Someone with a 5,000-yuan salary would definitely say that they ‘would not be able to afford the rent’ if the option was 1,500 or 2,000 yuan. However, they would definitely compare.
Sloth Apartments’ direct competitor now was the new ‘Safe House’ by Home Corporation.
Home Corporation was the most influential housing agency locally. Many people would choose Home Corporation’s houses brainlessly because there was less possibility of this company cheating them.
Two years ago, Home Corporation saw the demand for living conditions by young people increase. They, therefore, rolled out the Safe House initiative which was to sign up older and more run-down houses with the landlords, renovate themselves, and increase the rent for their clients.
These houses were rather good overall, be it the renovations or the furnishings. It might be slightly more expensive than other houses, but the comfort it provided meant that this industry developed rather well.
Compared to Sloth Apartments, the Safe House from Home Corporation might not be as good in renovations. However, it did not have so many rules, and its pricing was much cheaper. In the eyes of normal salarymen, it was obviously better suited for the public.
An increment of monthly rental from 1,500 yuan to 2,000 yuan meant an extra 6,000 yuan expense on rental per year. It was enough to buy a new cell phone. That difference was still rather obvious to most people.
Moreover, Pei Qian could detect the whiff of fake reviewers in these reviews.
Home Corporation also had many shops in Jingzhou. Every shop had many agents.
The Sloth Apartments that Tengda launched were also rental businesses. It was in direct competition with Safe House. Home Corporation would not just sit around and do nothing while Sloth Apartments increase their reputation.
They didn’t even need to hire professional fake reviewers. They could force all their employees to Jingzhou to search for similar posts and post as though they were passers-by.
These people might not know, but if someone were to have a strong review 24 hours after, that person would be able to make a large noise on the internet. It could create a fake image that ‘many people were not satisfied with Sloth Apartments’.
In short, the clients that the Sloth Apartments attracted online were generally dissuaded. However, even so, some people still went against all odds to sign up with Sloth Apartments.
The penthouse of Binhu District Block 8 was also rented by Chen Lei’s crazy female fan because his MV was shot there. The scenery in the house was exactly the same as in the MV, which was very suitable to be uploaded into WeChat moments.
Obviously, this client did not rent this unit to stay in but to chase after the celebrity. It was worth it even if it was just to sit on the sofa that Chen Lei sat in before!
Pei Qian only knew it from the butler after the fact. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. He could only say that the rich chased after celebrities stupidly and for such boring reasons.
“Sigh, Chen Lei has many fans after all. Such is unavoidable. It would not make much difference to the loss situation of Sloth Apartments if it is just a meager few houses.”
Chen Lei’s influences might be able to attract some fans, but it was not a big issue.
It was rental after all, not selling away. If it was for sale, many fans might try to buy and sell it for a profit since the value would still be there. They could rent it out without staying in it; it was worthwhile either way.
However, they were only for rent, not for sale. Moreover, there were strict restrictions against subletting. Take this little girl for example. She was throwing money down the drain if she did not stay in it.
Therefore, Pei Qian felt that there should not be too much of an impact if people rented this unit to chase after celebrities because of the MV.
Moreover, not even a single person was renting the Shundong Gardens Residential-Commercial Building and his Dawn of Prosperous City.
Pei Qian concluded that while Sloth Apartments was being popularized, it was still safe. He would continue to monitor it.
He, therefore, took the car home to take a good nap.
…
Afternoon, Thriller Hostel…
Li Shi and the other investors gathered together for a meeting. The situation was not bad since Thriller Hostel commenced operations.
The current publicity works were very sufficient. It had attracted many youngsters from Jingzhou and even the Handong Province; the interesting projects within Thriller Hostel also managed to obtain a good reputation.
However, the problem was that it did not seem to be a great hit.
To the investors like Li Shi, the Thriller Hostel could only be regarded as normal profit status. It was able to have some remainder after all revenues and profits were taken into account. However, it was too early to reap returns on their capital invested.
Such popularity was mediocre at best.
Everyone might have been used to investing alongside Boss Pei, but the problem was that Boss Pei did not seem to be making heaps of money this time either. To put it accurately, Boss Pei was reaping mediocre rewards while the others could only look at it from afar.
Until now, the Thriller Hostel did not achieve the expectations.
Therefore, the investors gathered together and called Boss Li to discuss countermeasures.
