Classification of Hotels

The hotel can be classified in various ways depending on its size, location, clientele, length of stay, characteristics, etc. The reason for classifying the hotels is more than one. A person while making a booking must know from the name of the hotel about its location, rate, amenities, etc. offered by the hotel A hotel may fall in one or more than one of the categories mentioned below. Hotels provide accommodation, along with services like food and beverages, and facilities like recreation, conference, and training arrangements, and organization of official or private parties. Each hotel has a unique feature associated with it.

The features may be its location; the number of guest rooms; special services such as concierge, travel assistance, and valet parking; and facilities such as specialty restaurants, bars, business meeting venues, swimming pools, and so on.

The diversity in services and facilities provided by each hotel makes it quite difficult to have any single basis of classification of hotels, and if we classify them in different criteria there will be some hotels that will fall into more than one group. The criteria in which hotels are classified are following as:

Standard Classification of Hotels

The star classification system is among the most widely accepted rating of hotels worldwide. Rating of hotels in different countries is done by the government or quasi-government sources, independent rating agencies, or sometimes the hotel operators themselves.

The brief description of the various star categories are following as:

One-star Hotels

These properties are generally small and independently owned, with a family atmosphere. There may be a limited range of facilities the meals may be fairly simple. For example, lunch may not be served or some bedrooms may not have an en-suite bath or shower.

However, maintenance, cleanliness, and comfort would be of an acceptable standard.

Two-star Hotels

In this class, hotels will typically be small to medium-sized and offer more expensive facilities than one-star hotels. Guests can expect comfortable, well-equipped overnight accommodation, usually with an en-suite bath and shower.

Reception and other staff will aim for a more professional presentation that is at the one-star level and will offer a wider range of straightforward services, including food and beverages.

Three-star Hotels

At this level, hotels are usually of a size to support higher staffing levels as well as significantly higher quality and range of facilities than at the lower star classifications. Reception and other public areas will be more spacious, and the restaurant will normally also cater to non-residents.

All bedrooms will have an en-suite bath and shower and will offer a good standard of comfort and equipment, such as a direct dial telephone and toiletries in the bathrooms. Besides room services, some provision for business travelers can be expected.

Four-star Hotels

Expectations of this level include a degree of luxury as well as quality in the furnishing, décor, and equipment in every area of the hotel. Bedrooms will also usually offer more space than at the lower star levels. They will be well designed with coordinated furnishing and décor.

The en-suite bathrooms will have both a bath an shower. There will be a high staff to guest ratio, with provisions of porter services, twenty-four-hour room service, and laundry and dry cleaning services. The restaurants will demonstrate a serious approach to its cuisine.

Five-star Hotels

Five-star hotels offer spacious and luxurious accommodation throughout the hotel, matching the best international standards. The interior design should impress with its quality and attention to detail, comfort, and elegance. The furnishing should be immaculate.

The services should be formal, well supervised, and flawless in its attention to the guest’s need, without being intrusive. The restaurant will demonstrate a high level of technical skill. The staff will be knowledgeable, helpful, and well versed in all aspects of customer care, combining efficiency with courtesy.

Heritage Hotels

‘Heritage Hotels’ cover running hotels in palaces/castles/forts/havelies/hunting loges/residence of any size built prior to 1950. The facade, architectural features andgeneral construction should have the distinctive qualities and ambience in keepingwith the traditional way of life of the area. The architecture of the property to beconsidered for this category should not normally be interfered with. Any extension, improvement, renovation, or change in the existing structures should be in keeping with the traditional architectural styles and constructional techniques harmonizing the new with the old. After expansion/renovation, the newly built-up area added should not exceed 50% of the total built-up (plinth) area including the old and new structures. For this purpose, facilities such as swimming pools, lawns, etc. will be excluded. Heritage Hotels will be sub-classified in the following categories:

Heritage:

This category will cover hotels in Residences/Havelies/Hunting Lodges/Castles/Forts/Palaces built from 1935 – 1950. The hotel should have a minimum of 5 rooms (10 beds).

Heritage Classic:

This category will cover hotels in Residences/Havelies/Hunting Lodges/Castles/Forts/Palaces built between 1920 – 1935. The hotel should have a minimum of 15 rooms (30 beds).

Heritage Grand:

This category will cover hotels in Residence/Havelis/Hunting Lodges/Castles/Forts/Palaces built before 1920. The hotel should have a minimum of 15 rooms (30 beds).

Room & Bath Size: No room or bathroom size is prescribed for any of the categories. However, general ambiance, comfort, and imaginative readaptation would be considered while awarding sub-classification ‘classic’ or ‘grand’.

