Online customers

Travel service providers are also using mobile Internet technology to woo customers.

China has more than 640 million Internet users, and more than 80 percent of them surf the Web on their mobile devices, according to official data.

Several travel management businesses and hotels in China are trying to tap into this huge pool of online users via smartphone applications.

Ctrip developed China's first business travel management mobile app in 2013. The app enables travelers to book air tickets and hotels as well as reschedule their travel plans, Fang says.

Four Seasons also has developed an app in Chinese for its hotels.

Many Chinese guests' first engagement with their hotels is through their mobile app, according to the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts' Asia-Pacific president Michael Crawford.

Conrad Hotels & Resorts, which has eight hotels across China, offers a concierge mobile app that allows a Chinese-speaking client to order room service in Chinese and has the order received in English by the hotel.

The upcoming Conrad and Waldorf Astoria hotels in China will cater to the Chinese preference for holding business meetings in private dining rooms, according to John Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide.

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