Hotels in Beijing now have cut their room rates in a last ditch effort to attract tourists before the opening of the Olympic Games next month. Compared with March, room prices in the average four-star hotel in June, are reduced by 42 rmb to 2185 rmb, with the occupancy rate rising 3.3%, according to the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau.

Ready for guests

The outside image of the building for 7 Days Inn hotel chain in this file photo undated. [sohu.com]

A comfortable bed, a clean bathroom, a table and a lamp, an oil painting on the wall, broadband access and several books are featured in a typical budget hotel room. Aiming for good service at a reasonable price, budget hotels are making their service sweeter for the upcoming Olympics.

When asked about what special services will be offered to its customers during the Games, manager Zhou Hangcheng from Jinjiang Inn Anzhen gave many reasons. Anzhen chain in Beijing is the closest hotel to the National Stadium among Jinjiang Inns' 30 hotels in the capital city.

"As the closest branch, we are supposed to do the best job," Zhou said.

The hotel will offer its guests free use of their bicycles during the Games. A total of 300 bicycles will be provided to customers who pedal around Beijing. "It's convenient and environmental-friendly. It also embodies the 'Green Olympics' concept," Zhou added.

A 'Green Olympics' raises people's environmental protection awareness which is one of the three concepts that the Beijing Olympics embraces, along with 'High-tech Olympics' and 'People's Olympics'.

The hotel also has a plan to organize interactive activities with its guests. Zhou said there could be an "Olympic Lucky Draw" and "Olympic Games Group watching" as the events had not yet been confirmed.

Zhou said the hotel is ready to provide language service. All the staff at Jijiang Inn received English training which began earlier this year. The Jinjiang Inns group held a 'Service in English Role-play' contest to mark the 100-day countdown. Some staff played the role of guests, and others as waiters or waitresses. The result of the contest proved fruitful, according to Zhou.

Super 8 is the only budget hotel with a branch designated as an Olympic-endorsed hotel. It also launched an intensive English training for its staff from May to July. After the training, the staff should be able to communicate with foreign guests well, from greeting to check-in and inquiries, according to news reports.

To ensure a "safe Olympics", all hotels, including budget ones, have stepped up security in response to terrorist attacks. Jinjiang Inns has increased its security by providing customers access only to their designated room and floor. There are more security guards on the hotel property and they are now on more shifts, according to Zhou.

Economical and comfortable most important

For 35-year-old Dai Chunguang and 28-year-old Sun Ping, they think they have made a right choice. Dai, a government staff from Guangzhou, will visit Beijing on August 15 to watch the Olympics with his wife and child. Dai has not booked the hotel yet but intends to stay at a budget one though he has never stayed in one before.

"For me, four or five-star hotels are a little expensive. For a standard room, 2,000 rmb and 3,000 rmb have now become commonplace," he said. "Actually I have no requirements for stars -- comfortable and economical are the most important."

"I intend to stay at a budget hotel," Dai continues. "They have a good word of mouth: Clean, comfortable and convenient. These are enough and good enough for me. Most importantly, the price is more acceptable compared with those star-rated hotels."

Sun Ping, a college teacher in China's central Hubei Province, has already made his travel plans. Sun, who is a member of Home Inns, booked his room with the hotel chain in mid-June. "I'm a loyal customer of Home Inns. It's quite obvious where I'm going to stay," Sun said.

The dedicated sports fan said he didn't care much about the price since he decided to come watch the once-in-a-lifetime event. "Though the price is higher than normal, it's cheaper than those star hotels," Sun explained. "As to the service, I don't worry about it. It's standard. I think young people prefer this kind of hotel."