Episode 02: My Stint as a Hotel Business‑Development Rep at a Factory

The holiday season has arrived, and a promotional video titled “No Room? We’ll Compensate” was playing in the company hallway. I happened to catch a glimpse of it as I passed by, and in that instant it was like a bolt of lightning striking the long‑sealed palace of my memories, flooding me with a recollection: I once worked as a hotel BD/sales manager for a week. Since fate has reminded me of that experience, I’ll write it down.

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First, what is a hotel BD / hotel sales manager?

(Note: “Hotel sales manager” is my own translation; BD stands for Business Development.)
In companies like Meituan, Ele.me, Ctrip, or ByteDance, which operate local‑life services such as food delivery, hotels, and scenic‑spot tickets, a massive BD team is built. BDs visit merchants one by one, introduce the product, and seek cooperation. Only after the merchant agrees and signs a contract does their offering appear on the relevant app. This is a concise summary of BD work, provided for reference.

My brief stint in hotel BD, if I remember correctly, came about when I received an offer during my senior year job hunt. It was the usual routine: the company sent an offer and expected the candidate to start an internship early. I was curious about what the job actually entailed, so I went. One more detail worth mentioning: I graduated in 2014, when the internet was far less developed than today. Many things we now take for granted were still uncommon back then (for example, ride‑hailing was just getting started, Meituan was only a few years old, and Douyin didn’t even exist). This context is important for understanding the scenarios I’ll describe later.

The work during that one‑week internship was very simple: follow a senior colleague, learn the business, and close deals—a classic “old‑takes‑new” model. My mentor was a senior sister; I can’t recall her appearance now, but I was genuinely impressed by her competence and, above all, her stamina.

I spent five full days out in the field with her, which is also why I never joined the company full‑time. In those five days I quickly and clearly recognized my own physical limits and sales abilities, and I was convinced I could never become a top‑performing salesperson like her. Moreover, I simply didn’t enjoy that work style or content, so I completely abandoned any thought of becoming a salesperson or business developer. Of course, that realization came later.

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Memorable Scenes from That Week

1. The Small Hotel Near a Department Store

We visited a modest hotel of about ten rooms near a department store. The hallway was dim, and the price point was low. The owner was reluctant to list the hotel online because he relied on foot traffic from the nearby department store and didn’t want to pay platform commissions, which he felt were too expensive. My senior sister would often swing by this hotel when she was in the area for other visits, casually asking the owner how business was going, whether he faced any problems, and whether he’d consider online reservations. This visit was just another routine check‑in with no expectations, yet the owner unexpectedly softened his stance and said he would consider it if the commission were reduced. As soon as we left, she told me how many times she had come by before, finally breaking through the barrier. She was thrilled, and I admired her persistence and patience.

2. The Newly Opened Street‑Front Hotel in a Residential Area

The next day we visited a brand‑new, standalone hotel in a residential district—non‑chain, likely already interested in cooperation. After a brief conversation, the owner and my senior sister quickly agreed on commission and other key terms. She then moved straight to the next step: asking for the exact number of rooms and their types (standard, king‑size, etc.) and immediately took photos of the rooms with her phone. That night, back at the office, we entered the hotel into the internal system, uploaded the photos and room‑type pricing, and once the merchant approved, the listing went live the next day. That was a closed deal, and the sales team earned its commission.

3. The “Red” Hotel in an Old Courtyard Near the River Bridge

Sometimes I still wonder whether this scene was real or a dream. Not far from a river bridge, in an ancient‑looking courtyard, a newly opened hotel with “Red” in its name boasted spacious, bright rooms—a stark contrast to the dim hallway of the first hotel. My senior sister took me there to deliver a paper contract to the owner (following the same process as in scenario 2, where a signed contract is handed to the merchant after agreement). It was then that my perception of small hotels changed; not all of them are gloomy and dim. Some owners have industry experience and a pursuit of quality. Consequently, for a long time I didn’t dismiss small hotels—though I was also quite strapped for cash when I first started working.

These three scenes illustrate the daily rhythm of BD work: visiting, closing deals, and maintaining client relationships. My internship goal was achieved. In addition, I picked up some surface‑level knowledge of the hotel industry. For example, at that time platforms were fiercely competing. Although hotels were already segmented and commissions tiered, platforms would adjust commission rates to enrich their online inventory, and BDs could request commission discounts from headquarters. Moreover, to boost competitiveness, platforms sometimes signed exclusive agreements with popular hotels, reserving a few rooms solely for that platform. That’s why a user might see a hotel fully booked on Platform A but still have availability on Platform B, and so on.

Just a handful of tidbits—listen if you like, but don’t take them too seriously.

I welcome hotel‑industry professionals to add more; I’m still very interested in these matters.

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The Grind

During those five days I was completely exhausted. My daily routine was: go out to chase clients during the day, return at night to log the deals, then take a one‑hour bus ride back to school and sleep. The young me couldn’t sustain that workload, so I stopped the internship and didn’t pursue a full‑time position. Even though I’ve heard that top BDs earn impressive incomes, I figured it wasn’t my destiny.

Nearly a decade later, this memory resurfaced, feeling almost magical, so I put pen to paper to record this sudden flashback as a small interlude in this series. It wasn’t part of the original plan, but consider it a pleasant surprise.

2023‑10‑11
Beijing

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Originally written by Estela Young and published in Chinese on 一只产品汪的自白. Translated and edited for DriftSeas with permission.