How to check into a Chinese hotel as a foreigner
- Bring your physical passport
- Show your booking
- Ask for what you want in the room
- Settle the deposit
- Collect the room card and WiFi info
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check into a Chinese hotel without speaking Chinese?
At foreigner-licensed hotels in major cities, yes — front desks that regularly host international guests check you in in English, and the process is passport plus booking plus deposit. But smaller city properties and business hotels often have zero English, and even at international chains the staff who answer the housekeeping phone rarely speak it. A dozen phrases cover every one of those moments.
What does the front desk say when checking me in?
Two sentences cover most check-ins: "Qǐng chūshì nín de hùzhào" (请出示 您的护照 — please show your passport) and "Qǐng gěi wǒ kàn yíxià nín de dìngdān" (请给我看一下您的订单 — please show me your booking). Chinese hotels must register every foreign guest with local police, so the passport step is never skipped and photos on your phone are not accepted.
How do I ask for the WiFi password in a Chinese hotel?
Say "Wúxiànwǎng de zhànghào hé mìmǎ shì duōshǎo?" (无线网的账号和密码是多少？ — what's the WiFi username and password?). Often the front desk hands you a card with both. Note that many Chinese hotels use a login page that opens automatically in the browser — if nothing prompts, open your browser and try loading any website.
How do I ask for a late checkout or luggage storage?
For checkout time: "Zuì wǎn jǐ diǎn tuìfáng?" (最晚几点退房？ — what's the latest time to check out?). For luggage storage after checkout: "Kěyǐ jìcún xínglǐ ma?" (可以寄存行李吗？). Both are standard requests and the phrases come straight from the official handbook's hotel chapter.
What is a fapiao and how do I ask for one at the hotel?
A fapiao (发票) is China's official tax invoice — different from a mere receipt, and required for expense reimbursement. Say "Qǐng kāi yí xià fāpiào" (请开一下发票). Many hotels now issue it by QR code: you scan, fill in your company details, and the invoice lands in your email.
Hotel check-in is the most predictable conversation you’ll have in China — which makes it the best place to start speaking. The desk asks for your passport, finds your booking, cuts a room card, and hands over the WiFi details. In foreigner-licensed hotels in big cities this all happens in English. Everywhere else — and at the housekeeping phone, the breakfast door, and the checkout counter even in big hotels — it happens in Chinese.
This page is the complete phrase set for the whole hotel arc: booking by phone, arriving and checking in, the requests that come up mid-stay, and checking out with your luggage stored and a fapiao in your email. Every phrase has Chinese characters, pinyin, and English, plus a ▶ button that speaks it aloud — because showing the screen works even better than saying the tones right. The scenario structure and most of the phrases come from China’s official immigration handbook for foreigners (Chinese Handbook for International Visitors).
One rule to know before you arrive: not every hotel in China is licensed to take foreign guests. If that’s a new idea, read the guide to booking hotels in China as a foreigner first — then come back for the language.
The 10 hotel phrases you need right now
Tap ▶ to hear each phrase; show the screen if the tones come out wrong.
| English | 中文 | Pinyin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have a booking. | 我有预订。 | Wǒ yǒu yùdìng. | |
| I’d like to check in, please. | 我要办理入住。 | Wǒ yào bànlǐ rùzhù. | |
| Here is my passport. | 这是我的护照。 | Zhè shì wǒ de hùzhào. | |
| I reserved a twin room. | 我预订了一间双床房。 | Wǒ yùdìngle yì jiān shuāngchuángfáng. | |
| I would like a quiet room, please. | 我想要一个安静的房间。 | Wǒ xiǎng yào yí gè ānjìng de fángjiān. | |
| What’s the WiFi username and password? | 无线网的账号和密码是多少？ | Wúxiànwǎng de zhànghào hé mìmǎ shì duōshǎo? | |
| Could we have two room cards, please? | 可以给我们两张房卡吗？ | Kěyǐ gěi wǒmen liǎng zhāng fángkǎ ma? | |
| What’s the latest time to check out? | 最晚几点退房？ | Zuì wǎn jǐ diǎn tuìfáng? | |
| Can I store my luggage here? | 可以寄存行李吗？ | Kěyǐ jìcún xínglǐ ma? | |
| Please issue a fapiao (official invoice). | 请开一下发票。 | Qǐng kāi yí xià fāpiào. |
Booking and asking about rooms
Most foreigners book through apps, but the phone still gets used — calling to confirm a late arrival, asking whether the property takes foreign guests, or checking a detail the app listing hides. The vocabulary that matters here is the room-type list, because it’s the same list you’ll see on booking screens in Chinese.
