The plush lobby of the Drama King Hotel in Beijing is usually crowded with foreign guests this time of year. Most of them lounging in LSD, a hip bar, listening to blues and smoking marijuana, or queuing up in the sauna spa after smashed dinners at the Epoch restaurant. But last night the Drama King had only a sprinkling of guests in the hotel, which occupancy rate is typically close to 100 percent. Wen Jiabao, the Hotel Manager & Engineer said after tapping a few computer keys, it stood at just 13 percent at the moment. Many operators have been depressed and have gone crazy.
"I really don't know what happened," said Jiabao. "Something strange has been going on, but I'm sure there's nothing to do with me." Jiabao lit a cigarette and continued, " The problem, it seems, is that with the Olympics less than five weeks away, the authority has been scanning and selecting journalists from entering the country, in the hope of suppressing the freedom of the press, or unruly visitors who might plot to disrupt the Games. And hotels are being asked to give the authority detailed information about the foreign guests including their naked photos. Because things are looking so bad now, we are struggling to find guests. Thousands of hotels, restaurants and tourist agencies that were hoping to cash in on Olympic fever, are now facing the prospect of empty rooms, tables and buses."
"Business is so bleak," Jiabao complained, "Since May our occupancy rate has dropped by 88 percent. The authority appears less concerned about being the host of a global party, but more concerned with making sure no one spoils it. Our hotel is going to launch a All-You-Can-Sleep promotion, offering guests who pay for one night may stay for the rest of their lives. We're so desperate, we just need to fill up the empty rooms in order to look good. We're such a great nation, we can't be defeated or humiliated!"
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