The SAARC summit has given Kathmandu hotels a much-needed occupancy boost, coming in a year that has seen tourism slump to perhaps the lowest levels ever. The larger hotels on the conference circuit are booked to capacity and the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, which will be hosting the heads of state and government in special suites, has the largest cut of the pie. The Everest Hotel, which has the SAARC media centre, is also booked to capacity and has even converted some of its regular restaurants into rooms for press briefings. Up on the hill east of Kathmandu, the Club Himalaya Nagarkot Resort, is booked for the nights of 4 and 5 January. The mountain resort will be where the heads of state and government will head for a retreat, the only time in the summit that leaders will have the chance to interact informally and out of the eye of television cameras.