Huatian Hotel Board of Directors undergoes a major overhaul!

China Economic Journalists Jiang Zheng, Beijing Report

Huatian Hotel has been making continuous moves recently.

On March 9, Huatian Hotel announced that directors Xiang Jun, independent directors Ma Zhaoxia and Sun Chunyu resigned from their positions. At the same time, nominated by Tomorrow Holdings Limited’s management, Li Baolin and Jiao Chunyang were elected as non-independent directors, and Yi Luozhi and Bian Junfu as independent directors.

As early as January this year, director Deng Yongping resigned from his roles as vice chairman, director, and vice president, also stepping down from the strategic committee, nomination committee, and compensation and assessment committee, ceasing all company duties.

This means that in just over two months, nearly half of Huatian Hotel’s board members have been replaced.

The China Business Journal noted that the resigning board members had previously questioned the management’s capabilities multiple times and voted against several proposals at Huatian Hotel.

In November 2024, Xiang Jun, Deng Yongping, Ma Zhaoxia, and Sun Chunyu voted against the approval of Huatian Hotel’s third-quarter 2024 report; in April 2025, Deng Yongping and Xiang Jun opposed the 2024 annual report and the first quarter 2025 report. The main reason cited was “disappointing operational results.”

According to earlier reports by China Business Journal, Deng Yongping was nominated to the board by Huatian Hotel’s second-largest shareholder, Hunan Huaxin Hengyuan Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter “Hunan Huaxin Hengyuan”).

Tianyancha data shows that among the partners of Hunan Huaxin Hengyuan, China Science and Technology Hengyuan Technology Co., Ltd. holds a 68.097% stake, and Xiang Jun is the chairman and actual controller of the latter.

However, Hunan Huaxin Hengyuan previously faced restructuring.

Huatian Hotel announced on December 20, 2025, that according to relevant rulings obtained from the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganization Case Information Network, Hunan Huaxin Hengyuan is an affiliated enterprise of the “Mingtian Group,” and a ruling has been made to conduct substantive bankruptcy liquidation of 657 enterprises including Huaxin Hengyuan and 12 affiliated companies including Mingtian Holdings Limited.

Currently, the management representative of Mingtian Holdings Limited holds 22.72% of Huatian Hotel’s shares. Notably, the four newly elected directors and independent directors were all nominated by the management of Mingtian Holdings Limited.

Market voices suggest that after this board adjustment, the long-standing internal conflicts within Huatian Hotel may be resolved.

Huatian Hotel also told reporters that going forward, shareholders will work together to further strengthen the company and truly synchronize.

However, Xia Zifan, Chief Advisor of Asia-Pacific Hotels at Lausanne Hotel Group, believes that the departure of board members “at most will have a little ‘catfish effect.’ Internal audit issues still need resolution.”

For Huatian Hotel, finding a way to turn losses into profits is urgent.

According to its recent earnings forecast, the company expects a net profit of 182 million to 230 million yuan in 2025, a decrease of 0.41% to 26.89% year-on-year.

Huatian Hotel stated that the decline was mainly due to continued pressure on core hotel operations, with revenue from the hotel room segment decreasing year-on-year. Despite this, the company seized market opportunities, increased operational innovation, and introduced new dining products to boost revenue and efficiency. Meanwhile, cost reduction measures were implemented, reducing expenses year-on-year, but high fixed operational costs in the hotel industry resulted in a net loss for this reporting period.

“Going forward, the company will continue to focus on improving and optimizing its hotel core business, deepen reform and innovation, leverage digital empowerment, refine management, strengthen operational efficiency and cost control, and promote sustainable healthy development,” Huatian Hotel said in its earnings forecast.

In fact, Huatian Hotel has a glorious history. In 1992, Huatian Grand Hotel became the first four-star hotel in Hunan Province and the first high-star foreign-related hotel in Hunan. In 1996, it went public, becoming Hunan’s first tourism industry listed company and one of the earliest hotel companies in China to be publicly listed.

However, its operational performance over the years has been less than ideal. Since 2014, Huatian Hotel has suffered consecutive net losses, totaling 12 years of losses.

The reporter noted that while domestic hotel groups in China have been expanding for years, Huatian Hotel has not achieved large-scale development. As of mid-2025, the company operated 48 directly managed and entrusted hotels, with 46 open, and over 3.7 million members. In comparison, Jinjiang, Huazhu, and other competitors have already surpassed 10,000 stores, and emerging brands like Atour have exceeded 1,000 stores, with Junting Hotels reaching around 500.

Luojiafu, founder and CEO of Hotel Advisor and Hotel Asset Advisor, previously told reporters that Huatian Hotel needs a comprehensive review of its hotel assets, analysis of surrounding competitive markets, and the development of practical innovative operation models to maximize revenue and reduce costs.

Several local catering industry insiders from Hunan told reporters that Huatian Hotel’s food and beverage business has a certain competitive edge, and locals often refer to “eating at Huatian.” Additionally, Huatian Group’s “Huatian Small Marinated” has begun external expansion in recent years, transforming into a consumer brand through central kitchens and food stalls.

Xia Zifan also mentioned that Huatian Hotel should leverage its existing dining advantages to gradually turn hotel dining into replicable social catering, increasing profits through this segment.

From a top-level structure perspective, the controlling shareholder of Huatian Hotel is undergoing a merger and restructuring process, which may impact its future development.

According to previous announcements, Hunan Sports Industry Group Co., Ltd. acquired 95% of Hunan Tourism Development Investment Group Co., Ltd. through a non-cash transfer of state-owned shares, indirectly controlling 32.48% of Huatian Hotel. The actual controller of Huatian Hotel has officially changed from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Hunan Province to the Hunan Provincial State-owned Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Industry analysts believe that, based on industry chain synergy, Hunan Sports Industry Group, as a provincial-level cultural and sports asset operation platform, complements Huatian Hotel and the tourism main business, forming a “hotel + sports” integrated development.

Huatian Hotel also told reporters that Hunan Sports Industry Group will merge with Hunan Tourism Group to form a new group, further integrating “culture + tourism + sports + hotels,” which will significantly benefit Huatian Hotel as the sole listed company of the group.

“Restructuring often involves new asset injections, which can facilitate deep institutional reforms at Huatian Hotel. The company needs to leverage the restructuring momentum of its controlling shareholder, combine with Hunan’s red cultural tourism, and reshape its cultural tourism brand projects; undertake disruptive reforms in talent and team management; and, with its own advantages, stabilize the existing hotel segment and facilitate future expansion into light-asset franchising,” Xia Zifan said.