Accommodation Types: Hotels, Self-Catering, and More

Posted on Dec 18, 2024 in Economy

Classification of Accommodation

Accommodation is normally classified into:

  1. Self-Catering Accommodation:
    • Guests prepare their meals; no food services are provided.
  2. Serviced Accommodation:
    • Meals and other services are provided.

Classifications depend on:

  • Service Quality: Level of staff professionalism and attentiveness.
  • Facilities: Equipment and amenities provided.

Types of Serviced Accommodation

  1. World-Class Service Hotels:
    • Used by wealthy and famous tourists, offer high quality, personalized services with dedicated staff.
  2. Mid-Range Service Hotels:
    • Target a broad range of travelers.
    • Provide moderate comfort and service at reasonable rates.
  3. Economy Service Hotels:
    • Offer basic services at budget-friendly prices.
    • Ideal for travelers seeking cheap accommodations with minimal amenities.

Hotel Classification by Star Rating

Hotels are commonly rated from one star (minimum) to five stars (maximum). Star ratings vary by country, as no universal standard has been adopted. Common global features for star ratings include service quality, amenities, and overall guest experience.

Hotels

Hotels are classified by dimensions and target market:

  1. Dimensions:
    • Small: Less than 150 rooms.
    • Medium-Sized: 150-600 rooms.
    • Large: Over 600 rooms.
  2. Target Market:
    • City Hotels: Near tourist attractions or shopping areas.
    • Business Hotels: For business travelers, located in downtown or business areas.
    • Motels: Located near motorways, offering large parking facilities.
    • Airport Hotels: Designed for business travelers and airline passengers.
    • Conference Hotels: Equipped for conferences and conventions.
    • Inns: Pubs with rooms, offering breakfast and dinner.
    • Bed and Breakfasts/Guest Houses: Family-run, with one or two rooms.
    • Resort Hotels and Holiday Villages: Focused on holiday tourism.
    • Spa Hotels: Feature natural mineral water attractions.
    • Country Hotels/Farmhouses: Provide a “country life” experience.

Types of Rooms

  • Single Room: For one person; often has a surcharge.
  • Double Room: One double bed.
  • Twin Room: Two single beds.
  • Triple/Quadruple Room: Rare, for three or four guests.
  • Suite: Includes a separate living room and additional amenities.

Board Basis

  • Room Only: No meals included.
  • Bed and Breakfast: Accommodation and breakfast provided.
  • Half Board: Breakfast and one main meal (dinner or lunch).
  • Full Board: All meals included.

Service and Facilities

The basic service offered by a hotel is the accommodation, however other services and facilities can be available and will impact on the price of the room.

Check-In, Check-Out, and Hotel Staff

  1. Check-In:
    • Guests report to the reception upon arrival.
    • Process varies:
      • Booking Guests: Standard check-in process.
      • Walk-Ins: For guests without prior reservations.
    • Receptionists:
      • Collect personal details and identification.
      • Confirm length of stay and payment terms.
      • Provide room keys and directions, along with essential hotel information (e.g., breakfast hours, pool access).
  2. Check-Out: Guests return keys and settle their bills before leaving.

Hotel Staff and Organization

Hotels operate through multiple departments, each managed by specialized personnel.

  1. General Manager: Oversees all hotel operations and coordinates with department managers.
  2. Departmental Managers:
    • Director of Rooms:
      • Front Office Manager: Supervises reception and guest interactions.
      • Reservation Manager: Handles room bookings.
      • Guest Service Manager: Ensures guest satisfaction.
      • Chief Concierge Manager: Coordinates concierge services.
    • Sales and Marketing Manager: Includes:
      • Group bookings, wedding services, and digital marketing.
    • Food and Beverage Manager: Includes:
      • Restaurant, room service, bar/lounge operations.
    • Entertainment Manager: Manages guest entertainment (e.g., sports, activities, wellness).
  3. Administration Manager: Oversees accounting and human resources.
  4. Housekeeper Manager: Manages cleaning, laundry, and maintenance.
  5. Staff Roles:
    • Front Office: Porters, security, receptionists, concierge, booking staff.
    • Sales and Marketing: Assistants, digital marketing experts.
    • Food and Beverage: Chefs, cooks, bartenders; waitstaff, kitchen assistants.
    • Entertainment: Image/sound experts, sports instructors, beauticians.
    • Housekeeping: Cleaners, chambermaids, laundry staff, maintenance workers.
    • Administration: Accountants, training staff, HR assistants.