Classification of Hotels based on Size

The number of guest rooms in a hotel is a criterion to classify hotels. Hotels can be grouped into the following categories based on the number of rooms or the size of the hotel:

Small Hotel

In India, hotels with twenty-five or fewer are classified as small hotels. However, in the developed countries of Europe and America, hotels with less than 100 rooms are considered small. These hotels provide clean and comfortable accommodations but may not provide upmarket facilities, such as a swimming pool, restaurant, bar, etc.

Medium Hotel

Hotels with twenty-six to a hundred rooms are called medium hotels. However, in developed nations, hotels with up to 300 rooms are termed medium-sized.

Large Hotel

In India, hotels with 101 to 300 guest rooms are regarded as large hotels. Whereas, hotels with 400 to 600 rooms are termed as large hotels in the developed world.

Very Large Hotel

Hotels, with more than 300 guest rooms are known as very large hotels in our country. In developed nations, hotels with 600 to 1,000 rooms may be considered very large.

Classification of Hotels based on Location

The location of the hotel is one of the major criteria for the traveler to select and patronize a hotel. Hotels may be located in the city center, suburban areas, natural locations such as hill stations and sea beaches, near the port of entry into a country, etc. They may be classified into the following categories based on their location:

Downtown Hotel

A downtown hotel is located in the center of the city within a short distance from the business center, shopping areas, theatre, public offices, etc. The center of the city may not necessarily be the geographical center, but it refers to an area that is considered to be the commercial hub of the city.

The room rates in these hotels may be higher than similar hotels in the other areas, to cover the huge investment made on land. They are generally preferred by business clients as they find it convenient to stay close to the place of their business activities.

Sub-Urban Hotel

As the land cost in the city center is higher and space is limited, some entrepreneurs build their hotels near the outskirts of the city. Providing similar facilities to the downtown hotels, these hotels are set in suburban areas and have the advantage of quieter surroundings. Such hotels are ideal for people who prefer to stay away from the hustle and bustle of a city.

The duration of the stay of guests in these hotels may be longer than that at a hotel located in the city. The room rates in such hotels are moderate and may attract budget travelers.

Resort Hotel

Hotels that are located at a tourist destination such as hill stations, sea beaches, and countryside are referred to as resort hotels. These hotels have a very calm and natural ambiance. They are mostly away from cities and are located in a pollution-free environment. The room rates in these hotels may range from moderate to high, depending on the additional services offered.

These hotels combine stay facilities with leisure activities such as golf, summer and winter support, etc. Some of these hotels are projected as a dream destination for guests who wish to enjoy the beauty of nature and have a memorable holiday. The occupancy in the resorts is normally higher during vacation time and weekends when guests want to take a break from their weekly routine.

Airport Hotel

The airport hotel is situated in the vicinity and other ports of entry. Offering all the services of the commercial hotel, these hotels are generally patronized by passengers who need a stopover en-route journey.

Motel

The word ‘motel‘ is formed by the merging of two words ‘motor‘ and ‘hotel‘. They are located primarily on the highways and provide modest lodgings to highway travelers. The development of extensive road networks in the early twentieth century led to an increase in the number of people traveling in their vehicles.

The phenomenon was quite common in the American European continents. Traveler who was traveling in their vehicles needed a neat and clean accommodation for the night, so, the motel concept came into existence.

Floatel

As the name suggests, floatels are types of lodging properties that float on the water. This category consists of all lodging properties that are built on the top of rafts or semi-submersible platforms and includes cruise liners and houseboats.

Some of them provide luxurious accommodation, along with food and beverage facilities to guests.

Classification of Hotels based on Clients

The hotel caters to the needs of its guests. Every individual or group of people who patronize a hotel has a different set of requirements. While some would prefer luxurious accommodation, others would like to stay in a simple and cheap room. Some would require facilities such as meeting rooms, business centers, and conference halls if their travel is business-oriented.

Being a capital-intensive industry, the diversity in guest requirements discourages hotels from catering to all types of travelers. As a result, hotels choose to carve out a niche for themselves by catering to the needs of specific guest segments. The hotel can be classified into the following categories based on its clients :

Business or Commercial Hotel

Designed to cater to the business traveler, commercial hotels are generally situated in the city center. These hotels provide high-standard rooms and amenities, along with high-speed internet connectivity,  business centers, and conference halls. They also provide in-house secretarial services, as well as facilities such as letter drafting, typing, faxing, and photocopy of documents for the convenience of their guests.

