(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- Hilton Worldwide Holdings will further expand in China and expects the number of its hotels in the country to reach 1,000 by early next year, according to the US hospitality giant's president for China and Mongolia.

"We opened our 700th hotel in the Chinese market in August last year, and that number has grown to 888 in just over a year," Qian Jin told Yicai at the opening ceremony of Hilton's newest establishment yesterday. “We are opening a new hotel in China every two days on average.”

Hilton's luxury brand Waldorf Astoria opened a new hotel at the New Bund area in Shanghai's Qiantan International Business Zone, with the city becoming only the third in the world to have two Waldorf Astoria hotels after Doha and Dubai.

Hilton operates more than 10 brands in China, Qian noted, adding that it will introduce more new brands next year and focus on developing lifestyle hotels.

"Running a hotel is no longer just managing it, but also providing lifestyle and consumption scenarios, such as combining hotels with sports, culture, and exhibitions, and also cooperating with some cultural and creative brands to make guests interact more," Qian pointed out.

In addition to expanding its hotel presence, Hilton is also actively developing flexible employment models in China to reduce operating costs, Qian said. The company hired about 200,000 gig workers in the market last year, Qian added.

China's hotel industry has entered the era of saturated competition, with the key operating indicators, including occupancy rate, average room price, and revenue per available room, becoming more and more relevant to the city level and hotel grade, according to a recent report released by property consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield.

The sector faces a problem with low gross profit margin, so hotel operators need to steadily increase revenue while focusing on cost optimization and tapping profit potential through refined operations, the report said.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev