The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2020
Ctrip's BOSS livestream: chairman Liang sells hotels in costume — ¥1.1B GMV in 4 months
Ctrip chairman Liang Jianzhang personally livestreamed hotel deals in costume during lockdown: ¥10M in his first hour, ¥1.1B GMV across 40+ shows.
Ctrip (携程)
What it had to solve
Covid lockdowns in early 2020 emptied China's hotels and stopped travel bookings overnight. Ctrip had already promised refunds to customers; it needed to restart demand without slashing prices so low that hotel brands lost their premium image.
How it works
On 23 March 2020, Ctrip chairman James Liang held his first-ever livestream from the Poseidon underwater suite of Atlantis Sanya, pushing refundable pre-paid hotel packages to a pandemic-stalled market. In one hour he sold ¥10 million worth of hotel stays across 6,710 orders, a show staged to help Hainan tourism restart after 40 days without new Covid cases.
The format became 'BOSS直播' (BOSS livestream): Liang appeared as Tang Bohu, Qin Shihuang, a Miao king, Confucius and the Sea King across 20 boss shows. By 29 July 2020, the matrix of 40+ shows had accumulated ¥1.1B+ GMV, redeemed nearly half of pre-sold products, sold over a million room-nights for more than 1,000 high-end hotels, drawn 60M+ viewers and won repeat buyers — 60%+ of purchasers ordered more than once, and one show sold 8,000 room-nights in a single minute.
The logic was business as well as theatre: after promising 'no-loss cancellation' refunds, Ctrip launched its Tourism Revival Plan V with a ¥1B recovery fund and scaled pre-sales, then used the livestream to offer the internet's lowest prices on luxury stays. Beijing Business Today called the result 'brand and performance in one' — instant discounts and guaranteed refunds kept hotel premium positioning intact while generating volume.
Why it lands
- The chairman was the show: his personal risk and costume changes made each broadcast an event, earning free attention that a plain discount page could never get.
- Refundable pre-sale packages sold future travel during lockdown, giving hotels cash immediately without slashing their brand prices.
- The high-end focus was deliberate: luxury hotels had the biggest recovery gap, and 'instant lowest price' gave them volume while protecting premium positioning.
- It was repeatable and measurable: 40+ shows built an audience habit, with 60%+ repeat buyers and a GMV figure the company could report publicly.
What it did
The first hour generated ¥10 million and 6,710 orders; by late July 2020 the BOSS livestream system had accumulated ¥1.1B+ GMV, redeemed nearly half of pre-sold products, sold 1M+ room-nights for 1,000+ high-end hotels, drawn 60M+ viewers and 60%+ repeat buyers — one show sold 8,000 room-nights in a minute.
What you can take
Make the executive the medium: a chairman in costume turns discounting into entertainment, protecting hotel brands' premium image while selling — the show itself became Ctrip's brand asset.
Since then
Ctrip kept expanding the format after lockdowns eased: 'weekend store visits' and 'overseas local' streams joined the boss shows, pushing the matrix past 40 episodes and ¥1.1B GMV across 200+ cities in Asia-Pacific by late July 2020. The time to reach ¥100M per show shortened from one month to one week as habits formed, and Liang's cosplay IP stayed a signature of Ctrip's recovery marketing through the year.
Sources
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