Unfurnished hotel urged to stop soft opening

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A dream escape trip turned into a nightmare when Mr. Zhang checked into his “luxury room with a view” at a hot spring hotel in Wenzhou City in east China’s Zhejiang Province as it turned out the building was still under construction, with some rooms not even fitted with windows.

As temperatures dropped in Shanghai in January, Mr. Zhang decided to treat himself to a night in the mountains to relax in hot spring.

After spending some time browsing different hotels on China’s leading travel booking website Ctrip, he reserved a room advertised as “luxury room with king-sized bed and a view”.

The "luxury room with a view" advertised on Ctrip website. /Ctrip.com Photo

The room he booked cost 954 yuan (about 150 US dollars), while standard room in nearby hotels cost around 300 yuan.

Mr. Zhang arrived at the hotel at around midnight on Jan. 15. After checking in, he was told the room he booked was inside a newly built building going through a soft opening.

The hot spring hotel compound. /Ctrip.com Photo

“The two new buildings are still under construction, outside the hotel compound,” Mr. Zhang told Beijing Youth Daily. “One building only has the steel skeleton. The other was hollow at the base and second floors, but people were arranged to move in to the finished floors above anyway.”

In the photo taken by Mr. Zhang, the building had exposed pipes and unfurnished walls.

“I could smell the stench of sewage after I entered the room,” Mr. Zhang added.

One of the buildings undergoing soft opening has undone base floors. /CCTV Photo

Unable to find an alternative lodging place at night, Mr. Zhang stayed over and checked out the next day. He filed a complaint to Ctrip, but the website only offered a coupon as a response.

Unhappy with his experience, Mr. Zhang reported the case to the local authorities. After reviewing the consumer’s case, officials discovered the hotel had not passed the construction inspection and urged the hotel to immediately stop its alleged soft opening.

After a few rounds of negotiation, Ctrip fully refunded Mr. Zhang and paid him an additional one night’s cost as compensation.

By Monday, the hotel’s “luxury room with a view” was no longer available for booking at major travel booking websites.

“I hope Ctrip can tighten its supervision and verify all hotels’ qualifications. For travelers, safety always comes first,” Mr. Zhang said.

January and February is China’s travel peak period and tourism industry has benefited from people's passion for travel during Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. Official data shows a total revenue for the industry in 2017 was 423.3 billion yuan.