In China, The real price of a hotel room is what the customer is willing to pay. Locals always ask for a discount and you should too. The days of official surcharges for non-Chinese customers are long gone. Although many hotels still quote higher prices to foreign visitors, they are amenable to hard bargaining and will bring their rates down drastically, especially if the rooms in question will otherwise go empty.

For most foreign-run hotels, the best available price will be on the hotel’s own website. Unless demand is very high, the price will tend to drop nearer to the planned day of stay.

Websites for Chinese hotels will almost always quote a wildly inflated rack rate. Only foreigners who try to book in advance from overseas will ever pay this price. Specialist websites often claim to offer huge discounts but, while they can sometimes offer good prices for advance bookings, you should be able to get a better price by a considerable margin if you turn up to book in person. Discounts of 10 to 20 percent are standard, 30 to 40 percent very common, 50 percent not unusual. You can even try for larger discounts, especially in locations with strong seasonal demand.

The recent introduction of double beds of various sizes in Chinese-run hotels (rather than the standard twin single beds) has led to some confusion. Older hotels and a few newer ones do indeed have regular “single rooms,” with a single bed in a relatively small space for a cheaper price. However, rooms described as ”single” usually refer to those with a double bed, and can be occupied by two people, although they usually cost slightly less than twin-bed rooms of the same size.

The display of certain credit card symbols at hotels does not guarantee that the hotel will accept the international versions of these cards. It is therefore important to confirm that your international card will be accepted before checking in. You cannot pay directly with travelers’ checks, and though most tourist hotels now have foreign exchange facilities, the staff will probably send you to the local Bank of China head office to exchange your checks. In most places, be prepared to pay in Renminbi (RMB).