The guest amenities at the commercial hotel may include complimentary newspapers, morning coffee, cable television, and access to channeled music and movies.

The duration of the guest’s stay is generally very short at these hotels. The occupancy level is higher during the weekdays and slightly lower during weekends. These hotels are also known as downtown hotels.

Transient Hotel

Transient hotels cater to the needs of people who are on the move and need a stopover en route on their journey. Located near ports of entry, such as seaports, airports, and major railway stations, these hotels are normally patronized by the transient traveler.

They have round-the-clock operational room service and a coffee shop and offer all the facilities of a commercial hotel. Transient hotels are usually five-star, and their target market includes business clientele, airline passengers with overnight travel layovers or canceled flights, and airline personnel.

The occupancy rate is usually very high, sometimes more than 100 percent, as rooms can be sold more than once on a given day.

Suite Hotel

Suite Hotels provide the highest level of personalized services to guests. The guest rooms generally comprise a living area, a compact kitchenette, complete with refrigerator and a microwave, a bedroom attached to bathroom, and sometimes even a dance floor.

The facilities are highly customized and may include in-room safety locker facilities. These hotels are patronized by affluent people and tourists who are fond of luxury.

Residential Hotel

As the name suggests, residential hotels provide accommodation for a longer duration. These hotels are generally patronized by people who are on a temporary official deputation to a city where they do not have their own residential accommodation. Guest stay for a minimum period of one month and up to two years.

The services offered by these hotels are modest. The room’s configuration usually similar to that of suite hotels. Guest rooms generally include a sitting room, bathroom, and small kitchenette. They are akin to the small individual apartment.

These hotels are fully operational restaurants or a dining room for the resident guests and may provide services such as daily housekeeping, telephone, front desk, and uniformed services. The guest may choose to contract some or all the services provided by the apartment hotel. The hotel signs a lease with guest and the rent is paid either monthly or quarterly.

Bed and Breakfast Hotel

A European concept, bed, and breakfast (B&B) hotels are lodging establishments, generally operated in large family residences. These range from houses with few rooms converted into overnight facilities to small commercial building with twenty to thirty guest rooms. The owner usually lives on the premises and is responsible for serving breakfast to guests.

Guests are accommodated in bedrooms and breakfast is served in the room or sometime in the dining room. The bathrooms may be attached to the guest rooms or maybe on a sharing basis. As the tariff is generally lower than a full-service hotel at these properties, they are suitable for budget travelers.

Casino Hotel

Casino hotels provide gambling facilities, such as Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. These hotels attract the clients by promoting gambling, arranging extravagant floor shows, and some may provide charter flight services to its clients. They have state-of-the-art gambling facilities, along with the especially restaurant, bars, round the clock room service, well appointed and furnished rooms for its guests.

Nowadays, these hotels are also attracting the MICE (meeting, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) segment. The casinos of Las Vegas, USA are among the most famous casinos in the world.

Conference Centers

The word conference means ‘ a meeting, sometimes lasting for several days, in which people with a common interest participate in discussions or listen to lectures to obtained information‘. Thus, a conference center is a hotel which caters to the needs of a conference delegation.

These hotels provide rooms to delegates of conferences; a conference hall with the desired seating configuration for the meetings; food and beverage requirement during and after the conference; and other requirements, such as a flip chart, whiteboard with markers, overhead projector, television, VCR/VCD/DVD player, slide projector, LCD projector with screen, computer, and public address system.

These are large hotels, having more than 400 guest rooms. The services provided are the highest standard. Normally, conferences are charged as packages, which include accommodation and meeting facilities.

Convention Hotels

The convention is defined as ‘a  formal assembly or meeting of members, representatives, or delegates of a group for general agreement on or acceptance of certain practices or attitudes‘. This type of meeting involves a large number of participants.  The hotel catering to the needs of this segment is known as convention hotels.

These hotels may have more than 2,000 rooms to accommodate a large number of delegates. They are equipped with state-of-the-art convention centers with all the required facilities, such as seating configuration, audiovisual equipment, and public address systems to meet the demands of a convention.

Classification of Hotels based on Duration of Guest Stay

On the basis of the duration of the guest stay, hotels may be classified into the following categories:

Commercial Hotel

The duration of guest stay in these hotels is short, ranging from a few days to a week.

Transient Hotel

Mostly occupied by travelers as stopovers en route their journey, the duration of stay at transient hotels is very short, a day or even less.

Semi-residential Hotel

These hotels are generally patronized by people who are staying at a location while in transit to another place. The duration of stay may range from a few weeks to some months. They incorporated the features of both transient and residential hotels.

