A long-stay hotel and a private apartment differ most clearly in who files your accommodation registration. Compare the actual provider's price, lease, deposit, services and cancellation terms separately; national immigration guidance does not decide those commercial terms for you.
Registration: the key difference
Under the National Immigration Administration's September 2026 notice, a hotel registers a foreign guest's stay and submits the information to local public security. At a non-hotel address, the foreign resident or the person accommodating them must complete registration with the public security organ at the place of residence within 24 hours after arrival. The nationwide online route and the in-person route are both available for non-hotel addresses; online completion has the same legal effect as on-site registration.
The NIA interpretation says an initial online registration should be completed with the accommodation host's assistance to ensure accurate address details. The host may file, but the resident should check the result through the official Registration Record Inquiry function. Ask a hotel how it records your check-in and what confirmation it can provide; do not assume every hotel issues the same paper slip.
Questions before booking or signing
- Hotel: can the property check you in with your travel document, register the stay, and confirm submission? Ask the hotel to confirm its own accepted documents and long-stay terms.
- Apartment: who is the accommodation host, who will file within 24 hours, and can the host help with the first online registration? Ask how you will view the completed record.
- Either route: what is the exact address to be recorded, and whom will you contact if details are wrong?
- Commercial decision: compare the specific contract or booking for rent or nightly rate, deposit, utilities, cleaning, cancellation, kitchen access and length of stay. These terms vary by property.
If registration stalls
For a non-hotel address, the NIA says you may use the in-person public security route when online registration is difficult. The NIA 12367 hotline or the local exit-entry service window or police station can help. Do not treat an attempted submission as a completed record. For a hotel registration problem, ask the hotel to resolve its submission and seek guidance from the local public security organ if it cannot.
This is a comparison checklist, not a judgment that one accommodation type is legally safer or cheaper. Confirm individual immigration questions with the authority responsible for your address.