Beijing Hotel Booking Steadily Up, Room Rate Drops A Bit Hotel booking rates in Beijing have steadily risen with the Olympic Games drawing near, but the room rate has dropped, according to the industry and city tourism authority. There were media reports recently that the stricter visa policy China has carried out since June for security concerns have held foreign tourists back from visiting the country and this has made hotel room supply greatly exceed demand in Beijing. Ctrip (CTRP) said in a report that hotels between two and four stars in less popular districts have reduced room rates, which they raised dramatically early this year, by 10 to 20 percent. A survey by the city tourism department said, on average, room rates at five-star hotels continued increasing over the past two months but three-star and four-star ones dropped by 30 to 40 Yuan (~US$5¨C6) and two-star ones down by 85 Yuan (~US$12)