In China, 'bed cars' (床车) — converted vehicles, mostly electric, for sleeping — are gaining popularity, leading to lower hotel revenue. According to the Jiudian Zhijia platform, from June 29 to July 26, RevPAR fell 2.8%, occupancy 0.9%, and average price 3.7%. According to Guojin Securities monitoring, from July 6 to 12, average hotel occupancy was 62.3% (down 3 percentage points), average price 209.6 yuan (down 3%), and RevPAR down 5.9%.
Travelers save by sleeping in cars, parking lots, or campsites, where fees are 50–100 yuan per day. A family from Shenyang saved over 10,000 yuan on lodging during a 23-day trip to Xinjiang. However, travelers face issues: lack of toilets, showers, and parking spaces. Hotels on popular routes report lower occupancy due to travelers using their parking and facilities.
Social media topic views exceeded 100 million. One seller sold over 600,000 car mattresses, and tourist routes in regions like Xinjiang and Yunnan see rising demand for car rentals. According to the source, hotel revenue in some regions fell by nearly 30%. On August 15, the topic 'bed car travel — from niche hobby to trend, hotels start to panic' topped search rankings on several Chinese platforms. Travelers like Ms. Chen, who completed a trip through Yunnan, note that places like Dali, Lijiang, and Xishuangbanna have developed RV campsites where basic needs for water, electricity, toilets, and laundry can be met, at a cost of about 50 yuan per day.