Why many Chinese hotels don't accept foreign guests

When Alice Jiao booked a hotel in Nanjing, she double-checked the listing to ensure it accepted foreign guests.

But when the Australian woman arrived at the Nanjing Rest Yizhi Hotel in February, staff told her they only accepted foreigners with a Chinese permanent residence card, Australia's ABC News reported.

Travelers from Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. have shared similar experiences on platforms such as Reddit, Xiaohongshu and Booking with the refusals most often occurring at small or budget hotels.

In January Malaysian visitor Emily Qin said she was turned away from the Royal International Apartment in Guangzhou though the booking platform indicated no restrictions, ABC News reported.

Since they have to find new lodging while exhausted, such incidents make things especially difficult for young families and older travelers.

On domestic apps like Meituan, Ctrip and Qunar, listings often explicitly state only guests with mainland Chinese ID cards will be accepted.

But it is often missing on international platforms such as Booking and Expedia.

China's Entry and Exit Administration Law requires hotels to register foreign guests and report their details to the local police within 24 hours, Channel News Asia reported.

Some properties, especially in smaller cities, view the process as burdensome due to technology and staffing limitations.

China has sought to revive inbound tourism post-Covid, recording 131.9 million inbound arrivals in 2024, up 61% year-on-year, with visa relaxations and other reforms, China Daily reported.

Chinese law also previously required hotels to obtain a special "foreign accommodation qualification" license to accommodate international tourists.

But this rule was gradually relaxed and officially scrapped in May 2024 as part of China's post-pandemic tourism reforms.

Even so, many independent budget hotels accustomed to serving domestic travelers struggle to accommodate foreign guests due to language barriers and outdated systems that cannot easily register foreign passports.

Travel advisers such as The China Guide recommend booking four-star hotels or higher, which typically have bilingual staff and smoother passport processing.

Visitors should also read reviews, check listing details carefully and call to confirm before booking.