Self-Catering Accommodation

Self-catering accommodation typically offers no food service. Guests are responsible for preparing their own meals and usually share sleeping, bathroom, living, and cooking facilities, with no restaurant options for meals. This type of accommodation can be classified as non-serviced or on your own.

Non-Serviced Accommodation Types

  1. University Residences
    • Designed for students from different cities, often featuring single or multi-bed rooms with or without private bathrooms.
    • Include communal living areas and kitchens.
    • Located near universities or city centers and connected by efficient public transport.
  2. Religious Institutions
    • Convents and monasteries offer simple accommodations, sometimes with meals.
    • Typically located near universities, in peaceful settings, or historical areas.
    • May have a nightly curfew requiring guests to return by a specific time.
  3. Youth Hostels
    • Popular with young people and budget travelers, particularly backpackers.
    • Accommodations range from shared dormitories to private single/double rooms.
    • Shared bathroom and kitchen facilities are common.

Advantages:

  • Independence from fixed schedules.
  • Lower cost compared to hotels.

Disadvantages

  • No meals provided; guests must cook or eat out.
  • Lack of official classification for services may lead to unexpected issues.
  • A detailed contract is recommended to outline included and excluded facilities, as well as the rights and obligations of both parties.

On Your Own Accommodation

This type of accommodation does not include food services, and facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens are not shared with other guests (except at campsites).

Types of On Your Own Accommodation

  1. Rented Accommodation
    • Includes various options with differing services and prices:
    • Studios: Sleeping, living, and cooking facilities in the same room; bathrooms can be shared or en-suite.
    • Apartments: Separate bedroom and living/kitchen areas.
    • Holiday Houses, Chalets, Villas, and Cottages: Suitable for larger groups, typically with at least two bedrooms.
  2. Camping
    • Wild Camping: Not allowed everywhere due to hygiene, ecological, and fire risks.
    • Campsites: Provide basic facilities (toilets, showers) and recreational areas (playgrounds, swimming pools, entertainment).
    • Tents: Affordable but inconvenient in bad weather and require setup at each location.
    • Trailers: Tents on wheels attached to a car for easy transport.
    • Mobile Homes: Include caravans (towed by a car) or motorhomes (campers) that serve as both transport and accommodation with kitchen and bathroom facilities.
    • Bungalows: Typically low-rise buildings with verandas; styles and facilities may vary.
  3. House Swapping: Two homeowners exchange homes for a limited time, often arranged online. Usually involves no monetary payment unless accommodations differ significantly.
  4. Couch Surfing: A hospitality niche where homeowners offer free accommodation on a couch or in a spare room. Stays are typically short, and no payment is required.

New Forms of Accommodation

New trends are developing in accommodation so as to cater for different niches of travelers.

  • Hotels:
    • Capsule hotels. Started in Japan, the capsule hotel is a unique type of hotel that usually provides cheap, basic overnight accommodation in a number of very small and functional rooms called “capsules”.
    • Fragmented hotels. Rooms, studios, and apartments spread in a relatively close area, for example in an ancient village, and managed under a unique business structure.
    • Horizontal hotels. In a horizontal hotel, guests are allocated in bungalows rather than in hotel rooms.
    • Pods. A pod is a prefabricated standalone structure that provides basic accommodation.
    • Pop-up hotels. A pop-up hotel is a temporary lodging establishment, usually set up for specific events like festivals, corporate events, or weddings.
  • In Nature:
    • Glamping. Glamping is a combination of the words “glamorous” and “camping”. The campsite offers high levels of comfort and even luxury accommodation, and there are more amenities available compared to a regular campsite.
    • Ice hotels. An ice hotel is a non-permanent hotel built from ice and snow.
    • Lodges. A lodge is a small rural house occupied seasonally. Full-service lodges offer amenities like air conditioning, the Internet, and swimming pools, whereas basic cabin lodges provide only basic amenities.
    • Treehouses. A treehouse is a structure built among the branches of a tree.
  • At someone’s home:
    • Homestays. This refers to the activity of finding accommodation with a local family to get full immersion in the local culture.
    • House Sitting (and pet-sitting). This means that guests will “babysit” someone’s house and the owners’ pets while they are on holiday.