“Boss Li, based on the current income, we will only be able to break even in God knows how many years! We cannot wait that long!”
“Yes, Boss Li, can you quickly think of solutions? Should we continue to push Boss Pei? Boss Pei definitely still has something else up his sleeve!”
“Or should we withdraw?”
“Withdraw? Impossible! I have been observing the situation with Thriller Hostel, and it is not optimistic. It might be able to give multiple experiences, but there would definitely come a time when you would get sick of it.
“There are not many domestic tourists currently; most people would not travel all the way to Jingzhou just because of a haunted house. Therefore, there is no possibility of a huge profit in the short term!”
“Could Boss Pei have miscalculated this time?”
“Could Boss Pei be serious when he told us that this project may not be able to be profitable?”
The investors were lost and panicky. That was because the investment into Thriller Hostel was too huge. They would only make profits after the investment breaks even. If it was impossible to recoup the investment, then it would not be profiting, it would be making huge losses.
Li Shi listened to the discussion of the investors without a word. The current situation with Thriller Hostel was not satisfying to him either.
Everyone could feel that the gap between ‘still alright’ to ‘popular’ was just too little. However, they could not close the gap no matter how they tried.
Was it the problem with the project itself?
There was no problem with the content. Desperate Escape, Haunted House Nightmare, Ultimate Horror, Golden Maze, Healing Fountain, Maid cafe… they were all very good. The response from the tourists was rather good as well.
The problem with queues was also settled with the Tengda Life App. Everyone could use the application to queue up while they eat, shop at Golden Maze, and everything else. The experience for tourists had been greatly enhanced.
Could it be a problem with publicity?
It seemed to be alright. Most people knew about the Thriller Hostel no matter whether it was in Jingzhou or in the entire country. The publicity arranged by Boss Pei included the shared phone booth and Teacher Qiao’s video had been effective.
They really could not think of what they lacked to make Thriller Hostel a huge hit. Or perhaps, Boss Pei was not omnipotent like what some investor said. He did not manage to predict the situation?
Li Shi obviously did not agree with that.
Li Shi knocked on the table after the investors were done with their complaints. “Alright, keep it down. Do you think that Boss Pei miscalculated for the Thriller Hostel? Then, you really have no patience.
“How long has the Thriller Hostel been open for? Less than two months! You only mistakenly think that the Thriller Hostel will be an instant hit because you only saw Boss Pei’s instant hit projects.
“Haven’t you realized that most projects only became huge hits after Boss Pei persisted long enough?
“Like the Fish-Catching Take-Out, it made losses for an entire year. However, not only did Boss Pei not ax this project, but he even continuously invested in it until it exploded in popularity with the Jingzhou garbage sorting! Fish-Catching Take-Out’s future is immeasurable right now!
“How would Boss Pei obtain today’s success if he was as anxious as you and gave up in just two months? Moreover, the Thriller Hostel is not in the red; it is just making profits slowly.
“Do you know the difference between you and Boss Pei now?
“You are all in the investment field, you can’t possibly misunderstand this simple logic, right?”
The investors became quiet with Boss Li’s lecture. Indeed, anyone with a little knowledge of investment knew that investing for the short term was meaningless. They had to look far.
However, Boss Pei’s instant success investment stories were plenty which was why these investors had high hopes. They lost their patience because the Thriller Hostel was not an immediate hit.
Everyone calmed down after they were taught a lesson by Boss Li.
An investor coughed lightly. “Boss Li, yes, you are very right. We are indeed a little too impatient, but that is also for everyone’s benefits. Who doesn’t hope that the Thriller Hostel would be able to become even more profitable?
“Boss Li, you ask us to persist and wait. Indeed, we should all trust in Boss Pei, but isn’t it too passive for us to continue waiting like this?”
The other investors nodded as well. “Yes Boss Li, that is too passive, shouldn’t we think of something to publicize it farther, even if it meant spending a little more money?”
Li Shi was silent for a moment. He looked at everyone. “Spend a little more money? Are you willing to?”
“Yes!” The investors nodded fervently.
They paused before adding on. “Of course… we have to discuss how to spend it.”
Li Shi nodded lightly, still rather satisfied with their answers. No matter what, everyone’s interests were aligned with the Thriller Hostel. No one wanted to desert the project, and they were even willing to spend more money on publicity.
That was a good thing.
Only those who believed strongly in Boss Pei and followed him to the end would be qualified to have a share in the pie.
