Chinese hotels turn to street food

EVERY evening, staff at Beiyuan Grand Hotel in Beijing set up street stalls selling freshly-cooked gourmet dishes trying to make up for falling revenue indoors as Chinese consumers and firms cut spending on travel, conferences and banquets.

“These days, it’s not that people will come just because you lower prices or offer discounts – they simply don’t come at all,” says Anwen Xu, its sales director, explaining the need to find new income streams.