Chapter 673: The First Step to Conquering 100,000 Merchants

The corner of Xu Xiangguo’s mouth twitched. He had met Wang Haifeng once, half a year ago. Back then, they had only chatted for a few minutes before the conversation abruptly ended.

He had thought the deal was in the bag, but he never expected the other party to turn around and reject a partnership with Kuai Pao.

“Xu Xiangguo.”

“Li Zijie.”

Lao Xu wasn’t bothered. He knew his position was low, and it was perfectly normal for a big boss worth tens of millions not to remember him.

“I know why you’re both here. To be frank, Ctrip’s commission rate is 10%. I wonder what Kuai Pao can offer? And is there any additional traffic support?”

Wang Haifeng was a typical Hu City native who valued profit above all else. With his very first words, he was already probing Xu Xiangguo’s bottom line.

10%?

Xu Xiangguo scoffed inwardly. He wasn’t a specialist in the hotel and travel category, but he could make an educated guess about Star Dream’s commission rate. Given Ctrip’s domineering business style, the most they would have done was lower the rate by two or three points for Wang Haifeng. He’d be lucky to have negotiated it down to 12%.

Claiming 10%?

In his dreams!

Xu Xiangguo was used to the antics of businessmen and remained completely unfazed. He smiled and said, “President Wang, I can give you a commission rate of 12%. That’s the biggest concession I can make. On the traffic side, however, I can provide support for Star Dream. I’ll do my best to arrange an exposure spot on the hotel and travel homepage.”

12%?

‘Only a three-point discount?’

Wang Haifeng thought it was too low, but seeing Xu Xiangguo’s expression—which screamed ‘12% is my final offer’—he pressed on, “Where is this resource spot you mentioned?”

“Zijie, show President Wang.”

Xu Xiangguo said to Li Zijie.

Li Zijie acknowledged, then took out his phone and opened the Kuai Pao app. He tapped an entry point on the homepage and, with a downward swipe of his finger, revealed the “Featured Nearby” channel page.

It was primarily shown to users within a ten-kilometer radius.

“That’s a total of 50,000 in targeted traffic,” Xu Xiangguo added.

“That’s too little. 10% and 100,000 in monthly traffic to my page would be more like it,” Wang Haifeng haggled.

“10%? Frankly, Kuai Pao can’t offer that rate. It wouldn’t matter who you asked.”

Xu Xiangguo said with a tone of certainty.

‘Although the company had given him the authority to go as low as 8%, that was a special policy reserved for large hotel chains and high-star luxury hotels.’

‘And what was the scale of Star Dream?’

‘The entire hotel had only 128 rooms, with a vacancy rate of over 45%.’

‘After all, this was 2013, and Hu City Disneyland hadn’t even opened yet. A daily occupancy rate of 55% was already considered pretty good.’

Xu Xiangguo’s gaze was firm. He knew that every percentage point conceded was a loss of 900. His mental bottom line was 11% or 10%; he would rather not do the deal than go below 10%.

‘Because if I submit the contract at a lower rate, Star Dream’s rating means it would most likely fail the internal review anyway.’

“Manager Xu, 12% is too high. It’s the same as Ctrip. Why should I risk offending Ctrip to partner with Kuai Pao?”

Wang Haifeng spread his hands and said helplessly.

The implication was clear: he would not agree to 12%.

“Kuai Pao is giving Star Dream 50,000 in targeted customer traffic. Would Ctrip give that to Star Dream for free?” Xu Xiangguo retorted.

Before Wang Haifeng could react, he continued, “The Hotels category has now been spun off from the main Hotel and Travel category. It now has the same entry-level priority as Food Delivery, Groceries, and Group Buy. Kuai Pao has traffic support from Pinbei, Gaode, Taobao, and Orange Pay. Our month-on-month growth in transaction volume is guaranteed to be no less than 20%. President Wang, the contract is 12% if you sign today. Tomorrow… that might not be the case.”

Xu Xiangguo had been with Kuai Pao for two years and was well-versed in the art of business negotiation. He could tell Wang Haifeng was interested in a partnership, so he dangled a carrot while simultaneously pressuring him to make a quick decision.

Hearing this, Wang Haifeng’s expression became unreadable. A man who had built a hotel with over a hundred rooms from a single family guesthouse wasn’t going to be so easily bluffed.

He gave a slight chuckle, feigning indifference. “My apologies, Manager Xu, but I’m not seeing any sincerity from your side. If we can’t come to an agreement, then let’s just forget it.”

“President Wang, my apologies for taking up your time.”

Xu Xiangguo immediately stood up, preparing to leave.

He was already prepared to make multiple visits if necessary; he never expected to close the deal with Star Dream in one go.

Wang Haifeng secretly studied Xu Xiangguo’s expression. Seeing his nonchalant posture, Wang Haifeng’s heart sank. He had a faint feeling that, given Star Dream’s scale, 12% really might be the best rate he could get.

Still, he wasn’t in a hurry. He would wait a few days and see.

‘Sometimes, being hasty just leads to mistakes. It’s better to step back, think it over calmly, and then make a more sound decision.’

Out of courtesy, he walked Xu Xiangguo and Li Zijie to the elevator.