未来两年，北京高端国际酒店的数量将会成倍增长，原因是开发商认为，在2008年奥运会之前，中国首都对旅游者和商业旅行人士的吸引力将日益增强。

The number of high-end international hotels in Beijing is set to multiply within the next two years as developers bet on the Chinese capital's growing attraction for tourists and business travellers ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.

地产服务集团--仲量联行酒店业(Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels)的研究发现，这一轮建筑热潮预计将为北京增加多达1万间高档酒店客房。
The building boom is expected to add up to 10,000 quality hotel rooms, according to research by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the property services group.

"市场供应量将大量增加，"仲量联行酒店业驻新加坡副总裁Joanne Esta Chong表示。"没有人希望错过这个机会。没有人承担得起错过机会的代价。"

"A lot of supply is coming on," said Joanne Esta Chong, a Singapore-based vice-president at JLL Hotels. "No one wants to skip this boat. No one can afford to."

高档酒店开业的脚步去年开始提速。作为北京市中心的新兴商业区，在金融街(Financial Street)周边，一家洲际酒店(InterContinental)、一家威斯汀酒店(Westin)和一家丽思-卡尔顿酒店(Ritz-Carlton)已经登场亮相。

The openings started accelerating last year. Around Financial Street, an emerging business district in central Beijing, a new InterContinental, a Westin and a Ritz-Carlton have debuted¹.

在北京繁华的东部地区，一家新的丽晶酒店(Regent)和装修一新的莱弗士酒店(Raffles²)已经开业。洲际酒店、威斯汀酒店和丽思-卡尔顿酒店今年也将在此开设新店。

On the busy east side of town, a new Regent and a remodelled³ Raffles are open for business. Additional InterContinental, Westin and Ritz-Carlton hotels are to open in the area this year.

明年开业的酒店包括一家新的香格里拉酒店(Shangri-La)、一家凯悦酒店(Hyatt Regency)和一家柏悦酒店(Park Hyatt)，其中，柏悦酒店可能会成为北京最昂贵的酒店之一。拥有丽思-卡尔顿品牌的万豪国际(Marriott International)计划，到明年将在北京开办11家酒店，包括拥有591间客房的JW万豪酒店(JW Marriott)。

Next year's hotel crop is to include a new Shangri-La, a Hyatt Regency and a Park Hyatt - likely to be one of the the city's priciest hotels. Marriott Inter- national, which owns the Ritz-Carlton brand, plans to have 11 hotels, including a 591-room JW Marriott, in Beijing by then.

仲量联行酒店业称，尽管新的酒店不断开业，但北京四星和五星级酒店客房的平均价格去年仍上涨8.1%，达到896元人民币(合115美元)。不过，入住率下滑了0.6个百分点，至75.6%。

In spite of the new supply, average rates for four- and five-star hotel rooms in Beijing rose 8.1 per cent to Rmb896 ($115) last year, according to JLL Hotels, though occupancy slid 0.6 percentage points to 75.6 per cent.

多数带有国际品牌名号的豪华酒店，只是由国际酒店集团替本地开发商进行经营管理。然而，半岛酒店(Peninsula Hotels)和香格里拉酒店集团(Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts)等总部位于香港的酒店集团，通常都持有相关项目的部分股权。

Most of the luxury hotels carrying international brand names are just managed by the global hospitality groups on behalf of local developers. Hong Kong-based hotel groups such as Peninsula Hotels and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, however, do typically hold equity⁴ stakes in their projects.

仲量联行酒店业对全球酒店投资者和所有者的调查显示，在亚太地区，要想新建或收购一家酒店，北京确实是人们的最优先选择之一。接受调查的酒店集团对于北京酒店业未来两年的商业前景非常看好。

Indeed, according to a survey of global hotel investors⁵ and owners by JLL Hotels, Beijing is among the highest priority markets in the Asia-Pacific for building or buying a hotel. The surveyed group is highly bullish on business prospects⁶ for hotels in the capital over the next two years.

北京现在的酒店客房价格仍远远落后于上海。不过，一些观察人士担心，尽管北京酒店的房价预计会随着2008年奥运会的召开而冲高，但奥运会之后，高档客房的需求将会出现大幅下滑。金融街那些新建酒店已经开业数月，但在平常工作日期间，装修精美的大堂和餐厅经常空无一人。

Though room rates, which still trail well behind Shanghai, are expected to spike⁷ with the Olympics in 2008, some observers worry there will be a sharp fall off in demand for premium⁸ rooms afterward⁹. Months after opening, the decorated lobbies and restaurants of the latest Financial Street hotels are often empty on a typical weekday.

然而，Chong相信，2008年之后吸引客流不是问题，因为北京已经成为一个游客必定参观的目的地。开发商的眼光远不止于奥运会。

But Ms Chong is confident that filling hotel rooms after 2008 will not be a problem since Beijing already is becoming a must-visit destination. Developers are planning for well beyond the Olympics period.

她表示："整个需求链不是一维的。"

"The whole demand chain is not one-dimensional," she said.

Chong表示，外国顶级酒店的最大难题是，如何在华聘用和留住高素质员工，因为当一家竞争对手在附近某个地方开设了一家酒店的时候，整个员工队伍都可能被挖走。

Ms Chong says the biggest difficulty for leading foreign hotels has been recruiting and retaining quality staff in China, as entire pools of employees can be poached when a rival hotel opens somewhere nearby.

2003年，由于Sars疫情爆发，中国的酒店和旅游市场跌到了谷底。此后，这一市场已大幅好转。到中国城市的旅游已迅速复苏。 China's hotel and tourism market has undergone a dramatic turnround since it hit a low-point in 2003 because of the Sars epidemic¹⁰. Inbound travel to China's cities has recovered quickly.