Home Inns sees World Expo boosting Shanghai room rates

This year's 2010 World Expo in Shanghai will boost room rates by as much as 20 percent, and it's adding up to 200 hotels nationwide.

Nasdaq-listed Home Inns has 61 hotels in the eastern Chinese city, which plays host to the 2010 World Expo May 1 to Oct 31. A total of 192 countries, including the UK, France and Japan, and 50 international organizations will participate, and organizers are expecting 70 million visitors, according to the Expo's website.

The company expects to add between 180 and 200 hotels this year. That's up from 145 new hotels last year, when the slowing economy forced the company to miss its forecast of more than 200 hotels.

Home Inns' shares have declined 8.7 percent this year in US trading, compared with a 1.6 percent gain in the USX China Index, which tracks US companies that derive a majority of their sales from China.

The company had 616 hotels in operation in 120 cities in China at the end of last year. The price for a standard room ranged between 169 yuan and 299 yuan in different cities.

Reported by 2010 Shanghai World Expo; 2010 World Expo