on 7 Sep 2009.

It is a very common practice in the hotel industry that to check out between 12:00 and 18:00 on the day they leave the customers need to pay half day room cost, and after 18:00 they need to pay another full day room cost. In China this was even on the hotel industry regulations for all hotels since 2002. This regulation has been found deleted from the the "China Tourist Hotel Industry Standards" (August 2009 Revision by China Tourist Hotels Association) recently. (http://www.ctha.org.cn/zuixinzixun/content.asp?newsid=4491).

But hotels have now been given a free hand to negotiate with customers on how much they are prepared to pay, as long as both sides reach agreement before check in.

The key point now is:  "Hotels should inform customers in a very clear way in a prominent position in the lobby: “the exact check-out time and the way to settle the room cost"; or they should be sure their customers have got this information clearly, if in other ways.