A family inn at Gaobeidian village in Beijing

BEIJING - About 1,000 Beijing families are being recruited to host foreigners during the Olympics.

Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the Beijing Tourist Bureau, said the search will begin at the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations, which wrap up in mid-February.

The home-stay concept is popular in the west, but relatively new to China.

"Families should own the apartments they plan to offer and be able to provide foreign guests with spare rooms, good ventilation and sanitary conditions," Xiong said in an interview. She said at least one family member should be able to communicate in English.

The cost per night should range from US$50 to US$80 (euro34 to euro54), although it might be higher. However, the prices are sure to be less than they will be for a hotel room for the Games.

"I hope the families can become friends with their guests," Xiong said. "They need to introduce the history and culture of Beijing to the foreigners, making them understand and get closer to Beijing and the Olympics."

Beijing has about 300,000 hotel rooms. Of those, 30,000 at 120 topflight hotels have been reserved by the organizing committee and held under contract for Olympic officials, sponsors and dignitaries.

The average price for a standard room at a five-star hotel - under the organizers' contract - will be about US$380 (euro255) a night. The other 270,000 rooms are expected to slightly exceed the daily flow of customers, expected to be 250,000, which officials hope will help prevent price gouging.