Does This Seem Like a Good Idea?

[Randy W]

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From Outsiders to Innkeepers in China’s Sleepy Countryside

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They converted a courtyard residential complex in Yunnan Province, built before the Communist revolution, into the Linden Centre.

 

. . .

 

Mr. Linden’s hotel is comfortable, but he offers few frills. He said that most Chinese who can afford to stay — nightly rates range from 900 to 1,200 renminbi, or about $145 to $195 — typically prefer more luxurious accommodations that include television sets and air-conditioning. The Linden Centre is a 25-minute taxi ride from Dali, a popular Yunnan destination, and a morning’s drive from Lijiang

 

. . .

 

many of his Chinese guests booked for three nights. But they often leave after the first, out of frustration with the lack of amenities.

 

. . .

 

Mr. Barclay had to negotiate with a village council that opposed his plan to install toilets in his Yunnan Province inn, which was built during the Qing dynasty. (He ended up renovating some nearby public toilets.) It also has taken several years to train his Chinese staff to cater to foreign guests, he said.

 

. . .

 

“Legally, it’s a big mess,” said Julien Minet, a French ethnologist who operates a small bed-and-breakfast inn in a quiet village in Anhui Province. “Maybe one day I will lose everything, and I’m prepared for this.”

 

 

Maybe not.