So-called job hotels, low-rent apartments for job hunters, are proving extremely popular as the recruitment season in Beijing heats up.
In a city where the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment within the Fourth Ring Road averages more than 2,000 yuan, this price is really tempting, especially for those, who have just left college and are still searching for a job.
The units for rent are usually beds instead of rooms. The daily rent for one bed in the downtown area is no more than 30 yuan, while the lowest is only 15 yuan.
"Job hotels enjoy great demand," Bao Yanyan, founder of job hotel.com.cn, said.
Good job hotels not only offer a place to stay for job hunters, but also provide recruitment information through flyers or posters in the lobby, he explained.
"In Beijing alone there will be over 200,000 students graduating from college this year, not including overseas graduates and job-hoppers," Bao said.
However, he said that there are only a few job hotels that have a certificate of business registration. Though most are well managed, they are without a legal identity, he said.
Many job hotel owners complained that it is very difficult to secure a license for such an enterprise, he said, as it is a new business model and there are no regulations yet to govern it.
A housekeeper at Xindongfang Job Hotel said they have eight-bed, two-bed and single-bed rooms. "All the beds are occupied except for one," she said.
The Xindongfang hotel is located in the residential community in Jinsong, just along from an exit of subway Line 10. The two-bedroom loft with around 100 sq m is divided into several rooms with a total of 28 beds.
She said the tenants are mostly job hunters, and most move away once they find a job. Though some stay because of the low rent and the lively living environment. To check in, a tenant only needs to bring their ID card and pay a deposit of 50 yuan.
"The rent for a single-bed room is 27 yuan per day; the others are all 22 yuan per day. If you rent for over two weeks, it'll only cost 22 yuan for the single and 17 for multi-bed room," the woman added. Electricity, water and gas are all included in the rent. But if a tenant brings a laptop, they will need to pay 2 yuan more.
When METRO visited, several girls were in bed with their laptop computers in front; most of them had a small table by the bed.
Although small and crowded, the apartment looks clean and tidy. Both floors of the loft have wooden floors; and behind the door there are two shoe racks and wall units with over 20 drawers. The three toilets were very clean.