About The House Collective by Swire Hotels

The House Collective is a bold collection of luxury design hotels in China owned by Swire Hotels.

The House Collective consists of four Houses at the heart of China’s most sophisticated metropolitans: the Upper House in Hong Kong, the Opposite House in Beijing, the Middle House in Shanghai, and the Temple House in Chengdu.

The modern and simple silhouette of The Opposite House in Beijing. (Source: Swire Hotels)

Inspired by China’s diverse landscape, the four hotels are uniquely designed to tell stories of each of their locale.

The Temple House sits on a century-old courtyard built in the Qing Dynasty; the Upper House towers over Hong Kong’s iconic skyscape, and the House Collective tastefully bridges history, modernity, and art in a hotel experience.

The Temple House sits on a century-old premise dating back to the Qing Dynasty. (Source: Swire Hotels)

The House Collective’s thoughtfulness evidently extends to every aspect of its guest experience both in-person and online.

In the words of Brian Williams, Managing Director of Swire Hotels -

People are consuming more and more digital content on a daily basis. It gets information to our target audience faster, making our brand more accessible and user-friendly.

And needless to say, much of its effort goes into its official site.

The Website

Headquarters: Hong Kong
Industry: Hotel Hospitality
Website CMS: Sitecore Custom website 

www.thehousecollective.com

The House Collective site is the first touchpoint for many first-time visitors looking up hotel amenities as well as those who are interested in making reservations.

However, as with all foreign sites in China, the House Collective’s site is not without incompatibilities issues in China.  The House Collective team was determined that site incompatibility shouldn’t stand in the way of delivering its full brand experience to their guests. 

That’s where the Chinafy team came in.

Objectives

A high-performance website with a fast and smooth user experience, from browsing to booking

A website that showcases the House Collective's brand through dynamic digital content and high-quality visuals

The Results

Before Chinafy: Loaded key resources in 5.8s in London (in grey)
After Chinafy: Loaded key resources in 2.7s in Guangzhou, China (in blue) - 2.2x faster!

Want to delve a little deeper? No problem!

In terms of TTFB, we were able to achieve an 8.2x acceleration when we compare our results in Guangzhou with that in California.

We tested www.thehousecollective.com on Jan 27, 2021.

In terms of usability, after the Chinafy optimization process, the House Collective team was also able to -

Reducing conversion friction by accelerating both static and dynamic content

Ensure full interactivity of all visuals including animated hero images and videos

Optimise the site so that Google Analytics in China can fire properly

Continue managing their site from Hong Kong for China, with optimization processes auto-applied on an ongoing basis using Chinafy (no China hosting required)

Why do you need a faster site? 

With a faster site, the House Collective set itself up to drive increasingly more and consistent revenue via direct booking channels, as opposed to relying on online travel agencies (OTAs). 

Does your custom site work in China? Try our Visual Speed Test tool to see it loaded in China, in real-time.