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TIP SHEET: CONTACTS
HOTELS
• aloft Beijing: 011-86-10-8846 0206: www.starwoodhotels.com
• Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast: For reservations e-mail hongkongglobalsales@marriott.com
• Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing: www.ichotelsgroup.com, 011-86-10-8397 0088
• Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing: www.ichotelsgroup.com, 011-86-10-6833 8822
• JW Marriott Hong Kong: www.marriott.com, 011-852-2810 8366
• Shangri-La Hotel Beijing: 011-86-10-6841 2211, www.shangri-la.com
• The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang: 011-86-10-6466 9691, www.starwoodhotels.com
PACKAGES
• Abercrombie & Kent: 011-852-2865 7818, www.akdmc.com
• CoSport: 1-877-457-4647, www.cosport.com
• Ludus Tours: 512-351-7825, www.ludustours.com
• Roadtrips: 1-800-465-1765, www.roadtrips.com
• Sports Traveler: 1-888-654-7755, www.sportstraveler.net
HOTELS
• aloft Beijing: 011-86-10-8846 0206: www.starwoodhotels.com
• Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast: For reservations e-mail hongkongglobalsales@marriott.com
• Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing: www.ichotelsgroup.com, 011-86-10-8397 0088
• Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing: www.ichotelsgroup.com, 011-86-10-6833 8822
• JW Marriott Hong Kong: www.marriott.com, 011-852-2810 8366
• Shangri-La Hotel Beijing: 011-86-10-6841 2211, www.shangri-la.com
• The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang: 011-86-10-6466 9691, www.starwoodhotels.com
PACKAGES
• Abercrombie & Kent: 011-852-2865 7818, www.akdmc.com
• CoSport: 1-877-457-4647, www.cosport.com
• Ludus Tours: 512-351-7825, www.ludustours.com
• Roadtrips: 1-800-465-1765, www.roadtrips.com
• Sports Traveler: 1-888-654-7755, www.sportstraveler.net
High-End Hotels Are Still Opening in Beijing for 2008 Summer Olympic Games
Mandarin Oriental, Beijing
Opening 2009. With its spectacular location and innovative architecture, Mandarin Oriental, Beijing is a stunning
landmark in China’s capital city. As part of China Central Television new headquarters, the hotel enjoys an unrivalled
location in the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District and serves as Mandarin Oriental’s flagship property in China.
Hotel G, Beijing 时尚精品酒店 Hotel G
Avantgarde superior Hotel in Beijing, China
The stylish Hotel G Beijing opened in June 2008 in the Chaoyang District, where bars and restaurants like the Green
T. House abound.
Park Hyatt Beijing (Beijing Boyue Jiudian, 北京柏悦酒店)
Soaring above the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District, Park Hyatt Beijing (Opening July 2008) will be part of
the prestigious Beijing Yintai Centre, the tallest skyscraper on Chang’an Avenue and a symbol of the new China.
Hilton Beijing Wangfujing (Beijing Xierdun Wangfujing Jiudian,北京希尔顿王府井酒店)
Nestled in the shopping district of Beijing and located within walking distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden
City., the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing hotel is scheduled to open on July 8, 2008 for the Beijing Olympics.
Swire Hotels - The Opposite House in Beijing (Yu She, 太古北京瑜舍)
Named one of World's best new hotels in 2008 by Telegraph Media Group
Swire Hotels to open First Luxury New Hotel in Beijing in Summer 2008 - The Opposite House
The Opposite House has eliminated the check-in counter and will greet guests at their cars and escort them to
their rooms, producing keycards with a handheld unit.
Legendale Hotel Beijing 北京励骏酒店
Named One of Top Ten 2008 hotel openings by AskMen.com
Opened in October 2008, The platinum 5-star Legendale Hotel Beijing is the epitome of European elegance and luxury.
Mandarin Oriental, Beijing
Opening 2009. With its spectacular location and innovative architecture, Mandarin Oriental, Beijing is a stunning
landmark in China’s capital city. As part of China Central Television new headquarters, the hotel enjoys an unrivalled
location in the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District and serves as Mandarin Oriental’s flagship property in China.
Hotel G, Beijing 时尚精品酒店 Hotel G
Avantgarde superior Hotel in Beijing, China
The stylish Hotel G Beijing opened in June 2008 in the Chaoyang District, where bars and restaurants like the Green
T. House abound.
Park Hyatt Beijing (Beijing Boyue Jiudian, 北京柏悦酒店)
Soaring above the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District, Park Hyatt Beijing (Opening July 2008) will be part of
the prestigious Beijing Yintai Centre, the tallest skyscraper on Chang’an Avenue and a symbol of the new China.
Hilton Beijing Wangfujing (Beijing Xierdun Wangfujing Jiudian,北京希尔顿王府井酒店)
Nestled in the shopping district of Beijing and located within walking distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden
City., the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing hotel is scheduled to open on July 8, 2008 for the Beijing Olympics.
