Chapter 617: Cloud Tourism
Home Inn’s headquarters is located in a high-end office building in the city center.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the street in front of the door was bustling with people coming and going, full of the new era and new atmosphere.
Amid the clamor, suddenly, a convoy of luxury cars came closer and appeared in everyone's sight, and suddenly the air seemed to smell like money.
Many passers-by stopped to watch and were deeply shocked by the scene before them.
"Rolls-Royce!"
"Big Benz!"
“Audi!”
“Oh my god, is this a luxury car show?”
At the beginning of the millennium, when being able to drive a Volkswagen was considered a winner in life, the worst cars in the fleet in front of me were all million-level super luxury cars.
Zhonghai is the financial center of Xia Country after all, so people living in this city have a deeper understanding of the value of money. It is also because of this that the convoy in front of us is even more exciting.
"Who are these people? Are they driving million-dollar luxury cars?"
"They are all big shots. I'm afraid I can't afford these cars even if I work hard for several lifetimes."
"Could it be that they are all corporate CEOs?"
Everyone was talking about it, and many people simply stopped to watch the fun.
After all, these cars are rare even in Zhonghai, and it is even rarer to see so many of them at once, so of course you have to feast your eyes on them.
The convoy arrived at the small square in front of the building and lined up. A group of people got out of the convoy.
The first person to get off the car was Lin Shuyi from the Rolls-Royce. Lin Shuyi, who was dressed fashionably and had a delicate makeup, amazed everyone present.
She is already a great beauty, and with her status and aura as a female president, she looks even more graceful and elegant, like a peony that outshines all other beauties.
"Wow, who is this? So pretty, is she a celebrity?"
“I haven’t seen it on TV.”
The onlookers were talking about it and speculating about Lin Shuyi's identity.
Not only passers-by, but also Home Inn employees are curious about Lin Shuyi's identity.
"Who is this person?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen it."
"Rolls-Royce is a luxury car worth tens of millions. Only ordinary people can ride in it."
"Nonsense, this is the guest invited by Mr. Lu, how can he be an ordinary person?"
"Too."
Then, another foreigner got out of the Mercedes-Benz.
He is Myron Kern. As a representative sent by the Morgan Group, he was invited by Lu Yiming to join in the fun today.
The reason why Morgan Group was willing to participate in Home Inn's Series A financing was not so much because they were optimistic about Ji Qi, but rather because Myron Kern was more optimistic about Lu Yiming's vision and judgment, and it was a mindless investment.
The employees felt a sense of surprise when they saw Myron Kern.
“There really is international capital?”
"Morgan Group, President Lu is awesome."
Myron Kern, with his high nose and deep eyes, is different from Yang Xiangdong, a yellow-skinned, white-hearted banana. He is a genuine Ansa, representing the Morgan Group. So his personal presence shocked even several senior executives of Home Inn who had already seen the list.
In those days, the economy of Xia Kingdom had not yet fully taken off, so the trend of worshipping foreign things and fawning on foreigners was still very serious, as if foreigners were superior to others.
As Home Inn is highly regarded even by foreigners, it is naturally extraordinary.
Lu Yiming scoffed at this, but he couldn't help but think so since people outside were all thinking the same way.
In fact, the main purpose of seeking foreign investment is to facilitate Home Inn's subsequent listing in the United States. After all, it is still tempting to reap profits in America. The people there speak nicely and are very generous with money. They are all addicted to making money, so it would be a pity not to make money from them.
The next person to appear was a representative from Microsoft Corporation, a Chinese American. Because he had an Asian face, he was not taken as seriously as Myron Kern.
But in fact, Microsoft Group is more interested in Home Inn than Morgan and is more willing to invest.
Finally, Lu Yiming got out of his Audi.
Everyone is familiar with Lu Yiming. In Zhonghai, a world-class international metropolis, he is often in the news.
"Boss Lu is here."
"Mr. Lu is so handsome."
Among the people who stopped, there were many young and beautiful girls. When they saw Lu Yiming, they immediately looked infatuated with him.
I have to say that men who are wrapped in money naturally have a halo.
"Mr. Lu."
Ji Qi came forward to meet him.
Lu Yiming smiled slightly and said, "How is it? Are you ready?"
Ji Qi nodded repeatedly and said, "Boss Lu ordered us to do this, can we not get ready?"
"Let's go."
