(Yicai Global) June 26 -- Youjia Homestay, a Chinese bed & breakfast chain founded in February, has raised tens of millions of dollars from investors that include online travel agency Ctrip, hotel-booking platform Tujia.com and 58 group, an online-to-offline integrated service provider, it announced yesterday.

Youjia Homestay will also cooperate with Netease Carefully Selected, an e-commerce brand owned by internet tech firm Netease, the former further announced, with the latter to become the default interior decorator for all chain homes. The two will build 5,000 B&Bs together in the coming year to give users new experiences of 'travel + accommodation + consumption.'

Youjia Homestay's business for short-term rental will extend to more than 40 cities and offer a total of 10,000 housing units by the end of this year, said Shen Zhiqiang, the firm's founder and chief executive, who has also proposed setting up several service centers to provide cleaning, washing, storage and reception services for guests.

Youjia Homestay was founded by a team that formerly worked for Mayi.com, the leading short-term rental hotel booking platform of 58 Group. Shen was chief executive of Mayi.com before leaving the post last year. He thereafter set about creating his new brand. The average occupancy rate of Youjia Homestay reached 73 percent in the second quarter, Shen said, with the average room price of CNY412 (USD62.87).

The scale of China's leisure travel market was close to CNY2.7 trillion last year. This made up 60 percent of the overall tourism market, public statistics show. Personalized, diversified and in-depth travel experiences with accommodation at the core are becoming increasingly important for travelers, but the B&B industry is still in its infancy, making it an investment hotspot.

Editor: Ben Armour