Li Xin (L), owner of a hotel in Zhongwei City of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, checks with a staff member on the check-in information. [China Women's News]

In early February this year, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) caused a shutdown of hotels in China. Two buses full of passengers had nowhere to go and wandered for more than two hours on the highway near Zhongwei City of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 

After learning of this, Li Xin, who runs a hotel in Zhongwei, immediately decided to offer rooms to the local government, making the hotel a medical observation site.  

After the passengers arrived, Li led her female employees to provide service for them. Wearing protective clothing, masks and goggles, they helped check the body temperatures of the passengers, delivered food and supplies, disinfected the 114 rooms they live in every day and maintained the hotel's hygiene.

During the 50-day quarantine, Li stayed at the hotel 24 hours a day without meeting her family members including her son. Instead, she tried her best to bring warmth to the isolated guests. Some guests left messages expressing thankfulness and one guest donated 1,200 yuan to support the fight against COVID-19. 

When the quarantine ended, Li and her staff wept since their arduous efforts paid off; no one was infected with the virus and they were able to reunite with family members. 

Later, Li set aside a part of the government payment as a bonus and divided it among her teammates 
who had made such painstaking efforts during quarantine. 

Those who know Li all say that she dares to be the first and is straightforward, simple and persistent, a typical woman from Northwest China. Guests refer to Li as "a heroine in the desert" for her years of hard work at the hotel. "We don't have marketing tricks, and we just take care of the tourists as family members," she said.

An elderly tourist suffered a heart attack while staying in the hotel. Li quickly organized her staff to send the woman to the hospital for treatment and paid all her medical expenses. The woman's children were greatly moved and sent a banner to express their gratitude.

Another guest from Nanjing accidentally lost her wedding ring in Li's hotel. The guest contacted the hotel after she returned home. Li led her employees on a search of every inch of the hotel and finally found the ring. The guest was so excited to receive her ring and even burst into tears.

Over the years, Li has never stopped improving herself and has also encouraged her employees to obtain professional certificates. She herself has five certificates in hotel management. Consistent 
learning has given Li advanced thinking and vision.  

Even though the COVID-19 epidemic continues to wane in China, the lodging industry has not recovered from its huge impact. Faced with pressures, Li searched for a way out of the industry's difficulties without laying off any employee. She made full use of the idle period, planning to create a special hotel to give customers a different and unforgettable travel experience.

In 2018, several shutterbugs stayed at Li's hotel for more than 10 days and released their photos on WeChat. The beautiful photos and good word of mouth brought more customers to her business, making Li more aware of the market prospects of hotels that offer customized services. 

Zhongwei City enjoys both a profound historical background and magnificent desert scenery along with beautiful landscapes similar to those in the southern reaches of the Yangtze River. Li combined desert landscape and the southern-style scenery when designing a new hotel, trying to attract tourists with that particular interest.

The new hotel will welcome its first lodgers in less than a month.

"Although the epidemic has hit the hotel industry hard, I believe it is also the time to improve our services and competitiveness so that we can bring tourists a kind of unique accommodation experience when the tourism industry bounces back," Li said with confidence.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)