Wujiang Hotels \China

Step 2 - Validation (Months 4-6): Launch MVP SaaS with 3 core modules for 10 pilot hotels (free for 3 months in exchange for testimonials and data): (1) Dynamic Pricing Engine - ML model trained on local market data (scraped from Trip.com, Meituan) that recommends daily rates to maximize RevPAR, (2) AI Guest Service - WeChat chatbot (Claude-powered) handling check-in/out, FAQs, local recommendations, and issue resolution (reducing front desk workload 50%), (3) Quality Control Dashboard - Hotel staff upload daily room photos, GPT-4 Vision flags issues (unmade beds, broken fixtures, cleanliness problems) with severity scores. Integrate with Trip.com and Meituan APIs for automated rate updates. Success metrics: Pilot hotels achieve 15%+ revenue increase and 25%+ cost reduction within 90 days. Collect detailed case studies and video testimonials.

Step 3 - Growth (Months 7-12): Convert pilots to paid ($3,000 RMB/month base + 5% revenue share on incremental revenue above baseline) and scale to 100 hotels via: (A) Content marketing - Publish case studies on Zhihu (China's Quora) and hotel industry forums showing ROI, (B) Partnership with regional hotel associations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan for bulk deals (10-20 hotels per association), (C) Inside sales team (5 reps) doing outbound to hotels that completed free audits, (D) Referral program offering 2 months free for every successful referral. Expand product with: Automated OTA optimization (A/B testing photos, descriptions across platforms), Staff training modules (LLM-generated custom training based on quality audit findings), and Supplier marketplace (negotiate bulk discounts on linens, toiletries, passing savings to hotels). Target: 100 paying hotels, $300K MRR, 40% gross margin.

Step 4 - Moat (Months 13-24): Build defensibility through: (1) Data network effects - As more hotels join, pricing algorithms improve via larger training dataset, creating 10-15% accuracy advantage over competitors, (2) Vertical integration - Launch 'Innova Direct' booking channel (WeChat Mini Program) offering commission-free reservations for member hotels, reducing OTA dependency, (3) Financial services - Partner with Chinese banks (e.g., China Merchants Bank) to offer working capital loans to member hotels using Innova's performance data as underwriting (take 1-2% origination fee), (4) Franchise-lite model - Top-performing hotels (90+ quality scores) can opt into 'Innova Certified' branding with co-marketing support, creating a lightweight brand without capital risk. Expand to 500 hotels, $1.5M MRR, explore Series A ($5-8M) to fund sales team expansion and product development. Long-term vision: Become the 'Shopify for independent hotels' in China, then expand to Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam have similar fragmentation).