When Australian traveler Alice Jiao booked a hotel in Nanjing, eastern China, she made sure to check that it accepted foreign guests. But upon arriving at the Nanjing Rest Yizhi Hotel in February, hotel staff informed her that it would only take foreigners with a Chinese permanent residence card. The unexpected rejection left Ms. Jiao stressed and frustrated after a long journey.
"I felt very unlucky to encounter this," she said.
Even after China news today reported that authorities had ordered hotels to accommodate all foreign guests in a bid to encourage inbound tourism, some hotels are still refusing to accept foreign guests. Travelers from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia have taken to platforms such as Reddit and Xiaohongshu to vent their frustration, while others have posted warnings on Booking.com to prevent others from going through the same.
These experiences parallel a period when China news today sees the government attempting to resuscitate the tourism sector. This includes relaxing visa rules for foreign tourists, including Australians. The relaxed visa policy has been fruitful, with 131.9 million inbound trips in 2024, a 61% increase from the previous year, according to the China Tourism Academy.
Policy vs. Practice: A Disconnect
Ms. Jiao had booked her stay through Meituan, a Chinese super-app that offers services including food delivery and hotel booking. Though the Nanjing Rest Yizhi Hotel refunded her, its online listing still says it accepts foreign guests.
One of the staff members said that the policy of the hotel was according to the rules of the local police, which mandate smaller hotels to take in only foreign guests who have a permanent resident card. The larger hotels, however, can take in foreign passport holders.
China news today reveals that the law mandates hotels to register foreigners and report them to the local police. Foreigners staying outside hotels must register within 24 hours. Hotels had to have special licenses to host international tourists previously, a rule which was gradually relaxed and officially abolished in May 2024 as part of China's post-pandemic tourism reform.
Hotels are prohibited from rejecting foreign guests due to insufficient foreign-related licenses, based on a joint announcement from China's Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Commerce, and National Immigration Administration. However, tourism researcher Sam Huang clarifies that the policy is more of a guideline and not a legally binding law, so local authorities have implemented this in an unequal fashion.
"Central government policies are not always aligned with how local governments handle hotels," Huang said.
Small independent hotels often lack the capacity to serve international travelers due to language problems and outdated systems for registering foreign passports.
Hotels Need More Clear Communication
Malaysian traveler Emily Qin had the identical experience in January. She booked the Royal International Apartment in Guangzhou through Meituan but was turned away at check-in. Ms. Qin was annoyed there was no notice on the hotel's listing page that it didn't accept international guests.
"[It was] my first shocking booking experience of 2025," she said. "Hotels need to clearly state who they accept."
After initially requesting a refund, Ms. Qin was told to do so via Meituan. She later received a full refund directly from the hotel. The management of the Royal International Apartment told staff that their foreign guest policy had always been listed on Meituan, but Ms. Qin told the BBC she had not seen it when booking.
Meituan did not respond to a request for comment on Ms. Qin and Ms. Jiao's ordeals.
The Booking Discrepancy
The ABC found a number of hotel listings on mainland Chinese sites such as Meituan, Ctrip, Trip.com, and Qunar that took only guests who had a Resident Identity Card (given to mainland Chinese nationals). However, the listings did not mention this on international sites such as Booking.com.
For example, 7Days Premium Chengdu Giant Panda Base hotel on Trip.com stated it accepted only Resident Identity Card-holding guests, but that detail was not mentioned on the same listing on Booking.com. Hotel staff were unaware of the discrepancy when contacted by the ABC.
China news today sheds such discrepancies as a common phenomenon. Mingming Cheng, a professor of marketing, stated that such discrepancies are normal. "Chinese local online travel agencies are more integrated with domestic hotel systems, but hotels might not know what's needed on international platforms," he said. "Translation errors are also a factor."
The Xi'an Situation
In the tourist city Xi'an, a check of hotel listings revealed that of 52 hotels in the Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City area, only 15 accepted foreign guests and only two of them were budget hotels. Tour company The China Guide suggests that foreign travelers book hotels rated four stars or higher, as these will be more likely to have experience with foreigners. For smaller hotels, the agency recommends reviewing testimonials carefully and calling ahead to inquire about policies.
Travelers rejected by hotels can quote the government's notice mandating the acceptance of foreign visitors. In certain cases, they can call the police, but this can lead to additional delays.
Dr. Cheng urged Chinese government and industry bodies to encourage a more welcoming attitude towards foreign visitors by hotels. "Small hotels need financial incentives and training to better cater to international tourists," he said. "There needs to be a shift in attitude, as during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to treat foreign tourists as honored guests, not a burden."
The ABC sought comment from the Chinese government but did not receive a response.
This matter is ongoing, with China news today that ongoing efforts to update and streamline the tourism sector could lead to more consistency in receiving foreign guests.