Govt puts rate ceiling on Shanghai's hotels for Expo

• Source: Global Times
• [17:07 March 03 2010]
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By Xu Huixian

The Shanghai authorities are expected to set benchmarks on hotel room rates this Thursday. This move is aimed at preventing the city’s hotel rates from skyrocketing during the upcoming Expo.

“We will hold a meeting regarding price benchmarks on Thursday. Major hotels and travel agents will be invited for discussion, but this meeting is closed to the media,” an official with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration told the Global Times.

Prices should remain stable during the World Expo. The benchmark will be published to prevent the city’s hospitality industry from overheating,” said Dao Shuming, head of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration.

The Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration announced on March 1 that they would launch a price monitoring system on all hotels with 100 rooms and above in Shanghai during the World Expo. Any hotel found to be offering higher room rates than the benchmark will be reported to the authorities. 

Chen Wenzhe, director of the marketing department at Jinjiang Inn, one of the biggest budget hotel chains in Shanghai, told the Global Times that his company was invited to the meeting tomorrow.

“We hope the benchmark rates can balance the interests between customers and hotels,” Chen added.

Jinjiang plans to increase hotel room rates by 10 to 15 percent during the World Expo.

Shanghai’s hotel room rates on Ctrip.com, a famous online travel service, have increased by an average of 20 percent for check-in dates starting May 1, according to Chen Zhenyao, a public relations manager with Ctrip.com.

The company’s hotel reservations in Shanghai in February surged three and a half times that in January.

More than 70 million visitors are expected to visit Shanghai for the World Expo to be held from May 1 to October 31.