Hotels in China

China's hotel industry can trace its roots to an earlier age of daks and inns, and over the years the hotel industry has been evolving in order to accommodate the needs of a rapidly changing society. Over the last several years, tourism in China has been growing by leaps and bounds in part because of the rapidly improved living standards of people throughout the world. This advancement has also had a corresponding effect on China's hotel industry, one of the three main pillars of tourism in China. In 2005, the number of tourists traveling to China was estimated to have reached 120,290 thousand! When compared to the same period of 2005, from January to September of the year 2006, the number of tourists traveling to China increased by 2.86%. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics along with the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, it is believed that China's hotel industry will continue to grow and provide even greater opportunities for China's developing tourism industry.

As an important factor of the comprehensive reception capacity of tourism, hotels play a key and basic role in tourism. A popular hotel is often equipped with small grocery or convenience stores along with cafes, dining rooms, dance lounges, swimming pools, and a variety of other accommodations that are designed to satisfy the needs of the tourist during their stay.  Depending on the type of construction, along with the accommodations available for hotel guests, a foreign oriented rating system from one to five stars has been adapted in order to provide tourists and prospective guests with a guide when it comes to choosing the right hotel to stay in during their visit.

Hotels are usually made up of Front Office Department, Food & Beverage Department, Housekeeping Department, Security Department, and Physical Fitness Department. However, hotels of different grades are equipped differently, and not all of them include all of these departments. A one-star hotel is equipped simply with dining facilities and other basic accommodations that are meant to satisfy travelers' basic needs. Two-star hotels are usually built with a store, post office, barber shop, and other amenities in addition to guest rooms and dining rooms. Three-star hotels seem to offer the accommodations that most foreign travelers prefer. Most three-star hotels will offer accommodations that will include separate meeting rooms, bars, cafes, and recreational areas that will meet the needs of the hotel's guests. Four-star hotel provides tourists with excellent personal services that are designed to add a personal touch to each of the hotel guests. In four-star hotels, tourists will be provided with material as well as spiritual comforts. The five-star hotel is the highest hotel grade with luxurious equipment and perfect service that is usually included with the rooms or suites. Accommodations would include a selection of cafes and dining rooms offering a wide variety of food selections to satisfy the needs of even the most discriminating traveler.

 Items Needing Attention:
When choosing a hotel, convenient transportation and reasonable rates should be considered. When booking and reserving rooms at hotels located in countries that are so far away, it is recommended that travelers make sure that they are aware of the date and time difference in order to avoid any mistakes or confusion about dates and times.

Another area of concern is to make certain that when you check into your hotel that you are well aware of where the emergency exits are in the event of an unforeseen accident or emergency. It is also recommended that visitors make certain that any and all valuables are safely secured in the hotel safe in order to minimize the possibility of theft or loss. Finally, it is recommended that when leaving the hotel for any reason, that hotel guests always carry their hotel room cards with them wherever they go. The hotel room card, with the name, address, and phone number of the hotel can be helpful in asking for directions in the event that a hotel guest gets lost when exploring the city.

 How and When to Check in:
When checking in you will need to provide your passport and other valid certificates to the clerk at the registration desk, where after registering, you will be given a hotel room card and escorted to your room. Although a few hotels may have a check in time at 14:00, in most instances, checking in and checking out are both at 12:00 at noon. If for some reason there is a need to check in or check out at another time, there is the possibility that there will be an extra charge. According to Chinese hotels' regulations, when checking out between 18:00 and 12:00 the next day, you have to pay half a day's charge additionally; when checking out after 18:00 the next day, you have to pay another day's charge.

 Basic Hotel Categories: 
in terms of clients' demand, hotels are divided into Business Hotel, Conference Hotel, Holiday Hotel, and Youth Hostel; in terms of managerial nature, hotels are categorized into Business Group Management, Chain Business Management, and Independent Management.

 Basic Room Categories
According to Equipment and Price: Single Room, Double Room, King Size & Queen Size Room, Standard Room, Triple Room, Quad Room, Suite, Apartment, Villa.
According to Grades: Economical Room, Standard Room, Superior Room, Deluxe Room, Business Room, Executive Room, Executive Floor.
According to Building Orientation: Front View Room, Rear View Room, City View Room, Garden View Room, Sea View Room, Lake View Room.
Special Rooms: Run of the House, Non Smoking, Handicapped Room, Room with Kitchen, Adjoining Room.

 FAQs about China Hotels