Living in a hotel takes off as lifestyle choice

Rental deposits too pricey as customers prefer perks like laundry and breakfasts, Cheng Si reports.

Living in a hotel rather than a short-term rental has become a popular choice for people, especially the young who prefer a high-quality living environment and flexible payments.

One of them is 23-year-old Zhang Lingyi, who chose to live in a hotel in Beijing for a two-month internship over the summer.

"I didn't plan to take much more luggage with me when I left Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for an internship in Beijing. A hotel room is fully furnished with supplies like towels, toothbrush and a kettle. It's quite convenient," he said.

"The more attractive part to me is the lower rent and more flexible payments," he added.

"I browsed online to check the apartments near the company before I went to Beijing, and I found that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was around 7,000 yuan per month ($989). The money for a flat-share was around 4,000 yuan to 4,500 yuan per month. The hotel I booked then gave me a discount, roughly 5,000 yuan per month for a room."

He added that the hotel didn't require a rental deposit — a routine operation for house agencies, and offered him flexible payments.

"In China, house agencies usually require the tenant to pay a rental deposit — roughly a month's rent, and prepay rents for three months, which means I need to pay at least 20,000 yuan to a house agency before I move into an apartment. However, the hotel didn't need any rental deposit and I can pay the rent by the month, which really is a financial relief to me," he said.