A dirty or smoky hotel room in China: change rooms, move and request a refund

Get a usable room for tonight and document the money decision separately. Ask the duty manager for a clean non-smoking replacement you can inspect, or a written decision on cancelling the affected nights. Contact the seller on your booking while that is being discussed. If you already moved, keep the safer room and ask for the original booking’s unused nights to be addressed; moving does not itself cancel or refund them.

Hostel room is dirty and smells of smoke

The original traveller arrived alone in Shanghai at night in the rain, with a failed eSIM and a flat phone battery. After finding the hostel room dirty and heavily smoky, they moved to a hotel across the road. Neither property nor the original booking platform was named, so no platform-specific refund has been established for that stay.

1. Keep your passport, money, luggage and essential medication with you. If your phone has failed, ask the staffed reception for a charger, Wi-Fi or help making a call; use the written Chinese card below. Do not make app activation a condition of finding a bed.
2. Before cleaning or substantially using the room, record the bedding, bathroom and specific defects, the room number and the time. Photograph visible smoke evidence if present; describe the odour in your message because a photo cannot establish smell. Avoid filming other guests’ private belongings or faces.
3. Show the manager the room-type and non-smoking promises on your confirmation. Ask to inspect an alternative before accepting it. Record the new room number and whether there is any additional charge. A deodorising treatment or an assurance alone is not evidence that the replacement is acceptable to you.
4. If the hotel cannot offer a usable room, open a complaint with the original booking seller and request relocation or a decision on the nights you cannot use. State separately whether you have used any part of the first night and which later nights remain.
5. If there is an immediate danger or you cannot remain in the room, move to a staffed public area or another suitable property. Do not stay to preserve a refund claim. Document the reason and attempts to obtain help when safe; reimbursement can remain undecided.

Chinese — 我预订的是［房型／禁烟房］，订单号［编号］。现在房间有［烟味很重／床品污渍／浴室污物／具体问题］，我无法正常休息。请值班经理处理：先给我看一间干净、没有烟味的替代房，并确认是否加价。如果没有合适房间，请书面确认［日期］至［日期］哪些晚数可以取消、退款金额和币种、由谁退款，以及任何费用。请不要把我的投诉登记成无说明的自愿取消。

English — I booked [room type / a non-smoking room], reference [number]. The room has [strong smoke smell / stained bedding / bathroom dirt / specific problem], and I cannot rest in it. Please ask the duty manager to show me a clean replacement without a smoke smell and confirm any extra charge. If none is suitable, confirm in writing which nights from [date] to [date] can be cancelled, the refund amount and currency, who refunds it, and any fee. Please record the room problem rather than an unexplained voluntary cancellation.

Contact the seller who actually took your booking

Your booking channel: Trip.com

Working contact entry and the limit: Open Customer Support, retrieve the booking and choose Chat or Call us. Its public support policy offers 24/7 assistance. Ask the agent to contact the property, record the room defect and approve any relocation cost before you rely on reimbursement.

Your booking channel: Booking.com

Working contact entry and the limit: Use the confirmation’s contact/manage-booking link or Customer Service. The page offers property contact, messages and urgent calls 24/7. Cancellation charges depend on the property’s policy; your payment confirmation identifies who collected payment.

Your booking channel: Another platform, an agency or a direct booking

Working contact entry and the limit: Use the contact in the actual booking confirmation, not an unrelated platform’s guarantee. Ask the named seller and hotel which one must authorise cancellation and which one holds your payment. Keep the case in the booking’s written channel.

Trip.com’s Room Guarantee specifically describes a confirmed reservation that cannot be accommodated or has no room on arrival. Do not assume a dirty room or absent English-speaking staff automatically qualifies. The terms require prompt contact and say that proceeding to another hotel without contacting Trip.com forfeits that particular guarantee. Its cancellation service seeks to reduce charges; it is not a promise of free cancellation. If you need to leave for safety, leave and document why, while recognising that the refund or extra-cost claim is unresolved.

For a written agreement, separate four figures: refund for the original room, cancellation charges, the new hotel’s total and any transport or price difference the seller will cover. Ask whether an offer is a refund to the original payment method, a voucher or credit, and who will issue it. A case number, a refund request and an approved refund are different states. Keep the approval and payment reference; do not promise yourself a bank arrival date that has not been confirmed.

