There is a Chinese saying: shang you zhengce, xia you duice （上有政策，下有对策). The top (leader) has its measures, the bottom (people) has its counter-measures. Or, to put it in plain English: The leaders make the policies, and the people find ways around them. (I wrote about this in an earlier post titled Measures, Counter-measures, and Filial Piety).
Recent events once again clearly illustrate this truth. As part of it’s anti-corruption campaign, the Communist Party has banned officials from staying at five-star hotels. This has, of course, hurt business at five-star hotels favored by Party and government officials (redundancy alert).
Solution? Get rid of a star and become a four-star hotel!
“A five-star rating may be the holy grail of the hospitality industry, but top-end Chinese hotels are actively working to rid themselves of this prestigious ranking.
This comes as the luxury hotel sector struggles with shrinking revenues following the government’s decision last year to ban officials from spending money at five-star hotels as part of its broader austerity drive. “
In 2013, 56 five-star hotels sought to downgrade their ratings to four stars, state press agency Xinhua reported, citing Chen Miaolin, vice president of the China Tourism Association.
Problem solved!
Image source: hotels.com
Oh, China! ^_^