notes that after factoring in parking, utilities, and amenities, the total cost rivals that of a serviced apartment in the city.
Her daily commute to work takes just 20 minutes, and the hotel restaurant eliminates the need to cook. The space also doubles as an extension of her professional life, allowing her to host casual client meetings or gatherings with friends.
Cheuk, who lives with her husband, epitomizes the concept of “light living.” A mini storage unit holds their nonessentials, while a compact washing machine allows them to preserve their self-sufficiency. The setup means they can seamlessly transition between cities — last winter, the couple relocated to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, for two months without the burden of keeping on a vacant apartment.
“With traditional leases, you pay rent even when you’re not there,” she said. “This way, we save money and avoid the headaches of an empty home.”
Cheuk pointed out that, while living in a hotel for the past year, she has also felt the challenges brought by the concepts of decluttering and environmental protection.
She used to enjoy buying clothes and shopping on impulse. “But after staying in a hotel, I’m more considerate of the long-term value of things,” she said. “This lifestyle makes me pay more attention to the environment in all aspects and more adept at getting rid of the things I don’t need.”
(Hu Weiwei is a pseudonym.)
Editor: Hao Qibao.
(Header image: Visuals from Shijue and 500px/VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)