| English | 中文 | Pinyin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello, can I make a reservation? | 您好，可以预订吗？ | Nín hǎo, kěyǐ yùdìng ma? | |
| Can I book a room for next Wednesday evening? | 可以订下周三晚上的房间吗？ | Kěyǐ dìng xiàzhōusān wǎnshang de fángjiān ma? | |
| Do you have rooms available tonight? | 今晚有空房吗？ | Jīnwǎn yǒu kōngfáng ma? | |
| Is this hotel suitable for foreign guests? | 请问贵店外宾适用吗？ | Qǐngwèn guì diàn wàibīn shìyòng ma? | |
| How much per night? | 一晚多少钱？ | Yì wǎn duōshǎo qián? | |
| Is breakfast included? | 含早餐吗？ | Hán zǎocān ma? |
Room types you’ll see and hear:
| 中文 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 大床房 | dàchuángfáng | one large bed (double) |
| 双床房 | shuāngchuángfáng | twin beds |
| 套房 | tàofáng | suite |
| 无烟房 | wúyānfáng | non-smoking room |
| 星级 | xīngjí | star rating |
| 经济型 | jīngjìxíng | economy |
| 商务 | shāngwù | business |
“Wàibīn shìyòng” (外宾适用 — suitable for foreign guests) is the phrase that prevents the worst hotel surprise in China: arriving tired at midnight and learning the property can’t register you. Apps like Trip.com screen for this automatically; if you’re booking any other way, ask this one question.
Check-in: the passport ritual
The front-desk conversation is short and always the same shape. The two sentences you’ll hear — passport, please, and booking, please — come straight from the official handbook, and the requests you make happen at this moment, before the room card is cut.
What the desk says to you:
| You’ll hear | 中文 | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ”Please show your passport.” | 请出示您的护照。 | Qǐng chūshì nín de hùzhào. | The universal check-in sentence — physical passport only |
| ”Please show me your booking.” | 请给我看一下您的订单。 | Qǐng gěi wǒ kàn yíxià nín de dìngdān. | Show the app or confirmation |
| ”This is the WiFi username and password.” | 这是无线网的账号和密码。 | Zhè shì wúxiànwǎng de zhànghào hé mìmǎ. | Often delivered as a card with the room card |
| ”This is your room card; the room is on the fifth floor.” | 这是您的房卡，房间在五楼。 | Zhè shì nín de fángkǎ, fángjiān zài wǔ lóu. | Floor numbers matter — start listening at “fángkǎ” |
What you say to the desk:
| English | 中文 | Pinyin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I’d like to check in, please. | 我要办理入住。 | Wǒ yào bànlǐ rùzhù. | |
| Hello, I booked a double room online. | 你好，我在网上预订了一间大床房。 | Nǐ hǎo, wǒ zài wǎngshàng yùdìngle yì jiān dàchuángfáng. | |
| I reserved a twin room. | 我预订了一间双床房。 | Wǒ yùdìngle yì jiān shuāngchuángfáng. | |
| I would like a quiet room, please. | 我想要一个安静的房间。 | Wǒ xiǎng yào yí gè ānjìng de fángjiān. | |
| Could we have two room cards, please? | 可以给我们两张房卡吗？ | Kěyǐ gěi wǒmen liǎng zhāng fángkǎ ma? | |
| Is this a non-smoking room? | 这间是无烟房吗？ | Zhè jiān shì wúyānfáng ma? | |
| Could you please help me bring the luggage to the room? | 可以帮我把行李送到房间吗？ | Kěyǐ bāng wǒ bǎ xínglǐ sòngdào fángjiān ma? | |
| Is a deposit required? | 需要押金吗？ | Xūyào yājīn ma? |
Mid-stay: requests and small problems
The front desk phone answers in Chinese even at hotels with English check-in. These are the requests the official handbook flags as the common ones — wake-up calls, laundry, luggage — plus the WiFi that won’t connect.