Residential/Apartment Hotel

As the name suggests, residential hotels provide accommodation for long duration and are patronized by the people who stay for a long time. The duration of stay may range from a few months to a few years.

Extended Stay Hotel

In today’s age of downsizing, outsourcing, and mobility business executive are often away from their hometowns for extended periods of time and require more than a hotel room.

These hotels are for those guests who wish to stay for a long period (from a few days to weeks), and cater to their long-term needs with special services, amenities, and facilities, such as full-fledged kitchens with dishes and kitchenware, separate area to wash clothes, housekeeping services, grocery services, and recreational facilities. The room rates of these hotels are determined by the length of stay.

Classification of Hotels based on Level of Services

On the basis of services offered by a hotel, they may be classified into the following categories:

Upmarket/World Class Luxuries Hotels

Targeting the affluent segment of society, hotels in the upmarket category offer world-class products with personalized services to the higher standard. The emphasis is on excellence and class. These hotels provide upscale restaurants and lounges, exquisite décor, concierge service, opulent rooms, and abundant amenities.

The design and interior decoration of the hotel itself reflects the standards maintained by the hotel. The guest rooms are large with exquisite decoration and furnishings.

Mid-Market/Mid-range Services Hotels

These hotels offer modest services without the frills and personalized attention of luxury hotels, and appeal to the largest segment of travelers. They may offer services such as room service, round-the-clock coffee shop, airport and railway station pick-up and drop facilities; multi-cuisine restaurant with bar.

A typical hotel offering mid-range service would be medium-sized, having roughly 150 to 300 rooms. The room rent is much lower than the upmarket hotels. These hotels are patronized by business traveler, individual traveler, and groups.

Budget/Economy Hotels

Budget hotels focus on meeting the most basic needs of guests by providing clean, comfortable, and inexpensive rooms. These are also known as economy or limited services hotels, they appeal primarily to budget-minded traveler groups.

The clientele of budget hotels may also include families with children, bus tour groups, traveling business people, vacationers, retired persons, and groups. These hotels have clean and comfortable guest rooms, a coffee shop, a multi-cuisine restaurant, in-room telephone, and channeled music and movies.

Classification on the Basis of Ownership

On the basis of ownership of a hotel, they may be classified into the following categories:

Proprietary Ownership/Independent Hotel

Proprietary ownership is the direct ownership of one or more properties by a person or company. Small lodging properties by the person or company. Small lodging properties that are owned and operated by a couple or family are common of proprietary ownership. The owner has independent control. Profit goes to the owner. Quickly respond to market changes. Work with limited finances

Franchise Hotels/Affiliated

Let us understand the following terminologies related to the franchise before we talk about it :

Franchise  It is authorization given by a company to another company individual to sell its unique products/services and use its trademark according to the guidelines given by the former, for a specified time, and at a specified place.

Franchisor  The franchisor is the company that owns the trademark, product, a business format that is being franchised.

Franchisee The franchisee is the company or the individual to whom franchise confers the right to do business under its name as per the term and condition agreed upon.

Franchising A continuing relationship in which the franchisor provides a licensed privilege to do business, plus assistance in organizing, training, merchandising, and management in return for a consideration from the franchise.

In the hospitality industry, we often come across many big chains that are operating on a franchise basis. In this kind of contract, which is mutually beneficial to both parties, the franchisor allows the franchisee to use the company’s ideal methods, trademarks, as well as the brand logo to do business. Advantages include Opening assistance- architectural, interior designs, Systems and procedure, Staff training, Financial assistance, Advertising and global marketing, Central reservation, Central purchase etc.

Management Contract/Managed Hotel

Managing a hotel requires professional expertise. A new entrepreneur with little or no experience in the business may safely choose to become the franchisee of any well-established hotel chain.

There could still be a problem in operating the business because the franchisor provides a well-established image, a tested and successful operating system, training programme, marketing, advertising, and reservation system, but does not provide the cadre of an experienced manager and the employees necessary to run the business on a day to day basis.

To bridge the gap, management contract companies came into existence. These companies have the required expertise to manage hotels. They operate on the basis of management fee and the sometimes on a percentage of gross revenue. Advantages include international recognitions, operating systems, training program, marketing, international expertise, profitable operations, advertisement, reservation system, staff.

Chain Hotels

A group of hotels that are owned or managed by one company is called a chain hotel.

