How Foreigners Can Book Hotels in China

When you're preparing for a business trip to China and open Booking.com or Expedia to book a hotel, you might discover a strange problem: in such a large country, why are there so few hotel options?

Moreover, due to China's electronic payment system dominated by apps like Alipay and WeChat, as well as regulations regarding foreigners checking into hotels, booking accommodation may be more complicated than you imagined.

Don't worry. Below, I will explain each of these issues one by one to help you prepare before coming to China and choose a more suitable hotel at a better price.

Let's Start with the Conclusion: How to Book Hotels in China

1. If it's your first time in China, prioritize Trip.com
2. Use Agoda, Booking.com, and Expedia for price comparison and reading user reviews
3. When booking budget hotels, individual hotels, or homestays in smaller cities, it's best to confirm in advance whether they can accommodate foreigners
4. You must bring your original passport for check-in (Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents need to use the corresponding travel permits)
5. Pay attention to reviews, free cancellation policies, and whether prepayment is required before filtering hotels

Why Do Some Hotels Not Accept Foreigners?

China did have old regulations requiring hotels to have qualifications to accommodate foreigners, but after July 2024, the government officially issued a notice requiring that foreigners must not be refused, and this restriction has been abolished.

However, when choosing budget hotels, individual hotels, or homestays in niche cities, it is still recommended to confirm in advance whether they can accommodate foreigners, mainly because:

• Policy promotion takes time, and hotel reception training is insufficient
• Hotels need specialized equipment to register foreign guests' accommodation information with public security authorities
• Merchants worry about fines for non-compliance

But don't worry too much. Trip.com's hotel accommodation policies will indicate the types of guests that can be accommodated. So even if you don't book on this platform, you can use it to confirm relevant information.

Finally, if you do encounter a hotel refusing to accommodate you, first contact the hotel booking platform's customer service to coordinate a resolution. If conditions permit, you can also try calling China's emergency number 110 for support.

Which Platform Is Better for Booking Hotels in China?

If you are a hotel brand member, we recommend checking the official website first for member rates and exclusive benefits.

The above is my statistics of hotel counts on different platforms in different cities during the same time period.

As you can see, Trip.com and Agoda are clearly in the first tier. These two platforms have similar hotel resources in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but in third- and fourth-tier cities like Guilin and Datong, Agoda's coverage is somewhat lacking.

This is one of the reasons why I recommend Trip.com as your first choice.

Trip.com

Ctrip is China's largest online travel platform, providing hotels, flights, train tickets, travel products, and various other travel services. It has long been a leader in the Chinese industry, with abundant international and domestic hotel resources.

Trip.com is an online travel service platform specially designed for international users by Ctrip. Its main advantages are:

• Leveraging Ctrip's local hotel resources to provide more competitive services and prices
• Supporting 24 languages and 44 currencies, allowing you to book directly online with major international credit cards
• Providing 7 x 24 hour multilingual customer service, supporting real-time online communication or toll-free phone communication, and resolving issues faster with local advantages

So I say Trip.com is your first choice for booking hotels in China.

Although Trip.com has the above advantages, I also found that some hotels on Trip.com are not necessarily the lowest priced among these platforms. If you have time, I recommend comparing prices across multiple platforms to find the hotel you like best at the most suitable price.

Agoda

Agoda is one of Asia's leading online travel platforms, headquartered in Singapore. It belongs to the same Booking Holdings company as Booking.com.

Although Agoda does not have the local advantage compared to Trip.com, as can be seen from the table, in terms of hotel resources in China's first-tier cities, Agoda is not inferior to Trip.com.

Using Agoda to compare prices and read user reviews when booking hotels is also a good choice.

Booking.com / Expedia

I won't introduce these two much. As global veteran travel service platforms, you may use them often.

But as can be seen from the data in the table, in terms of hotel resources in China, these two platforms have significantly fewer options than Trip.com and Agoda, and even fewer in third- and fourth-tier cities.

If you're going to a small city in China, these two platforms won't be of much help.

Meituan, Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, Tongcheng

These are local hotel platforms designed for Chinese users, so they often have advantages in hotel resources and prices. But if it's your first time in China, I don't recommend prioritizing them because of the following issues:

• Insufficient English interface support
• Registration may encounter issues with unsupported international mobile numbers, preventing you from receiving verification codes
• The payment system may not support your international credit card, requiring you to register and use Alipay or WeChat to pay

If you will be coming to China long-term, or want to try finding some niche design hotels, I can briefly introduce how to use these app services and how to solve these problems.

1. You can use the WeChat mini-programs of these app services to book hotels. These are mini-programs embedded within the WeChat app, supporting page translation, which can solve the language problem. But you need to register for WeChat first and bind a bank card as the payment method.
2. If you use WeChat or Alipay mini-programs to book hotels, you don't need to worry about unsupported international mobile numbers. These mini-programs can log in directly through WeChat or Alipay. But if you download these apps from the Apple Store or Google Play, you may encounter issues with international mobile number registration, in which case you will need a Chinese mobile number.