"please."
Everyone was very polite to Lu Yiming. After all, everyone in the Home Inns Group understood that the young man in front of them was the man who could truly decide the life and death of Home Inns.
With Lu Yiming personally in charge, the negotiations naturally went very smoothly.
Home Inns was formally registered in the Cayman Islands. Led by Future Capital, four investment institutions, including Jingwan Group, Microsoft Group and Morgan Group, signed a share subscription agreement with Home Inns. Home Inns sold 8.17 million Class A convertible redeemable preferred shares at a price of US$1.5882 per share.
In this round of financing, Home Inn raised a total of approximately US$12 million.
At the press conference after the negotiation , Lu Yiming announced the negotiation results to the outside world and announced that he would vigorously develop the Home Inn hotel chain business and open a nationwide free reservation hotline. The first franchise store of "Home Inn" was signed on the spot, becoming the first real franchise case of a domestic hotel brand and creating a new hotel franchise model.
When the reporters asked questions, someone raised the microphone and asked impatiently, "Mr. Lu, you have been supporting Home Inn with great fanfare and raised 100 million yuan. Are you going to fight to the death with Ctrip? Why don't you consider cooperating with Ctrip? They are all companies from Xia Country, and they are all going to go public in the United States. Aren't you afraid of both sides suffering losses?"
Facing the reporter's question, Lu Yiming responded calmly: "From a business perspective, I have full confidence in Home Inn and am sure of victory, so why should I let my competitor go? Besides, wasn't it Ctrip that refused to cooperate in the first place?"
As soon as these words came out, the reporters were immediately excited.
"Mr. Lu, are you admitting that you are retaliating against Ctrip?"
In this gang, we are all respectable people. How could we openly admit to such a thing?
Lu Yiming waved his hand at the reporters with a warm smile and said, "What retaliation? Am I the kind of petty person? As I said before, business is business. Since Home Inn has become the industry leader, there is no need and no reason to share the fruits of victory with its competitors."
Although he failed to ask more explosive questions, Lu Yiming's "victory declaration" was enough to report to the newspaper.
The next day's newspaper headline was immediately titled "It is better to use the remaining courage to pursue the enemy rather than seek fame ", which made Lu Yiming's bold words directly on the headlines of the newspaper.
As social animals, humans sympathize with the weak, but admire the strong more.
Many young people in particular felt that Lu Yiming's approach was very domineering, and at the same time, they were left with the impression that the Home Inns Group was very powerful.
At first, Yang Xiangdong used public sympathy to create topics and promote Ctrip, but now Lu Yiming has turned the tables and successfully established a "powerful" brand image for Home Inn.
No matter whether Home Inn is really strong or not, at least in the eyes of young people, a company that is personally supported by Mr. Lu and has such a tough attitude must be not bad!
Sitting in the newly renovated office of Carlyle Investments Xiaguo Branch, Yang Xiangdong put down the newspaper in his hand, pinched his brows with a headache, and said to his assistant: "Lu Yiming is really difficult to deal with. This counterattack is quite beautiful, and he also took advantage of our previous public opinion offensive."
The assistant also showed a sad face and said, "The change in public opinion is secondary. The key is that Home Inns has received $12 million in funding, which is equivalent to a reloaded shotgun. Ctrip may be in trouble."
The development strategy of Internet companies has always been to spend money to pave the way, so the way of competition is often very cruel. It all depends on who can’t hold on first and who runs out of ammunition and food first.
But capital is naturally risk-averse and even more so, it hates excessive costs.
Therefore, spending money to gain market share is not impossible, but it is best to avoid it if possible.
Yang Xiangdong took a deep breath and calmed himself down, saying, "Let's be patient for now. We at Carlyle Investments have already boarded the Ctrip ship. It's too late to get off now. We should trust Liang Jianzhang and his team to deal with the opponent's attack. It's still unknown who will win. Mr. Lu is too confident. It will be embarrassing if he loses in the future."
Compared with the war of words between the two sides, the efforts made by Ctrip and Home Inns in offline advertising are the real battle of gunpowder and smoke.
Both sides are stepping up publicity, especially targeting young people with strong receptive ability. After all, as companies specializing in providing online travel services, both Ctrip and Home Inns mainly target user groups that highly overlap with Xiaguo's computer user groups.
