Confusion causes hotels to turn away guests

• Source: Global Times
• [08:38 July 16 2010]
• Comments

By Chen Xiaoru

The recent case of a family from Hong Kong being turned away from a hotel has highlighted the confusion among hoteliers in the city over the regulations for accepting guests from outside of the Chinese mainland.

The Zhenping Road branch of Home Inn turned away a family from Hong Kong, including four children, on Wednesday night, leaving them with no place to stay, Youth Dai-ly reported Thursday.

"Our qualification allowing us to accept guests from outside of the mainland was revoked by our local police station in April," Dai Zhiming, the manager of the Zhenping Road Home Inn, told the Global Times Thursday. "We have not received any such customers since then. We were worried that we may get into some trouble if we allowed them to stay."

However, according to a hotel manager surnamed Sheng, who asked not to have his place of work identified, the qualification issued to hotels by their local police stations regards the registration of guests with the Public Security Bureau (PSB).

"All hotels have the right to accommodate visitors from outside the mainland," Sheng said. "The qualification issued by local police stations allows the hotels to register their guests on behalf of the PSB. Hotels without the qualification need to take their guests to the local police station within 24 hours of check-in to register them."

Sheng added that hotels lacking the qualification might not be willing to take the trouble to escort their guests to the local police station for registration, and therefore choose to deny them board.

Zhang Xin'guang, a media officer at the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, confirmed to the Global Times Thursday that all hotels are allowed to accommodate visitors from outside of the mainland. "We have not had any restrictions on hotels accommodating people from outside the mainland since the early 90s," Zhang said.

However, a number of the branches of large hotel chains contacted by the Global Times Thursday, including Hanting Inns and Hotels, and Jinjiang Inn, said they do not accept non-mainland guests.

"It is illegal for the hotels to reject customers if they are eligible to accept them," Xu Qiang, a lawyer from Zhongyin Law Firm, told the Global Times Thursday.