Swire Hotels - The Opposite House in Beijing (Yu She, 太古北京瑜舍)
Named one of World's best new hotels in 2008 by Telegraph Media Group
Swire Hotels to open First Luxury New Hotel in Beijing in Summer 2008 - The Opposite House
The Opposite House has eliminated the check-in counter and will greet guests at their cars and escort them to
their rooms, producing keycards with a handheld unit.
Legendale Hotel Beijing 北京励骏酒店
Named One of Top Ten 2008 hotel openings by AskMen.com
Opened in October 2008, The platinum 5-star Legendale Hotel Beijing is the epitome of European elegance and luxury.
Hotels in Beijing hurting as some foreigners seem to pass on Beijing Olympics
June 25, 2008 - Beijing's summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies say many potential
visitors are being put off by high hotel prices, tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Olympic events. A report last
month from the Beijing Tourism Bureau showed five-star hotels were 77 percent booked for the Aug. 8-24 Olympics,
and four stars were at 44 percent. The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing ranged from 3,840 to 7,910 yuan
(US$560 to US$1,150 ). Some rates are reported as high as US$2,000 per night during the Olympics. The four-star
average was 2,226 yuan (US$325)
Fiercer competition in Beijing hotel industry
June 23, 2008
The Beijing Olympic Games are sparking fierce competition among the hotel groups that are sprinting to either open
new properties or spruce themselves up by August. Read More
June 25, 2008 - Beijing's summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies say many potential
visitors are being put off by high hotel prices, tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Olympic events. A report last
month from the Beijing Tourism Bureau showed five-star hotels were 77 percent booked for the Aug. 8-24 Olympics,
and four stars were at 44 percent. The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing ranged from 3,840 to 7,910 yuan
(US$560 to US$1,150 ). Some rates are reported as high as US$2,000 per night during the Olympics. The four-star
average was 2,226 yuan (US$325)
Fiercer competition in Beijing hotel industry
June 23, 2008
The Beijing Olympic Games are sparking fierce competition among the hotel groups that are sprinting to either open
new properties or spruce themselves up by August. Read More
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Meiguoxing.com, Your Ultimate Guide to Beijing, China |
12 detained over massive fire in Beijing complex
Feb 11, 2009
BEIJING (AP) — Police in China's capital have detained 12 people over a massive hotel fire at a government television
complex sparked by an unlicensed fireworks display, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.
The blaze Monday night destroyed the unfinished Mandarin Oriental hotel in the capital's western district, leaving one
firefighter dead and seven other people injured.
The 520-foot (159-meter) luxury hotel, designed by Netherlands architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren, was part of
a stunning CCTV complex that helped transform the capital's skyline for last year's Olympics. The building also housed
television studios, a visitor's center and exhibition space. Read More
Feb 11, 2009
BEIJING (AP) — Police in China's capital have detained 12 people over a massive hotel fire at a government television
complex sparked by an unlicensed fireworks display, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.
The blaze Monday night destroyed the unfinished Mandarin Oriental hotel in the capital's western district, leaving one
firefighter dead and seven other people injured.
The 520-foot (159-meter) luxury hotel, designed by Netherlands architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren, was part of
a stunning CCTV complex that helped transform the capital's skyline for last year's Olympics. The building also housed
television studios, a visitor's center and exhibition space. Read More
Global financial crisis hits Beijing luxury hotels hard
A glut of new upscale hotels opened before the Olympics, and business has gone from bad to worse.
The owners of a new ultra-luxury hotel maintain an air of confidence in the face of adversity. The
234-room Pangu Plaza (Pangu 7-star hotel), which opened in December, charges as much as
$17,750 a night for a suite. The sushi bar, where the cheapest lunch special is $265, cooks its rice
in mineral water flown in from Japan. The walls in the hotel are covered with silk, the floors with
marble -- Italian of course.
"The Chinese new rich have plenty of money. We have Bentleys pulling up with no number plates.
So you can tell that they're brand-new," room manager Dennis Seng said, scoffing at the
suggestion of inauspicious timing for opening a luxury hotel.
"The other day, a Russian couple ran up a $4,000 tab at an intimate lunch for two in the Japanese
restaurant," he said.
His confidence, however, is belied by the cavernous, empty lobby where the only sound is the
tapping of the high heels of the crisply attired staff. No paying customers were evident during
a weekday afternoon visit, although Seng said that occupancy has reached "up to 30%."
If that is the case, the Pangu is faring far better than dozens of other newly opened hotels here.
It might simply be a glut of luxury.
"Everything that the developers are building is 'luxury' or 'imperial,' luxury apartments, luxury shopping mall, luxury hotels, but
this is not what the Chinese people need or can afford," said Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of
Technology.
