It’s a pretty good bet that a lot of people are going to the Beijing Olympics and they’re not going to make their hotel reservations in advance, and they’re going to try to improvise. I think it’s an equally good bet that people who thought they had reservations are going to find out they don’t for one reason or another. Another very good bet is that prices are going to be higher than the pole vault for last minute bookings, so what do you do?
The north side of Beijing is going to be complete, this is where the vast majority of sporting events will take place and it is where the Olympic village is located. There are universities in this area where they will surely house people. When I explored that area of Beijing last year, there weren’t many hotel rooms in that area. A good hotel we found was the Oriental Bay hotel, which is a 4 star hotel in Beijing. I would put a lot of money into this hotel being complete. The official hotel of the Beijing Olympics, the Raffles – Beijing Hotel, will also be full, this is around 1000 rooms for a single facility and it is not cheap at any time as it is actually two 5 star class hotels combined with everything from bowling alleys to jade carvings. They occupy entire walls to the xylophone like music in the atrium, which rises up to the sky.
So where do you look to find good cheap hotels for the Olympics at the last minute? One of the best things about Beijing and the Olympics here is the subway system that will take you to most areas of the city. Beijing is set up in sprawling squares and the Olympics are mostly held in the northern quadrants between rings 3 and 5. The two areas I would look for would be south of the Forbidden City and the area around the Beijing train station. Beijing. Then I would start looking at the long line that runs east to west and look further out of town with the best bet heading towards the airport.
Home stays and internet will be available and when the Chinese find out how much they can earn for their places, they will double down and visit to free up space. These spaces that are not traditional guesthouses will be harder to find. One of the interesting things about China is that they love the Internet and they have huge computer rooms where they go and socialize. I’m sure there will be chartrooms you can find that will connect you to available rooms and accommodations.
Check out the local taxi guys, they are very familiar with their small areas and will be good sources of information for you who are outside the normal channels and with negotiation you can bet these will be the cheapest accommodation available in Beijing.
Being an adventurer myself, I’d try this, make a note in Chinese that says you’re looking for a room in a family home, and then walk through the hutongs near the Forbidden City. If you’re lucky and find one, you’ll get a real look at Beijing, where most others will only see the shiny patina.