| English | 中文 | Pinyin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I would like to request a wake-up call, please. | 我需要叫早服务。 | Wǒ xūyào jiàozǎo fúwù. | |
| What’s the WiFi password again? | 无线网密码是多少？ | Wúxiànwǎng mìmǎ shì duōshǎo? | |
| The WiFi won’t connect. | 无线网连不上。 | Wúxiànwǎng lián bù shàng. | |
| Is there a laundry room here? | 这里有洗衣房吗？ | Zhèlǐ yǒu xǐyīfáng ma? | |
| Please make up the room. | 请打扫房间。 | Qǐng dǎsǎo fángjiān. | |
| Please deliver breakfast to my room. | 请把早餐送到房间。 | Qǐng bǎ zǎocān sòngdào fángjiān. | |
| The TV won’t turn off. Please come check it. | 电视关不掉，请来房间帮我看一下。 | Diànshì guān bú diào, qǐng lái fángjiān bāng wǒ kàn yíxià. | |
| The air conditioning isn’t working. | 空调坏了。 | Kōngtiáo huài le. | |
| The hot water isn’t working. | 没有热水。 | Méiyǒu rèshuǐ. | |
| Please help me book a taxi to the airport. | 可以帮我预订一辆去机场的出租车吗？ | Kěyǐ bāng wǒ yùdìng yí liàng qù jīchǎng de chūzūchē ma? |
That last one is the bridge between this page and the ride itself — for what to say once you’re in the cab, see the taxi phrases page.
Check-out and the fapiao
Check-out adds exactly two complications: paid items you didn’t realize you consumed, and the invoice. The handbook’s checkout dialogue covers both — mini-bar water bottles are the classic surprise.
| English | 中文 | Pinyin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello, I’d like to check out. | 你好，我要退房。 | Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yào tuìfáng. | |
| What is the latest time to check out? | 最晚几点退房？ | Zuì wǎn jǐ diǎn tuìfáng? | |
| Can I store my luggage here? | 可以寄存行李吗？ | Kěyǐ jìcún xínglǐ ma? | |
| I’ll pick up my luggage at 8 p.m. | 我晚上八点来取行李。 | Wǒ wǎnshang bā diǎn lái qǔ xínglǐ. | |
| Please issue a fapiao (official invoice). | 请开一下发票。 | Qǐng kāi yí xià fāpiào. | |
| What are these charges for? | 这些是什么费用？ | Zhèxiē shì shénme fèiyòng? | |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？ | Kěyǐ shuākǎ ma? |
The official handbook’s checkout dialogue is worth reading as a script, because it’s what actually happens:
Desk: Zuì wǎn jǐ diǎn tuìfáng? — no wait, that’s you. You ask: 最晚几点 退房？ (What’s the latest check-out time?)
You: Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yào tuìfáng. 你好，我要退房。 (Hello, I’d like to check out.)
Desk: Nín shǐyòngle fángjiān lǐ de fùfèi jiǔshuǐ, xūyào dāndú zhīfù. 您使用了房间里的付费酒水，需要单独支付。 (You consumed paid beverages from the room; they need to be settled separately.)
Desk: Sǎo yíxià zhège èrwéimǎ, tiánxiě xìnxī, jiù kěyǐ kāi fāpiào le. 扫一下这个二维码，填写信息，就可以开发票了。 (Scan this QR code, fill in your details, and the fapiao can be issued.)
That last line is how most hotels issue invoices now — the QR flow. Have your company name and tax number ready if it’s a business trip.
Hotel vocabulary worth recognizing
Signs around the lobby, elevator panel, and breakfast door:
| 中文 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 前台 | qiántái | front desk |
| 办理入住 | bànlǐ rùzhù | check in |
| 办理退房 | bànlǐ tuìfáng | check out |
| 房卡 | fángkǎ | room card |
| 房间号 | fángjiānhào | room number |
| 行李寄存 | xínglǐ jìcún | luggage storage |
| 自助早餐 | zìzhù zǎocān | buffet breakfast |
| 请勿打扰 | qǐng wù dǎrǎo | do not disturb |
| 客房服务 | kèfáng fúwù | housekeeping |
| 健身房 | jiànshēnfáng | gym |
| 游泳池 | yóuyǒngchí | swimming pool |
Do you need Chinese at a Chinese hotel?
For the transaction itself, often not — the passport-and-booking ritual is mime-proof, and city hotels that take foreigners are used to it. The Chinese earns its keep around the edges: the quiet room request that gets honored because you asked before the card was cut, the WiFi call to the desk phone, the fapiao flow, the 8 p.m. luggage pickup after a late flight. It’s also the politest way to travel — front desk staff light up when a foreigner opens with two correct sentences.
When you’re ready for the next scenario, continue at the Survival Chinese phrases hub — and if the stay is in Wuhan, the city guide covers which neighborhoods put you inside the foreigner-licensed hotels in the first place.