Chinese — 我已经在［时间］离开原房间／换到另一家酒店。原因是［具体问题］，证据已附。请确认原订单还有哪些日期有效，哪些可以取消，以及已用首晚和未用晚数分别如何收费或退款。新酒店费用为［金额和币种］；请明确是否批准承担差价或交通费，并提供处理编号。

English — I left the original room / moved to another hotel at [time] because of [specific problem]; evidence is attached. Please confirm which original dates remain active and which can be cancelled, and how the used first night and unused nights will be charged or refunded separately. The new hotel cost is [amount and currency]. Please state whether you approve any price difference or transport cost and give me a case reference.

A practical replacement tonight

Ask a nearby staffed hotel to show an available room and confirm passport check-in, the total for tonight, deposit, payment method and checkout time before paying. Walking across the road may be simpler than travelling across Shanghai, but proximity alone does not establish availability or condition. If you have already found a satisfactory replacement, there is no need to move again merely to use a named example.

One named contact if you need it is Holiday Inn Shanghai Jing’an — 上海静安假日酒店, 上海中兴路1738号 (1738 Zhongxing Road), near the north side of Shanghai Railway Station. The current IHG page lists a smoke-free hotel, front desk +86 21 3617 9999 and rsvn.shgzb@hijingan.com, with normal check-in from 14:00 and checkout at 12:00. Some search titles retain the old Holiday Inn Express Zhabei name; use the current property name, address and phone. For tonight, call the desk rather than waiting for email.

This is a contactable example, not a checked vacancy, the nearest property to your unknown hostel or a budget-price promise. Obtain confirmation for your arrival time. If arriving after midnight, give the calendar date and time explicitly and ask which hotel night to book; an ordinary afternoon check-in rate may not provide a room immediately after midnight.

Chinese — 请问今晚有可以马上入住的干净禁烟房吗？我是［人数］人，持［国籍］护照，预计［日期和时间］到达。请确认能办理入住、能否先看房、含税总价、押金、付款方式和退房时间。如果已经过了午夜，请说明应该订哪一天的房晚。

English — Do you have a clean non-smoking room I can use tonight? There are [guests], travelling on [nationality] passports, arriving at [date and time]. Please confirm check-in, whether I may inspect the room, the total including taxes, deposit, payment method and checkout time. If it is after midnight, please tell me which hotel night to book.

Listing promises English, but no one can communicate

Use short written requests immediately so staff can complete passport registration, room assignment and any complaint. Ask for a duty manager or a staff member who can help remotely. If none is available, a translation tool or the booking seller can assist; the practical goal is an agreed room and recorded terms, not an argument about language ability.

Chinese — 我不会中文，请用文字回复。1. 我的预订姓名是［姓名］，订单号［编号］，请核对护照和入住日期。2. 请写下房号、早餐地点和时间、退房时间及押金金额。3. 预订页面写有英语服务，现在是否有能用英语沟通的员工或经理可以电话协助？4. 关于［房间问题］，请写下处理办法和费用，不要只口头说明。

English — I do not speak Chinese; please reply in writing. (1) My booking name is [name], reference [number]; please check my passport and stay dates. (2) Please write the room number, breakfast place and hours, checkout time and deposit. (3) The listing says English service is available; can a member of staff or manager help by telephone? (4) For [room problem], please write down the remedy and any cost.

Save the actual language-service wording and your arrival time. It may specify a limited service or hours; if it does not, ask the seller to clarify the discrepancy. Lack of an English-speaking person alone does not establish a free cancellation, and the label does not guarantee a particular shift’s ability. Do not send your passport image or card details to an unknown outside translator.

When the hotel and seller still do not resolve it

For a non-emergency local complaint, Shanghai’s official 12345 public-service hotline operates around the clock and includes English support. Give the property’s Chinese name, address, booking seller, specific problem, evidence and requested outcome; ask for routing to the responsible department and a case number. It does not promise an immediate replacement room or order the bank refund on the spot.

Checked 13 September 2026. No hotel was contacted or booked. The original platform, room conditions, cancellation policy, agreed remedy and replacement availability remain individual facts; this page supplies a same-night path and a documented claim, not a refund guarantee.