Vice-Mayor Zhang Mao told a hotel development workshop that "lodging capacity is a first-line touchstone to measure any host country's performance in the Games." An estimated 4.6 million overseas visitors and 96 million domestic tourists will come to Beijing in all of 2008. During the period of the Games, 1.44 million visitors, including 250,000 foreigners are expected to arrive.

City officials estimate that at least 800 star-rated hotels providing around 130,000 rooms will be needed to accommodate these numbers. But Beijing currently has only 658 star-rated hotels, with a total of 109,000 rooms and 200,000 beds. In addition, many of the city's non-rated hotels will need urgent renovation to meet the lodging shortage.

Du Jiang, director of the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau, said he was ambitious about the chances of improving the overall operating level of the city's hotels. In addition, foreign hotel chains have been steadily buying into the Beijing market, acquiring assets and merging with local hotel companies.

Touchstone Hotel Investments announced at the workshop a yuan 200-million ($25-million) deal to refurbish lodgings attached to the Beijing Patriotic Catholic Society. Li Ming, president of the company's China branch, is optimistic about the huge potential for developing an economy hotel chain in Beijing. He said that in developed countries economy hotels had about 70% of the share of the business market but China was still at the start-up stage, with huge potential for growth.