Accomodation, foreigners not allowed.

[Chris Two Times]

Regarding chains, it may depend on the place, the time of year, the person at reception, etc.

 

I went to Qingdao from January 13th to 16th, 2016 and went in reservation-less. As I knew about this potential problem of hotels turning away foreigners, I checked out a map of the area around Qingdao station first and then planned my move. To the NW of the station there was a Home Inn (如家), a Hanting (汉庭), and a 7 Days (7天) all right next to each other. I was prepared to just go door-to-door and if they all turned me away, I was prepared to go back to the E side of the train station where there were several more of these chains.

 

The first one I went to was the Home Inn and they immediately turned me away. I tried to finangle a room, but they wouldn't budge. At least they profusely apologized in refusing me a room.   I then went to the Hanting and they accepted me without problem--3 days for 366 kuai total, a clean, basic room with good-functioning wifi. Obviously, I didn't need to go to the 7 Days. 

 

I guess it really does depend on the place; time of day/year; mood/competence of the person at reception; position of the moon, stars, and planets; etc. to getting a room at one of the chains. I prefer to not go into a city without a hotel reservation, but I do like these chains because they are cheap, clean, and easy and you can do them without reservation--it all just goes back to the basis of this thread--how do I know which ones accept foreigners and which ones do not?

 

I hope to travel around China for an extended stint next year and I hope to use these chains frequently. I will check the map of an area first, so I can play "hit-and-run" on a hotel cluster with an expectation that the first few will turn me away.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[889]

"How do I know which ones accept foreigners and which ones do not?"
 
Check the chains' Chinese websites:

http://hotels.huazhu.com/?CityID=3702 (内宾 in the main listing means no foreigners)

http://www.homeinns.com/list/qingdao (some show 内宾 in the main listing, and some don't but nonetheless state 不接待外宾(包括港澳台) on the details page)

Of course it's always possible the website information may be out of date, so don't expect this approach to be completely reliable.

You can also check the English version of booking sites such as ctrip and elong. The English versions usually show only hotels that accept foreigners, though mistakes are fairly common; normally they'll call to cancel your booking if there turns out to be a 不涉外 problem, but again, don't expect perfect reliability.

 

Finally, check the reviews; English or other non-Chinese reviews are a near-certain indicator you won't have a problem. (Checking the reviews is useful in any event to discover any other problems, like poor wifi.)