Hotel and Accommodation Phrases in Chinese: Booking, Check-In and Problems

Staying in a hotel is an easy place to practise real Chinese, with a predictable set of phrases that repeat at every stay.

Types of accommodation

• 酒店 (jiǔdiàn) — hotel
• 宾馆 (bīnguǎn) — guesthouse or hotel
• 旅馆 (lǚguǎn) — inn
• 青年旅舍 (qīngnián lǚshè) — youth hostel
• 民宿 (mínsù) — homestay, B&B

Booking

• 我想订一个房间。 (Wǒ xiǎng dìng yí ge fángjiān.) — I'd like to book a room.
• 单人间 (dānrénjiān) — single room
• 双人间 (shuāngrénjiān) — double or twin room
• 我要住三天。 (Wǒ yào zhù sān tiān.) — I want to stay three nights.
• 一晚多少钱？ (Yì wǎn duōshao qián?) — How much per night?
• 含早餐吗？ (Hán zǎocān ma?) — Is breakfast included?

Check-in

• 入住 (rùzhù) — check in
• 我有预订。 (Wǒ yǒu yùdìng.) — I have a reservation.
• 我叫…… (Wǒ jiào…) — My name is…
• 这是我的护照。 (Zhè shì wǒ de hùzhào.) — Here's my passport.
• 押金 (yājīn) — deposit
• 房卡 (fángkǎ) — room key card

Hotels in China are generally required to register foreign guests using their passports, so keep your passport handy at check-in.

In the room

• 空调 (kōngtiáo) — air conditioning
• 热水 (rèshuǐ) — hot water
• 毛巾 (máojīn) — towel
• 无线网 (wúxiànwǎng) — Wi-Fi
• 电梯 (diàntī) — lift
• 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān) — bathroom
• 吹风机 (chuīfēngjī) — hairdryer

Requests and problems

• 请帮我叫一辆出租车。 (Qǐng bāng wǒ jiào yí liàng chūzūchē.) — Please call me a taxi.
• 请打扫房间。 (Qǐng dǎsǎo fángjiān.) — Please clean the room.
• 空调坏了。 (Kōngtiáo huài le.) — The air conditioning is broken.
• 没有热水。 (Méiyǒu rèshuǐ.) — There's no hot water.
• 可以换房间吗？ (Kěyǐ huàn fángjiān ma?) — Can I change rooms?
• 我把房卡忘在房间里了。 (Wǒ bǎ fángkǎ wàng zài fángjiān lǐ le.) — I left my key card in the room.

Check-out

• 退房 (tuìfáng) — check out
• 我要退房。 (Wǒ yào tuìfáng.) — I'd like to check out.
• 可以寄存行李吗？ (Kěyǐ jìcún xíngli ma?) — Can I leave my luggage here?
• 发票 (fāpiào) — invoice

Practical tips

• Have the hotel's name and address in Chinese, so taxi drivers can find it.
• Take a business card from the hotel to show taxi drivers on your way back.
• Note the deposit policy and how it's refunded.
• Check whether the hotel accepts foreign guests, as some smaller places may not.

Practice

1. Role-play a check-in conversation.
2. Learn the room-problem phrases.
3. Write your hotel's name in Chinese.
4. Look up any new words in a dictionary.

Look up hotel words offline with English Chinese Dictionary →