Only a day before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and prices for hotel room in the capital are dropping instead of going up.

Contrary to great expectations the Olympic Games would boost accommodation prices, Beijing suffered a large decrease in recent months.

The August prices at a three star hotel dropped by two thirds, from the highest booking rate of twenty-five hundred yuan to only eight hundred yuan per night.

Pei Bein, president of Beijing Five Millennium Hotel, said that "The highest booking prices reached five to eight times the normal prices. As the Olympic approaches, the prices have dropped to twice as much as the prices at normal period."

Online booking sites show that most hotels with a four star rating or less have cut room rates. Five star hotels rarely change their room rates.

Xiong Yumei, deputy director of Beijing Tourism Administration, said, "The booking rate in all star-rated hotels in Beijing in July increased one percent from May. The overall prices had decreased 6 percent on average. During August 7th and 24th, all the hotels will have their peak occupation."

The Beijing Tourism Administration estimates more than five hundred thousand overseas visitors and two point two million domestic tourists will visit Beijing during the Olympic Games.

(CCTV August 7, 2008)