Winter Games' hotels dish up Spring Festival joy to guests

Personnel offered series of traditional delicacies in closed-loop environment

While athletes from across the world unleash their potential during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, 82 official hotels of the Games are ensuring the safety of their guests and involving them in the celebration of Spring Festival.

The hotels are located across downtown Beijing, the city's northwest Yanqing district and co-host Zhangjiakou, Hebei province. They have been strictly implementing closed-loop management since Jan 20 to separate athletes and Games-related personnel from local residents for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

According to local officials, athletes and a few officials are staying in Olympic villages. All other registered personnel have checked in to official hotels.

"Some stakeholders will continue their work after the Games. As a result, one of the official hotels in each cluster will offer post-Games accommodation," Yu Debing, head of the Games service department of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said in December.

Chen Jing, director of the culture and tourism bureau of Beijing's Haidian district, said:"The National Health Commission has instructed the hotels to formulate their own pandemic prevention and control plans, and organized training in the pandemic prevention manual and related policies."

Ritan Hotel in Beijing is one of the official hotels. "Prevention and control of the pandemic is our top priority," said General Manager Wang Zongchang, adding that the hotel has set up a leading group for pandemic prevention and control.

"My colleagues and I take nucleic acid tests every day," said Jiang Na, general manager of Mercure Beijing Downtown. "Pandemic prevention comes first. We all wear the highly protective N95 masks, face shields and disposable gloves.

"People can disinfect their hands anytime and anywhere as more than a dozen hand sanitizers were set up in the hotel. Public areas will be disinfected each hour."

Ding Wei, general manager of Crowne Plaza Beijing Sun Palace, an official hotel that served the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics and now serves the 2022 Winter Olympics, said: "Guests are offered a postcard with the beautiful scenery of Yunnan province, so that they could share their wonderful trip with their relatives and friends in a traditional way. Many of them were deeply impressed by our services and said 'thank you' in Chinese."

Shangri-La Beijing, another official hotel, is hosting broadcasters, marketing partners, overseas Olympic committee officials and media workers.

In its lobby is a screen which plays a video clip showing anti-pandemic instructions for Games-related personnel about hand washing, ventilation, dining and self-health monitoring.

"In order to minimize the potential risks of COVID-19 transmission, hotel housekeepers are only allowed to clean the room when the guest is out. Medical garbage bags are used in every room. Housekeepers will seal the bag, take it out, and put in a new one, ensuring a safe process," said Zhou Liqin, the hotel's executive housekeeper.

"There is a 12-pack of bottled water in each room. Guests have enough to drink so there will be less need for face-to-face interaction between guests and staff."

Related products featuring the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascots－panda Bing Dwen Dwen and red lantern Shuey Rhon Rhon－are for sale in the Celebrity International Grand Hotel, another official hotel.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are taking place from Feb 4-20, coinciding with the weeklong Spring Festival, the most important of all annual Chinese holidays.

To get Games-related personnel in the holiday spirit, official hotels are hosting a variety of festivities.

"We prepared jiaozi, or dumplings, during Spring Festival. Guests were invited to cook and eat together. We will also celebrate their birthdays," said Ran Boli, general manager of Shangri-La Beijing. The hotel is decorated with dried pine, peony and bamboo to create a festive atmosphere.

According to Radegast Hotel Beijing Bohao, the hotel has adjusted its menu. It offered jiaozi on Lunar New Year's Eve and on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and will offer yuanxiao, small sweet glutinous rice balls, during Lantern Festival, which will fall on Feb 15.

Considering the majority of guests are young people, the hotel has set up a hair salon, convenience store, gym and counseling room, to cater for their needs.

The hotel has prepared a questionnaire to better provide for guests' needs in terms of food allergies, room service and convenience store goods. Based on the results, the hotel will adjust services, meals and stock on stores' shelves.

"We will prepare food that is popular among the younger generations, such as luosifen rice noodles, self-heating hotpots and milk tea," said an executive with the hotel.

Kou Wei, lobby manager of Ritan Hotel, said: "I hope athletes can achieve the results they desire. Let us all work together for a shared future."