Advantages of chain hotels include Large central organization providing central reservation system, management aids, financial strength, expertise, manpower, specialties,

promotions

Referral Chain/Group

Referral groups consist of independent hotels which have grouped together for some common purpose. Though the properties in the referral group may be different from each other but there is sufficient consistency in the quality of service to satisfy guest expectations. The member hotels recommend guests to other member hotels. Best Western International, one of the largest hotel chains, is the best example of referral groups. The referral groups also extend benefit of more extensive reservation and expanded advertising through pooled resources.

Time-share Hotels

Time-share hotels, also referred to as vacation-interval hotels, are a new concept in the hospitality industry. As the name suggests, it entails purchasing a tourist accommodation at a popular destination for a particular time slot in a year.

The buyer can then occupy the property for the appointed time or rent the unit to other vacationers if they cannot avail the facilities. They have to make a one-time payment for the time slot and a yearly fee to cover the maintenance costs and related expenses and take a share in the profit from the income generated if they are not utilizing their time slot. Advantages include long-term accommodation, comfortable homes, economical, good location, and international exchange possible.

Condominium Hotels

Condominium hotels are similar to timeshare hotels, except that condominium hotels have a single owner instead of multiple owners sharing a hotel. In a condominium hotel, the owner informs the management company when they will occupy the unit.

The management company is free to rent the unit for the remainder of the year, and this revenue goes to the owner. The owner generally pays a monthly or annual maintenance fee to the management company that takes care of the premises, including landscaping, cleaning of common areas, water, and power supply, etc.

Apartotel:

It is an apartment building also used as a residential hotel. Purchase of the apartment entitles full services of the hotel and during the period it is not occupied it can be added to the hotel pool for getting income. The concept was initially developed by Melia Coy of Spain in 1970

Alternative of Hotels  Accommodation

Alternative accommodation can be simply defined as ‘all those types of accommodation that are available outside the formal or organized accommodation sector’. These establishments provide bed and breakfast and some basic services required by the guest at a reasonable price.

An alternative accommodation, thus,  providing sleeping space and modest food for its users. There are certain properties that cater to the needs of a large group.

The lodging houses constructed for the welfares of common travelers, such as sarais, dharmshalas, dak bungalows, circuits, houses, inspection bungalows, lodges, youth hostels, yatri niwas, and forest lodges are the example of alternative accommodation.

Sarai/Dharmshala

These lodging properties are mostly found at popular pilgrimage places. They are generally constructed by welfare trusts, social organizations, or even the state, and provide basic security and sleeping facilities for a nominal fee.

Dak Bungalow/Circuit House

These accommodation are situated in remote areas and at scenic locales. All these properties have an ageless charm and an old world style of hospitality as well as special cuisine, which forms a part of the attraction, apart from the low traffic. Often these are the only lodging properties in remote areas.

Lodge/Boarding House

Lodges are modest hotels situated away from the center of the city or located at a remote destination. These are self-sufficient establishments that offer standard facilities, such as clean and comfortable rooms, food and beverage (F&B) services.

Boarding houses are establishments that usually provide accommodation and meal at a specified period of time, such as weekends, or for a specified time of stay.

Youth Hostel

The youth, from rural as well as urban areas, travel for various reasons, such as education, adventure, and recreation. Youth hostels were established to cater to the youth on the move, who couldn’t afford steep hotel rents.

A youth hostel generally provides low-cost dormitory accommodation with common bathing and cafeteria facilities. They may also provide kitchens for self-catering.

Yatri Niwas

A yatri niwas provides low cost, self-service accommodation to domestic tourists in cities. The emphasis is on modest comfort and affordability. These are generally frequented by people during brief stopovers while traveling between places, or by families with modest budgets.

These properties are located at historical, cultural, and natural sites.

Camping Grounds/Tourist Camps

Camping grounds are normally located within cities in open space. They provide parking spaces along with the water, electricity, and toilets. Camps must follow certain regulation regarding the quality of services and cost and are set up by municipalities.

Railway/Airport Retiring Rooms

A retiring room is for the convenience of the transit travelers. These are situated at a major railway station and domestic and international airports. They provide resting rooms are available at reasonable rates and are often air-conditioned. Booking for the same is made through the station superintendent or the airport manager.

They are equipped with clean sanitation facilities and may include F&B  facilities at a cost.

Paying Guest Accommodation

A paying guest (PG) accommodation is a non-institutional accommodation offered by individual households at various destinations. Besides tourist haven like Goa, this kind of accommodation is becoming popular in large metropolitan cities among outstation students and the employed youth migrants from other towns.

Guests normally pay for accommodation, while the rules for F&B services may differ from host to host.