Beijing's hotel industry has got itself ready to serve the 2008 Olympic Games as seven five-star hotels signed the Olympic Lodging Agreement with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) on Thursday.

The seven hotels include Beijing Hotel, China World Hotel, Grand Hotel Beijing, Hong Kong Macao Center Swissotel, Beijing International Hotel, Kunlun Hotel and Crown Plaza Park View Wuzhou Beijing.

According to the Olympic Lodging Agreement, the seven hotels will provide accommodation to accredited people from the Olympic Family, the sponsors and the media. At the time of the 2008 Games, the seven hotels are to keep a total of 3,500 rooms available to BOCOG while they accommodate other guests.

In line with the Olympic Charter and the Host City Contract, BOCOG will have to provide 22,000 suitable hotel rooms for accredited people during the Games period. To meet the requirement,BOCOG are expected to sign the same agreement with some 70 more star hotels this year to ensure that a total of 23,000 hotel rooms will be made available during the games.

The lodging agreement defines the rights and obligations of the hotels in reservation, cancellation, pricing and settlement. It also contains items on security and possible ambush market. In addition, BOCOG has also drawn up an environmental protection guideline with stricter standards for those signed hotels.

Currently, Beijing has more than 90,000 rooms in 600 star hotels and more than half a million beds in about 4,000 inns, hostels and resorts that are not star-graded.

Beijing committed itself in its bidding documents that it will boast 130,000 rooms in 800 star-graded hotels by 2008. Beijing's star hotel rooms are expected to increase by seven percent every year from 2002 to 2008. The additional rooms will be made available by renovating and expanding existing rooms and building new ones.

It is estimated that around 800,000 athletes, journalists, spectators and tourists will come to Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2004)