Olympics could be a bust for Beijing hotels

 

BEIJING (AP) — The Olympics are looking like a bust for the city’s hotels.

The 17-day games were supposed to generate a buzz throughout the summer, leading to a tourism windfall with fully booked hotels and free-spending customers.

Instead, Beijing’s summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies say many potential visitors are being put off by tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Olympic events. Others could be reluctant to book trips because China’s authoritarian government seems more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them to the games.

 

“We are not full at the moment, and we have rooms to fill,” said Anthony Ha, general manager of the newly-opened Marriott Courtyard Beijing Northeast. “There’s not much time left, and we have a way to go.”

China has spent a reported $40 billion on new infrastructure and stunning venues, hoping to impress visitors with a modern city when the games begin Aug. 8. But the lack of reservations could shake the city’s hotel industry, which has more than doubled its five- and four-star hotel offerings to 160 since Beijing was awarded the Olympics seven years ago.

Ha declined to reveal his hotel’s occupancy rate, but he expressed concern over a report last month from the Beijing Tourism Bureau that showed five-star hotels were 77 percent booked, and four stars were at 44 percent.

 

“That’s worrisome,” Ha said. Hotel operators in Beijing were “hoping to hit 90 percent daily. It’s a huge thing.”

The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing ranged from $560 to $1,150 per night, according to the tourism bureau, although some rates were reported as high as $2,000 per night during the Olympics. The four-star average was $325.

The number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5 percent from a year ago, the tourism bureau said. Among the biggest drops were Japanese visitors, down 45 percent. The number of American visitors fell by 17.15 percent.

The earthquake on May 12 that killed almost 70,000 people in Sichuan province may account for some of the decrease. So may a slumping world economy, and alarming images of deadly rioting on March 14 in Tibet, followed by chaotic pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the torch relay.

But the lack of visitors also coincides with new visa regulations that make it tougher for tourists and business executives to enter China. Students have been targeted too, because the government fears they might side with political activists if protests erupt during the games.

 

Homeowners who hoped to lease their houses or apartments are also disappointed. Song Zhi, manager of a Web site aimed at overseas Olympic tourists, said he had 200 units but only 20 were reserved. The average price was about $145.

“We don’t have what we’ve expected,” Song said. “There’re not even many people making inquires about pricing. We had expected a peak in June, but that peak has yet to come.”

Several hotel managers also cited soaring prices, which rose artificially when Beijing Olympic organizers in 2005 and 2006 reserved 70 percent of the rooms at the city’s four- and five-star hotels. A few months ago, those organizers released thousands of rooms, dropping their room holdings to 40 percent.

 

The practice is common in many large sporting events, but it usually drives up prices.

“A lot of the hotels overestimated their occupancy rate for July and August,” said Si Cunxia, sales manager of Travel China travel agency. “The hotels were all too optimistic to think that they would be packed with tourists. In reality, tourists who would normally come to Beijing are not coming during the Olympics because transportation and accommodations are quite high.”

China’s authoritarian government seems intent on keeping many foreigners away. Visa rules were changed with little explanation, and officials have conducted repeated sweeps for travel documents at compounds where foreign visitors live.

 

To guard against threats to the Olympics, Beijing said last week that it had mobilized a 100,000-member anti-terrorism force headed by the elite Snow Wolf Commando Unit.

Ground-to-air missiles have been positioned under camouflage netting just 300 meters from one Olympic venue, a highly visible response to alleged plots by separatists from the Muslim-dominated region of Xinjiang. The government says plotters attempted to crash an airliner and planned to kidnap athletes and journalists.

There are also reports of bar areas in Beijing being forced to close early during the games, with a few around town dubbing these the “Killjoy Games.”

“Beijingers will enthusiastically welcome foreign tourists,” said Zhang Huiguang, director of the Beijing Tourism Bureau. “But for terrorists and troublemakers, we’ll unite and fight against them.”

Guo Lingmei, general manager of marketing for BTG Travel in Beijing, said tourism will probably remain slow for the entire summer. He blamed high hotel prices and difficulties obtaining tickets to Olympic events.

Beijing organizers have said 6.8 million tickets were available for the games, but most were snapped up by buyers within China.

 

Some five-star hotels are in good shape — at least during the Olympics — because they secured reservations from Olympic sponsors or Olympic committee delegations.

“We don’t have any problems at all,” said Marco Sander, director of marketing and sales at the 526-room Kempinski Hotel. He said his high-powered guests were a sure bet.

“They need to come, and they have no choice to turn back now,” Sander said. “They have put so much money down, they cannot draw back.”

Sander’s hotel, like many, has undergone renovation for the games. But he said he was doubtful that Beijing would charm foreigners. Barcelona made its mark in 1992 with a stunning port and spirited nightlife, and Sydney did much the same in 2000.

“We will see a big vacuum after the Olympic Games,” he said. “If Beijing is not able to transmit a very positive picture about the city and facilities, if we can’t convince people to come to Beijing, we have a big problem.”