Classification of hotels
The lodging industry is so diverse that many hotels do not fit in to any single well-defined category. Some of the categories used to classify hotels are locations, the type of guests attracted, the kind of structure or chain affiliation, size and service level.
The size and service level of a hotel are its most important characteristics. However, size and service level is not dependent on each other. The size of a hotel often has little to do with the level of service it offers. Size characteristics may include the number of guest’s rooms, meeting rooms and banquet rooms within the hotel and the number of divisions or departments within the hotel requiring various services. A more precise measure of work performed by a hotel’s staff is the hotel’s level of service. While the levels of service offered by hotels vary tremendously across the lodging industry, hotels can, for the sake of simplicity, be classified in terms of their location, as transient, resort and motels.
Transient Hotels
Transient hotels are found in major cities of the world and in an around airports.
City Hotels
These hotels are situated in major cities and mainly cater for businessmen who visit these cities for business purposes, and participants of conferences and seminars that are often held in these hotels. The length of stay of guests in these hotels is rather short and usually check-ins and check-outs take place throughout the day. The speed of service is of utmost importance in these hotels as guests are often in hurry to obtain various services that they require, whilst attending to their business activities.
Airport Hotels
These hotels that are situated either in or around major airports, Often the length of stay guests is one night. Usually in these hotels, food and beverage facilities are made available around the clock.
Semi Transients Hotels
These hotels are found in suburbs of cities, when guests may either come on holiday or business purposes. The facilities and services must be geared to cater for both types of guests in these hotels.
Resorts Hotels
Resort hotels are found in various resort areas and the majority of guests come to these for holidays. The average length of stay of guests is longer, compared with transient hotels. These resorts can be seaside retreats, desert or mountain retreats, health resort, cultural and game parks or ancient cities.
Motels
Motels are usually found alongside main highways and cater for long distance travelers. In most typical motels, guest park their own cars/motor vehicles carry their own luggage, provide their own room service and make their own arrangements for laundry and pressing etc. Some of the earlier motels also omitted food and beverage services. However, nowadays in most motels there are 24-hour coffee shops available, providing food and beverage facilities throughout the day and night.
Motel is considered by some to be an outdated word because of the image of the very early motels, which were really old-fashioned tourist cabin. Still successful up to date companies in the the American and European continents, keep their original names, glad that their market can easily recognize what kind of accommodation is being offered.
More over, motels identifies its products because the term originally came from a construction of the words “motor” and “hotel”(Moter-hotel).
Botels
Botels are found along riverbanks and cater for people traveling by boats
Classification as per size
Small hotel: 1-25 rooms
Medium hotels: 25-100
Large hotel: 100 – above
Classification as per facilities and service:
2 star: minimum 1 food and beverage out let, service till 2200 hours, intercom and
limited room services, etc.
3 star: minimum 2 food and beverage out lets, 1 bar, 24 hours room service, currency
exchange, postal service and elevators etc.
4 star: conforming 3 star standards, more comfortable rooms, 3 restaurants including a
coffee shop, mini bar, elevator, banquette, seminar, meeting facilities and parking lot,
etc.
5 star: conforming 4 star standards plus health club, sauna, Jacuzzi, mini-bar etc.
