THE Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Centre is now a five-star property, thanks to a grading by China's National Tourism Administration. Welcoming the upgrading, managing director Uwe Beiding predicted a further rise in business travel and tourism to China in the coming year. ''China is prospering and the renewed interest in it as a tourist destination, a manufacturing base and a trading partner gives us great cause for optimism,'' he said. The $2.31 billion Kempinski centre, which opened last May, includes a 540-room hotel, health club, squash and tennis courts, 161 apartments, offices, showrooms, 12 restaurants and bars, and a department store. Kempinski averaged 55 per cent occupancy during its seven months of operation, touching a peak of 85 per cent during October and November. Mr Boeger said the hotel, which expected 70 per cent of its guests to be business-oriented and that the market was firmly on the upswing. He said room rates had been set lower to allow the hotel to establish itself in a competitive market. ''The coming year will see room rates climbing to more profitable levels,'' he said.
