Spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and the Qingming Festival holiday is approaching. Tujia B & B data shows that from March to April this year, the number of B & B bookings in popular cities on the platform increased by nearly 60% year-on-year, with an average stay of 2.4 days. The number of B & B bookings with keywords such as "flower viewing" and "outing" increased year-on-year. 3 times. While the travel boom has driven the rapid development of the B & B industry, it has also exposed the problem of some operators infringing on consumer rights and interests. Among the top ten consumer rights protection public opinion hotspots in 2023 released by the China Consumers Association, the number of complaints caused by "price increases and refunds" and "false addresses" ranked second. Demolition, bankruptcy, house fire... In order to increase prices, merchants have various reasons for refunds, which makes tourists who prepare for travel in advance very troublesome.

Tourists stay at a penthouse B & B in Huangping Village, Jiaoyuan Town, Xuan 'en County. Published by Xinhua Agency (Photo by Song Wen)

The trend of malicious refunds cannot be encouraged. Standardizing operations is the long-term way to develop B & B's economy. Affected by supply and demand, demand for B & Bs increases during the holidays, and it is normal for merchants to hope to seize the peak season to achieve profits. However, fancy refund behavior not only harms the reputation and reputation of merchants, but also damages the regional tourism image and disrupts the normal operating order of the market. Since customers place orders at the original price, merchants should make a huge promise. In the face of changing market conditions, price increases should also be based on established coordination, rather than using malicious refunds.

The platform needs to strengthen supervision of homestay merchants and pay attention to their credit management. 此前，针对消费者反映的问题，多家在线旅游平台也曾作出加强监管等承诺，但乱象频出的状况并未得到明显改善。其实各大平台都有对商家毁约的惩罚制度，但由于罚款金额和涨价带来的利润相比相差甚远，一些民宿商家明知会被惩罚，还是要坚持毁单。