Things To Consider When Booking a Hotel in China (2025 Guide)

Which Platform Should I Use?

YenKid: I recommend Trip.com as the first go-to platform. Personally, I’ve booked over 20 hotels in various parts of China using this website/app.

In my opinion, its user interface is the friendliest, it contains the most hotels, and the prices are often the cheapest. I also find their cancellation policies to be the best.

Why not Booking.com or similar platforms? You still can, but Trip.com is the most tailored to the Chinese market - it is the biggest Chinese travel company and has access to a much larger range of hotels. If you are a budget traveller, there’ll be budget hotels you’ll find on Trip.com but not on other platforms.

7 Top Things to Consider When Choosing a Hotel in China

1️⃣ English speaking staff ➡️ Most major international hotel chains or local 5* hotels usually have at least one member of staff who can speak English fairly well. It will be a hit-and-miss with cheaper hotels, but remember you can use a translation app to communicate.

2️⃣ Distance to nearest metro station/transit station ➡️ aim to pick a hotel that is within 500m of a metro station/transit station. You’ll save a lot of effort walking to and from your hotel.

3️⃣ Distance to majority of attractions ➡️ locate the attractions you want to visit + see where the majority of them are. Obviously, the closer your hotel is, the more expensive it’s likely to be. By picking a hotel within 10km of this central location, you will save a lot of travel time.

4️⃣ Exposure to noise from major road ➡️ take a look on Trip’s integrated map tool and see if your hotel is right next to a main road. Main roads can still be noisy after midnight, if the hotel rooms do not have good soundproofing.

5️⃣ Robot delivery? ➡️ If this is something you want to experience, take a look at the hotel’s information page on the Trip app and see if they have listed robot service.

6️⃣ Breakfast required? ➡️ Most 4* and 5* have breakfast either included or for an additional charge. Some will even offer a Western style breakfast. In contrast, many budget hotels may not offer breakfast at all.

7️⃣ In-hotel facilities ➡️ Gyms and pools are limited to mostly 4* and 5* hotels.

Check-In Process

1️⃣ Approach the front desk and tell them you want to check in. If staff don’t understand, say "wǒ xiǎng bàn lǐ rù zhù" (我想办理入住).

2️⃣ Show your booking and provide passports of all family members for registration. You may also be asked for the phone number you used for the booking.

3️⃣ Staff may ask you to pay a security deposit. Pay by Alipay/WeChat Pay/cash. Not all hotels require this.

4️⃣ Get your room card or room passcode. Some hotels may not have a room card.

5️⃣ Check you have the Wi-Fi password. It’s often written on the card holder they give you. If they ask you to connect through an app, a password may not be needed.

6️⃣ Head to your room.

Hotel Vocabulary

⏺️ I’ve written this beginner’s guide - check it out!