Hotel restrictions for foreigners.

When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy.

Recently, I booked a hotel in Hangzhou which I was very sure was able
to accommodate foreign guests via Ctrip Chinese Website. A few weeks
later, when I went back to check their pricing, the rooms indicated
for 'Mainland Chinese Only' ‘内宾’。 Seems like they keep
changing the status all the time.

To avoid the above scenario, I usually check by emailing the hotel
or customer service before making a booking which is non-refundable.

So far, I have no issues for hotel reservations under booking.com

I

Maybe I am staying in more upscale hotels? I have never stayed at a place cheaper than 50RMB per night. So maybe you are right. This is hardly mid-range. In more remote places i usually pay 50 to 100RMb per night. Never been refused so far. In many instances, I wasn't even asked for my passport either.
But in bigger cities I prefer to pay 200 to 300RMB. Not very upscale either.
But I extremely rarely just show up somewhere and look for a place to stay. I try to book one day in advance. Sometimes this is not practical such as pretty much anywhere in Guizhou or small villages in Henan.

Yes. It depends where you are and what sort of budget you have.

4 or 5 star hotels will, rarely, be a problem (Except, oddly, the 5 star (I think. Never stayed there) hotel nearest to me in Beijing. But that does overlook a military compound and the Chinese are paranoid about spying. I suppose they're always at it so they think everyone is). If you want cheaper accommodation, however; you may have problems.

The places I've had most trouble are Hebei (as said above and which is incredibly annoying as there are quite a few attractions that a visitor might want to visit), Liaoning in, pretty much, every major centre outside of Shenyang, Dalian and, for some inexplicable reason, Fushun (Pretty much, EVERYWHERE else will be problematic) and Ningxia (I've only ever been to Yinchuan in Ningxia, it's true, but have experienced the problems first-hand even though I, eventually found a hotel that would accept me despite not officially being allowed to.... Which was RIGHT next door to a Police Station as well). Henan can also be a problem, even in Zhengzhou (Although there are enough hotels that will accept you to mean you don't have to worry).

Most Youth Hostels (NOT all) are set up to take foreigners

i usually pay 50 to 100RMb per night. Never been refused so far. In many instances, I wasn't even asked for my passport either.

If they didn't take a copy of your passport then you weren't officially registered meaning that you were illegally staying (As, quiet possibly, was everyone). A private room anywhere for 50RMB will, almost certainly, be in an unlicensed "hotel".

" When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy. "

I had exactly the same problems when I stayed in Tongren in Qinghai. This is a very sensitive town politically and the whole town had quite a sour atmosphere. I booked the hotel on Ctrip but when I arrived they refused me, saying they can't accept foreigners. I kicked up a fuss and planted myself in the reception area. I was a bit of an a*sehole to be honest, but I made it very clear I wasn't leaving until I got my room. Eventually they gave in and led my to my room, past endless empty rooms. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
_
Tongren was probably the worst place I visited in China!

Really? I really liked Tongren. I also had a bit of trouble finding a hotel there, I think.

Ningxia is a huge pain to find hotels - I got refused in every town I stayed at there except, strangely enough, Tongxin. Both Yinchuan and Guyuan involved lengthy searches for hotels. I must have been rejected from nearly a dozen hotels in Guyuan, before I "gave up", and just headed to a hopelessly poorly built building in the bus station where a cheap hotel was willing to accept me. I made sure to get a room with a computer, so instead of failing to sleep in the noisy bus station, I could browse the internet instead.

I was also rejected by a few hotels in Dalian.

Really? I really liked Tongren. I also had a bit of trouble finding a hotel there, I think.

Don't get me wrong I'm sure the town is great, I think I just had a bad experience in the town. And having the opportunity to interact with the thangka artists was a memorable experience :)

"Fengtai is a great choice for travelers interested in convenient public transportation, tourist attractions and history.
We speak your language! "
And then, one of the "6 Reasons to Choose 7Days Inn Beijing West Railway Station Lize Bridge":
Staff speak English!
And indeed, it's advertised on an English-speaking booking site.
But they can only accept Mainlanders???

Well first, nothing in Fengtai is a great choice for travelers for tourist attractions or history.

Second I bet the quality of their staff's english is suspect. About what you would get in Japan at a hotel that doesnt advertise they speak english or possibly worse.

Not sure they even know what it means.

Turn up somewhere with a Chinese girlfriend, and they're likely to let you stay, even if they'd refuse you if you were by yourself..>

Sounds like a good solution! :-)

That solves the problem sometimes, but not always. I went to Xiamen a few years back, gf at the time booked the room. As we were checking in they figured out we were together and then they canceled on us right there.

" When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy. "

I had exactly the same problems when I stayed in Tongren in Qinghai.

I had the same problem once in Shijiazhuang. I had made an online booking through one of the web-sites (Booking.com/Agoda/etc) at a Home Inn only to be told, when I got there, that they couldn't accept foreigners. They did, however, direct me to another hotel (Actually; part of the same complex as the Home Inn, through which I'd had to go to get to the Home Inn reception) that could accommodate foreigners (And, to be honest, wasn't THAT much more expensive).