Editor’s note:

The youngest citizens of China are its newest consumers. Our continuing series will look at how their needs and the desires of their parents are changing shopping habits.

On my WeChat group with two other sets of new parents, the conversation recently turned to the coming Spring Festival holiday.

One wife said she wanted to find a nice five-star hotel to book, while her husband worried about the cost amid family losses in the recent stock market rout.

I can certainly understand why the mother of a young child would be focusing on a quality hotel, no matter what the cost. They are more hygienic and tend to cater to young families more than budget accommodation.

One of my work colleagues told me she managed to make a holiday booking for her family only after trying several hotels. Many of the best hotels were fully booked a month ahead of the early February holiday, she told me.

The Chinese New Year is a happy time, when people can escape the woes of stock market losses, a depreciating yuan and a bleaker economic outlook, at least temporarily, by spending some of their hard-earned cash on a little leisure.

In a sense, we who want to take a holiday away from home are a bright spot in the slowing economy. According to China National Tourism Administration, we Chinese took more than 4 billion trips around the country and 120 million trips overseas last year. That ranks us as the most traveling country in the world.

The World Travel and Tourism Council estimated tourism contributes around 10 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product, surpassing banking, education and automobiles.

The Chinese government is encouraging a shift to consumption-led economic growth. So my husband and I are only too happy to do our bit.

Last year, my family made six trips with the baby — four to areas in surburban Shanghai and two to other provinces. During our outings, we encountered many families with small children. It reminded me of the popular reality show “Papa, where are we going?”

Traveling with a toddler does take a bit more planning. Our daughter Claire is 16 months old. Before she was born, I wouldn’t have dreamed of booking an expensive hotel for a holiday. I was one of those budget travelers, content to stay in dorm-style hostels and eat in cheap restaurants.

All that has certainly changed. The quest for adventure has turned into a quest for convenience.

“Hi, do you offer free cots for babies?” That’s the first question I ask when phoning a hotel. If the answer is “yes,” then we are talking.

Deep down, my trust in domestic budget hotels has never recovered from the day I heard a news report about cleaning staff in such establishments using the same cloth for the toilet and sink, and recycling plastic cups with a quick rinse of water. What’s more, budget hotels rarely offer amenities for children.

WeChat is full of advice on where to stay for parents with young kids. Nearly all the recommendations are four-star and above.

Packing to travel with a child is complicated enough. The days of a simple backpack are gone. Nowadays we need to pack diapers, a buggy, baby toys and a sleeping bag, among other paraphernalia.

Hoteliers respond to opportunities

Hoteliers have been quick to sniff out opportunities in the family travel segment. InterContinental was among the first to respond.

In a recent interview, Kenneth Macpherson, InterContinental Hotels Group chief executive officer in China, said he sees great prospects ahead despite the “new normal” in the nation’s economy.

Any drop-off in official business caused by China’s anti-extravaganza campaign is expected to be countered by growing demand among common Chinese holidaymakers.

He was referring to leisure travel, including family travel like mine.

The hospitality group has rolled out programs including “Kids Stay & Eat Free” at its Holiday Inn outlets. The program, which is very popular with parents, provides a free cot or rollaway bed for children under 12 years old. At lunch and dinner times, there is a special “Kid’s Menu.”

InterContinental instituted a marketing program two years ago to sell the Holiday Inn brand to career parents who want to spend some quality time spent with their families.

InterContinental competitor Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide also offers a raft of family friendly services.

For instance, its St. Regis Hotels & Resorts arm has launched the St. Regis Family Traditions Children’s Booklist for China, developed in conjunction with China’s first Disney-contracted children’s author Yang Peng. Butlers at participating hotels personally bring children’s books for loan to guestrooms and help parents select the right books based on Yang’s recommendation rationale.

Starwood’s newly opened Westin Tashee Resort in Taoyuan is home to the largest Westin Family Kids Club in the world, with 720 square meters of indoor and outdoor play space, including a special area for afternoon naps.

According to the marketing hype, the Kids Club features classes and supervised playtime for children aged three to 12, allowing their parents some time to themselves.

The increased cost for family services is worth every yuan.

In early December, Ctrip, China’s largest online travel services provider, released a survey on the Chinese family travel market, based on the responses of 3,798 respondents with at least one child.

It showed that nearly one-third of the respondents have travelled with their families, and about 63 percent of those said their families took outings one to three times a year.

Seizing the trend, Ctrip has initiated family travel campaigns.

Well, my family finances are tight this year and options for finding the right accommodation over the weeklong Spring Festival break are limited, so we’ll be staying home for the holidays and thinking of springtime, when my husband, my daughter, both sets of grandparents and I will be heading for a getaway in Macau. It’s off-season for the city famous for its gambling industry. True to myself, I am still a bargain hunter.