Aranya, known as the back garden of Beijing people and the Jerusalem for Beijing’s middle class, has emerged as one of the most complained-about targets ahead of the National Day holiday, exposing deep-seated pricing and service failures across the homestay industry.
From Romantic Entrepreneurial Dream to Wallet Assassin
Just a few years ago, running a homestay was viewed as the ultimate romance for young literary enthusiasts. Media accounts from 2016 documented how travelers flocked to Tibet and Yunnan, renting local properties and converting them into dream homes. Launching a homestay, café, bookstore, or tavern became known as the four must-have entrepreneurial projects for young literary people after quitting their jobs.
The movement was not purely romantic; it was intensely lucrative. The highest-earning homestay landlord in Shanghai generated 3.74 million yuan annually. Some wealthy guests spent 270,000 yuan during a single holiday block, booking five consecutive high-end properties. Variety shows like The Inn and Back to Field heavily romanticized this lifestyle around 2017, transforming remote mountain rentals, tea drinking, and star gazing into a dream career for many people.
Capital followed the cultural momentum aggressively. Tujia secured 300 million US dollars in financing in 2017, while Xiaozhu Short-term Rental pulled in 120 million US dollars. Xiaozhu completed nearly 300 million US dollars in financing in 2018, cementing that year as the “outbreak year of internet-famous homestays”. The formula of content marketing, capital support, and willing consumers turned rural hospitality into a wealth code.
The Dali Phenomenon and Traffic Saturation
The apex of this phenomenon manifested in Dali following the broadcast of the drama Meet Yourself in 2023. The region experienced unprecedented traffic, becoming the place with the highest density of homestay operators across the country. Search volumes for Dali nearly doubled, while searches for Fengyangyi spiked roughly 50 times.
During the Spring Festival that year, Dali’s reservation numbers climbed over 10 times year-on-year, driving overall occupancy to 80 percent and mid-to-high-end booking rates past 90 percent. Yet, that rapid trajectory has reversed sharply.
Current Occupancy Slumps and Consumer Backlash
In an interview in July this year, market conditions had shifted dramatically. According to China Newsweek, while prime Dali locations previously maintained summer occupancy rates of 80 percent, operators now consider 50 percent a good result. Daily inquiries routinely number in the hundreds, but conversion rates have plummeted to just one or two confirmed bookings.
Operators report prospective guests balking at current rates, occasionally asking landlords directly if they are out of their minds for charging this much. Complaints have flooded consumer protection platforms. Black Cat Complaint lists as many as 80,000 grievances tied to homestays. In August 2026 alone, complaints within the hotel and homestay sector jumped by 2,000, representing a month-on-month increase of 19.35 percent.
The grievances point to systemic operational failures: arbitrary price hikes, unilateral contract breaches, poor sanitation, and bad service attitudes.
Visitors to Aranya report paying 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per night for homestay accommodations expecting meticulous service, only to find basic amenities like mineral water billed separately. Others note that the advertised “facing the sea, with spring blossoms” falls short of everyday neighborhood walks. The sector’s pricing now rivals five-star hotels, while the customer experience has devolved into an unpredictable blind box.