Pangu overlooks 2008 Summer Olympic landmarks like the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube," and the new Regent Hotel
boasts a panoramic view of the Forbidden City. The Park Hyatt opened in December on the upper floors of a new skyscraper.
It touts itself as the highest hotel in Beijing, with 360-degree views from a 66th-floor restaurant.
Adjacent to the Summer Palace is the new Aman hotel, part of which occupies original imperial guesthouses. The cheapest
room is $480 in the off-season.
"You had so many new hotels opening in the Olympic lead-up and even afterwards. [Even] if it was business as usual and we
didn't have a financial crisis, this would have been a tough year," said Damien Little, a director of the hotel consulting firm
Horwath Asia Pacific.
His firm counted 126 hotel openings in Beijing last year, adding 29,000 rooms. Hotels that missed their deadlines for
completion are still opening.
Even the Olympics were disappointing. Despite advance word that all rooms would be sold out during the games, hotels were
only 67% occupied during August, the Olympic month, according to STR Global, a hotel research firm.
China's tourism business was also badly hurt by the government's decision to sharply limit the number of foreign visitors
during the Olympics, making it difficult for many people to get visas.
"The visas were a debacle. It was a real slap in the face to the hotels," said Ian Billard, a business advisory services manager
at the U.S.-China Business Council. "You're now talking about 10 to 30% occupancy in hotels that were counting on 70 to
80%."
Perhaps the only relief for Beijing's beleaguered hotel industry is the fact that the most feared competitor, the Mandarin
Oriental Hotel, will not open any time soon. The hotel, in the China Central Television compound co-designed by architect
Rem Koolhaas, was gutted in a spectacular fire this month.
"Nobody wants to say it, but that's one less hotel," Little said.
February 22, 2009 By Barbara Demick from LA Times
A glut of new upscale hotels opened before the Olympics, and business has gone from bad to worse.
The owners of a new ultra-luxury hotel maintain an air of confidence in the face of adversity. The
234-room Pangu Plaza (Pangu 7-star hotel), which opened in December, charges as much as
$17,750 a night for a suite. The sushi bar, where the cheapest lunch special is $265, cooks its rice
in mineral water flown in from Japan. The walls in the hotel are covered with silk, the floors with
marble -- Italian of course.
"The Chinese new rich have plenty of money. We have Bentleys pulling up with no number plates.
So you can tell that they're brand-new," room manager Dennis Seng said, scoffing at the
suggestion of inauspicious timing for opening a luxury hotel.
"The other day, a Russian couple ran up a $4,000 tab at an intimate lunch for two in the Japanese
restaurant," he said.
His confidence, however, is belied by the cavernous, empty lobby where the only sound is the
tapping of the high heels of the crisply attired staff. No paying customers were evident during
a weekday afternoon visit, although Seng said that occupancy has reached "up to 30%."
If that is the case, the Pangu is faring far better than dozens of other newly opened hotels here.
It might simply be a glut of luxury.
"Everything that the developers are building is 'luxury' or 'imperial,' luxury apartments, luxury shopping mall, luxury hotels, but
this is not what the Chinese people need or can afford," said Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of
Technology.
Pangu overlooks 2008 Summer Olympic landmarks like the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube," and the new Regent Hotel
boasts a panoramic view of the Forbidden City. The Park Hyatt opened in December on the upper floors of a new skyscraper.
It touts itself as the highest hotel in Beijing, with 360-degree views from a 66th-floor restaurant.
Adjacent to the Summer Palace is the new Aman hotel, part of which occupies original imperial guesthouses. The cheapest
room is $480 in the off-season.
"You had so many new hotels opening in the Olympic lead-up and even afterwards. [Even] if it was business as usual and we
didn't have a financial crisis, this would have been a tough year," said Damien Little, a director of the hotel consulting firm
Horwath Asia Pacific.
His firm counted 126 hotel openings in Beijing last year, adding 29,000 rooms. Hotels that missed their deadlines for
completion are still opening.
Even the Olympics were disappointing. Despite advance word that all rooms would be sold out during the games, hotels were
only 67% occupied during August, the Olympic month, according to STR Global, a hotel research firm.
China's tourism business was also badly hurt by the government's decision to sharply limit the number of foreign visitors
during the Olympics, making it difficult for many people to get visas.
"The visas were a debacle. It was a real slap in the face to the hotels," said Ian Billard, a business advisory services manager
at the U.S.-China Business Council. "You're now talking about 10 to 30% occupancy in hotels that were counting on 70 to
80%."
Perhaps the only relief for Beijing's beleaguered hotel industry is the fact that the most feared competitor, the Mandarin
Oriental Hotel, will not open any time soon. The hotel, in the China Central Television compound co-designed by architect
Rem Koolhaas, was gutted in a spectacular fire this month.
"Nobody wants to say it, but that's one less hotel," Little said.
February 22, 2009 By Barbara Demick from LA Times