[photopress:hotels_medium_prices.jpg,full,alignright]The National Day holiday gave an idea of how hotels respond to suppy and demand and shows, perhaps, what we can expect at the Olympics.
Zhang Wei of online travel service Ctrip.com said some popular tourist cities such as Sanya, Hangzhou, Guilin, and Xiamen raises their rates during the Golden Week. And a growing number of tourists drove up the demand for budget hotels throughout China. The Chang Long Hotel, Nanning, seen in our illustration was no exception.
Zhang Wei said, ‘Take Guilin as an example, the price for five star and four star hotels grew by 25% and 50% respectively, while the three star hotels have seen the largest price increase of 80% as they are the main choices for ordinary people.’
In contrast, the big business cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou saw prices drop in five star hotels.
During peak season, the average room price at a Beijing Prime Hotel is RMB800 to 900 ($106.5 to 119.8). During the national holiday, the price dropped about RMB200.
Li Siwe, in charge of the marking for the hotel, said, ‘In the golden week, our target clients are domestic tourists from other provinces, so we have to adjust the prices according to their budgets.’
The Shanghai Marriott Hotel Hongqiao normally charges RMB1700 to 1800, but during the upcoming holiday, the price dropped to RMB800. The management agreed the the drop in prices is all about the type of guests they recieve.
Now, after the National Holiday, it’s back to business as usual for hotels in cities like Shanghai. They will not be inexpensive.
Source: China Daily