Compared to the fierce fight between Ji Qi, Liang Jianzhang and others, the life of Lu Yiming, the "mastermind" seems to be much more leisurely and comfortable.
Fu Ri University.
Shi Qingxue and Wu Mengmeng have recently become obsessed with mountaineering, and as the gold medal boyfriends, Lu Yiming and Wang Dazhuang were naturally drawn into it.
On Saturday, several people were clamoring to go mountain climbing. Lu Yiming thought that he had not been close to nature for a long time, and it would be a good opportunity to get out and exercise. So he called Li Quanwang, Gu Zhiruo and Cao Jingwen to climb Sheshan Mountain.
Sheshan is 100 meters above sea level. If it were anywhere else, calling it a mountain would be an insult to the mountain. It would be just a small mound at the top. But in Zhonghai, it is already one of the highest mountains in nature.
The scenery in the mountains is nice, and most importantly, there are many small Western-style buildings with decades of history, which are a classic combination of nature and humanity.
When everyone climbed to the top of the mountain, Lu Yiming said, "The air in the mountain is really fresh. Coming here makes me feel much more relaxed."
Li Quanwang said: "In our school, many students like to go out together on Saturdays and Sundays and go hiking together. Many boys and girls find their other half this way."
Lu Yiming is an experienced person, so he naturally understands this mentality. He immediately said: "The pace of life is getting faster and faster, and the pressure of study and work is getting greater and greater. Therefore, the more young people in big cities, the more they want to escape from the steel jungle."
This applies not only to the present, but also to the future.
In fact, Lu Yiming had been a hiker for a while in his previous life, so he understood the idea of wanting to temporarily escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. It was mainly to vent the various pressures accumulated in his heart.
I can't live without it, but deep down I want to escape. In the end, I can only choose to go hiking or traveling to exchange for a brief moment of peace in my heart.
After all, life has to go on, the holidays are over, and people have to go back to work.
"Our country has a land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, beautiful mountains and rivers, countless scenic spots and historical sites, and too many places worth visiting. However, most ordinary people are still ignorant about traveling and often encounter various scams and frauds, resulting in frequent chaos in the domestic tourism market, with good and bad people mixed together, which really gives many tourists a very bad travel experience."
Lu Yiming suddenly had an idea and said, "Hey, what do you think? Can we do a variety show to teach people how to avoid the minefields they may encounter when traveling? At the same time, we can also promote the Home Inn convenient hotel project."
Li Quanwang complained: "Do you have to be so awesome? You're still thinking about business when you're out hiking?"
Wang Dazhuang echoed, "I think this is a good idea. It should be very interesting to implement. The key is that it can also promote Home Inn. Didn't you say before that Home Inn would build and sign a number of express hotels in scenic spots?"
Wu Mengmeng said excitedly: "I think it's possible. This program will definitely be very interesting after it is made. There are many attractions that we have not been to, so we can watch how others have fun there."
In fact, this is the same as the travel bloggers of later generations, but now is still the 2G network era, which does not support Internet . The current portal websites do not even have a single picture, and the homepage is full of hyperlinks.
Therefore, there is no need to think about opening a video website or live broadcasting. That will only be possible when the 3G network matures and is put into commercial use in 2008. This is not something that Lu Yiming can change alone. So if Lu Yiming wants to do it now, he can only make TV programs.
After returning, Lu Yiming called Ji Qi and told him about this idea.
Ji Qi was very surprised and praised: "Great! This promotion method is worth trying. If the program becomes popular, it will not only promote our Home Inn brand image, but also maybe even recover the production cost."
Lu Yiming said: "Since we have decided to do it, we should work hard to make the program a high-quality one. Don't be stingy, which will result in the quality of the program not meeting expectations."
Ji Qi fully agreed and said, "Home Inn can provide 10 million yuan for production. If it is not enough, we can always increase it. Then we can find a TV station to cooperate and sponsor a program."
Lu Yiming said, "Yes, this kind of thing is to use all kinds of high-end things, such as aerial cameras, etc. Anyway, the more awesome it is, the more awesome it is. It is necessary to make people want to leave immediately after watching the show. It is better to invite a few celebrities as guests and let them act as tourists to travel for the audience."
Ji Qi laughed loudly: "If this happens, won't our hotel rooms be fully booked? I have to quickly contact the hotels around the scenic area to discuss signing a cooperation agreement."