So as you can see, solving these problems is not easy, and sometimes solving one problem brings up new ones. If you are visiting China for the first time, or just staying briefly, using international platforms like Trip.com will be more worry-free.

How to Book Cheap Hotels in China

1. Both Trip.com and Agoda offer discount pages with hotel coupons, discounted hotels, flight deals, and more. If your itinerary is already fixed, booking flights and hotels together may be more favorable.
2. Avoid Chinese public holidays. Chinese people travel in large numbers during holidays like Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day, and hotel prices usually rise significantly.
3. Book in advance and choose hotels with free cancellation to avoid extra expenses from itinerary changes.
4. When choosing pay-at-hotel, the hotel may not support international credit card payment. If you switch to WeChat or Alipay payment, there will be an additional 3% service fee.
5. You can filter out hotel room types that include meals and solve breakfast on your own.
6. Choose a location with convenient transportation, avoiding hotels in the city center that are more expensive.

Step-by-Step Guide from Booking to Check-In

Step 1: Prepare Booking Information

1. Guest's surname and given name
2. Email: used to receive booking confirmation
3. Mobile number: for contact and receiving reminders
4. International bank card: for online payment

Step 2: Choose a Platform

Based on the above introduction, choose the platform that suits you. You can book through the mobile app or directly through the platform's website:

1. Trip.com
2. Agoda
3. Booking.com
4. Expedia

I recommend using Trip.com first to search and filter hotels, then using the other three platforms to compare prices and read reviews.

The following steps will use Trip.com as an example. The operations on other platforms are similar.

Step 3: Search and Filter Hotels

1. Search for hotels by city, geographic location, hotel brand, check-in date, number of guests, and other conditions
2. Further filter suitable hotels by room type, user rating, payment method, free cancellation, and other conditions
3. Check hotel facilities, surrounding facilities, user ratings and reviews, accommodation policies, and other information before deciding whether to book

Don't fully trust star ratings. China's hotel star system is not exactly the same as the West's, usually placing more emphasis on hotel facilities and hardware conditions. Focus on negative reviews to see if there are issues you care about such as soundproofing, smoking, or renovation odors. Trip.com's accommodation policies will indicate whether foreign guests can be accommodated.

4. Search for the same hotel on other platforms to compare prices and read user reviews

Step 4: Book

1. Fill in the information prepared earlier
2. If you have special requests, you can fill them in additionally
3. Confirm booking dates, room type, total price (taxes, service fees), cancellation policy, and other information

Step 5: Check-In

1. Provide your original passport and booking information. The hotel will register and upload your identity information.
2. The hotel may charge a deposit (refunded at check-out) and may not support international credit cards, so it is recommended to prepare WeChat, Alipay, or cash as payment methods in advance.

Recommended Hotel Brands

Everyone should be familiar with international hotel groups, so I won't say much about them. Here, I mainly introduce China's four major hotel groups and their various brands.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best platform for booking hotels?

I recommend Trip.com as your first choice. Backed by Ctrip, China's largest travel service platform, it has obvious advantages in local hotel resources. It also provides 24/7 customer service, supports 24 languages and 44 currencies, and allows you to book directly online with major international credit cards.

Can foreigners stay at any hotel in China?

The law requires hotels to accommodate foreign guests. But in actual travel, some small hotels may refuse due to insufficient training or outdated registration equipment.

What if the hotel says they can't accommodate foreigners?

First, contact the booking platform's customer service to have the platform communicate and coordinate with the hotel. If conditions permit, you can also call China's emergency number 110 for support.

Can I book a hotel without a Chinese mobile number?

Yes. International platforms like Trip.com, Booking.com, Agoda, and Expedia usually allow you to complete bookings with an email and international mobile number.

How to book cheap hotels in China

Comparing prices across multiple platforms or using platform discount pages to filter hotels, avoiding Chinese public holidays, choosing hotels with free cancellation, and trying to avoid the 3% service fee from paying at the hotel with Alipay or WeChat are all very practical money-saving methods.

Can I book Chinese hotels through WeChat?

Yes. There are many hotel mini-programs in WeChat and Alipay, such as Meituan, Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, and Tongcheng.

But for overseas tourists, there are a few issues: insufficient English interface support; registration may encounter unsupported international mobile numbers; the payment system may not support your international credit card.

If you're visiting China for the first time, we recommend booking directly through Trip.com for greater convenience.

Can I pay for hotel expenses with a credit card?

Some large chain hotels usually support international credit card payments, but Chinese local brands or individual niche hotels may not. We recommend booking directly through platforms like Trip.com. If you use WeChat or Alipay to pay, there may be an additional 3% service fee.

What do I need to bring to check into a Chinese hotel?

You must bring your original passport.

It is also recommended to prepare: booking confirmation screenshots, a small amount of RMB cash, Alipay or WeChat Pay, and an available international bank card.