Going to Beijing for the Olympics in August

Hello Clint, welcome to the Forum.

I too am going to Beijing, and this will be my third Olympics (Barcelona 92, Sydney 00). Previous experience has taught me that there is always accommodation available if you arrive when the Games are on. In Sydney 2000, there was all this media talk of fully booked hotels and the like - and it was wrong. The daily newspaper had columns and columns of ads from people offering rooms and apartments to rent even on the day of the Opening Ceremony.

Having said that, I believe the demand for tickets for the Beijing Olympics has been enormous, and this may be reflected in shortages in accommodation. However, my bet is there will be an oversupply of accommodation and that turning up a few days before is a cheaper way then paying a premium on rooms many months out.

Put it simply - if you book now - it is the high-demand market and you will pay $$$$, but when the games are on - it is a high-supply market and you will pay $$.

Shane Reply to this

Hello again Clint, generally last minute bookings at hotels go cheaply when there is an over supply at that time - as is normally the case with an Olympics. I met someone in Barcelona who was attending her 4th Olympics and she was paying half the price I was - she was in the centre of the city, whilst I was a 90 minute drive away. She was the person who first told me about just turning up in a city and finding accommodation at the last moment, and had done so at every Olympics. I tested this theory in Sydney and it proved correct. This is contrary to what most of the media are saying about accommodation, but again, this is what the media was saying about Sydney accommodation during 2000 and that was incorrect.

I have only booked accommodation for the first three nights in Beijing so that I could guarantee my Opening Ceremony ticket (part of a package) - after that I'll be finding somewhere else to stay and will only start searching when I arrive a few days before the Opening.

Please feel free to ask any further questions.

Shane Reply to this

Hard to tell - but most of the accommodation seemed to triple - but some only doubled, whereas others quadrupled - or worse. As an idea, in Sydney, my friend and I paid $140 per night ($70 each) for a well-sized room in someone's house with full use of bathroom, kitchen, cleaning etc - and it was only a 20 minute walk from the Olympic Park at Homebush. If I was staying at the Novotel right in the middle of Olympic Park, we would have been paying about 6-10 times this price.

In Beijing, I have noticed accommodation prices increasing tenfold, but that was to guarantee the Opening Ceremony tickets. However, an independent traveller will be able to get much cheaper than a ten-fold increase - and I would be aiming to pay between 2-3 times as much.

Shane Reply to this

Hi, avon, there are plenty of hostels and homestays in beijing. The expectation prices of hostels/rent apartment are 70-100$/night during Olympics, with standalone bathroom, kitchen. You may visit to compare the prices. The hostel landlord lists their hostel and price there.

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if u trust me,contact with me,live with my family Reply to this

hallo, AVON,

my parents have a homely apartment in Beijing, They will be available for rent.

It is located right in the heart of Beijing, China, 3 subway stops away from the Forbidden City and TianAnmen Square.
For further Information, Please contact me, I will share a powerpoint presentation with all the details.

haha, thank you.
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may i know how much for this apartment in aug, metallmann? thanks Reply to this

a nice suggestion, avon,
there are too many of attractions in Beijing, first, you should go to the forbidden city, which is the old heart of China,(today, the heart is Zhongnanhai); then you should spend at least a whole day for the great wall in Badaling, which is wonderful great.;the summer palace; Beihai(in the night a good place to grad a drink) which nearby a beautiful lake, in the summer, beijing is hot, sitting in a bar near by water, you will forget about the hot summer for a short time😊, and Tiantan, a temple park, so called temple of heaven, which was used to show the good will to the chinese god by the emperor in the oid times, in this park, there is a so called whispering wall, you say something near by the wall, you friend can hear you from the other side, haha, interesting.
for night clubs, do not go to Sanlitun, It is not so good, I recommend Beihai, you go there in the afternoon, and see some tradional Beijing Building which called Hutong, the name of Hutong is difficult to explain in English, you have to be there and sense the word, what does Hutong mean, haha


you can also have some time for shopping, which called Xidan, (west to the forbidden city, 1 subway stop from Tiananmen, tiananmen is the south entrance to the forbidden city, ). Dongdan is also a shopping area, Wangfujing is a walking street, these two are for somthing that are not so cheap😊


another suggestion, do not get you lunch near by famous sightseeing, they are only for tourist, you know what I mean.

have fun in Beijing Reply to this

I tell you something wrong, for 798, they do not have good room to stay, haha, forget a "not" Reply to this

Hi, Avon
With reference to your trouble, I'd like to share the experience with you.
As all known, The Beijing Olympic Games will be held from 8th - 24th August of 2008. And finding the comfortable accommodation in Beijing at that time could be very hard.
However, have you ever found the HiHomeChina.com, maybe that could be a good choice.
They make sure you are quick! When millions of people will descend on Beijing to watch the games, and you can be well placed to get to the action, book ahead using HiHomeChina.Com.
If you want to learn more details, please search: http://world.hihomechina.com/beijing2008
Good luck to you and hope you can have a good time in Beijing.
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