Beijing officials are planning to allow residents to open bed-and-breakfast and low-budget hostels in their homes, media reports say.

It's good news for many foreign travelers, who try to book a room online but find it hard to find anything other than a big hotel.

Because of tight government controls, Beijing has never developed the culture of western-style family-run inns or clusters of low-budget youth hostels.

The guidelines for the family hotel project are expected to be released this year.

Officials say the family hotels will provide foreigners with a comfortable, Chinese family atmosphere and give them an insight into China's family culture.

Last year, more than 3 million tourists from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas visited Beijing.