Beijing to offer Olympic homestays in organized way

(BEIJING, April 18) -- Beijing is expected to announce the "Olympic Family Hotels" by the end of June, the Beijing Daily reported.

With the Olympic Games just 112 days away, a number of Beijing residents have inquired about how to apply to be host households to international visitors during the Olympic Games in August and Paralympic Games in September, the newspaper quoted sources of the tourism sector as saying.

Zhou Shuqi, an official from the Beijing Municipal Administration of Tourism, said residents in Haidian and Chaoyang districts, where most Olympic venues are concentrated, could be the major source of such hotels. Meanwhile, residents of "Siheyuan" in Dongcheng and Xicheng districts may offer visitors a chance to stay in their traditional courtyard houses in the Chinese capital.

The eight urban districts have been entrusted to find qualified neighborhoods to receive applications, Zhou said. The neighborhoods should meet security, hygiene and accommodation standards set by the authorized departments, he added.

The family hotels will be recruited on the community instead of family basis to meet the demand of travel tour groups, said Zhou. "Normally, a travel tour group has 20 odd members that need to stay together. If there are only two or three family hotels available in a community, not as many tourists can be accommodated at the same time."

He also mentioned the qualification requirements: A member of the host family must live in the house while hosting the international occupants, and they cannot rent out an entire house or apartment; At least one family member must hold conversation skills in a language other than Chinese; The house should be equipped with everyday toiletries.

After receiving applications, qualified neighborhoods will consult with the security, tourism and health authorities to confirm and issue labels to about 1,000 families in June, Zhou added.