Beijing hotels ramp up rates for Games-paper

BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters) Some Beijing hotels are raising their room rates by up to eight times to cash in on next year's Olympic Games, a local newspaper reported today.

More than half of the hotels surveyed by the Beijing News are not yet taking reservations with just over a year to go until the Games begin, but two- and three-star hotels look to be preparing to make the biggest price hikes.

One three-star establishment in the survey of 37 hotels has put up its daily rate for a standard room from 240 to 2,000 yuan.

A standard room at some five-star hotels will cost more than 5,000 yuan in August next year, a threefold increase on the normal rate according to the paper.

The city's tourism chief said in June that the Beijing government would not intervene in the pricing of hotels during the Games except for ''extreme situations''.

More than 2 million domestic and foreign visitors are expected to visit the Chinese capital during the Olympic Games, which start on August 8.

REUTERS TB KP1720