Looking for a place to stay in Beijing during August may be more than a hassle. Out of the 1.5 million domestic and foreign tourists expected to attend the Olympic Games held in Beijing this summer, there will only be a supply of around 43,000 rooms (officially, at least). Assuming that all are double rooms, still only 5-6% of all visitors will be able to find hotel rooms. So here are some tips for looking for hotel rooms in Beijing.
If you have a very high budget:
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games has unveiled 132 official hotels for the Olympic Games, of which only 15 are three-star or lower. The price ranges from 2,799 yuan per night for a high-end five-star hotel to just over 1,000 yuan per night for a low-end three-star hotel. The price of staying at these official hotels in Beijing is less than the hotel prices at the previous Summer and Winter Olympic Games venues. Nonetheless, the average tourist will find these costs high.
If you have a relatively high budget:
Try budget hotels in Beijing. They may not have all the hotel essentials, but still provide for comfort. There are nearly 200 budget hotels in Beijing, with 13,000 rooms to offer. For example, Jinjiang Inn is providing rooms starting at just 399 yuan per night, while Home Inn and Super 8 offer rooms starting from 999 yuan per night. Reservations for budget hotel rooms have already started and is expected to peak sometime in March or April.
If you have a relatively low budget:
Many home-stay inns are looking for occupants. During the Olympics, many of these family-operated inns will rent rooms per night instead of per month. Most of these rooms will have a price below 1,000 yuan per night. For example, Homestay Beijing 2008 and China Homestay are offering rooms at a mere 6,400 yuan for the four-week Olympic period. There are a total of 5 such agencies accepting online reservations at this time.
If you plan on going to the Beijing Olympics, better get your act together soon and reserve your rooms early!
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