CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS

 HOTELS CAN BE CLASSIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

 ON THE BASIS OF SIZE
 ON THE BASIS STAR SYSTEM
 ON THE BASIS OF LOCATION
 ON THE BASIS OWNERSHIP
CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS ON THE BASIS OF SIZE
 SIZE REFERS TO THE NUMBER OF ROOMS. VARIOUS CATEGORIES ON THE BASIS OF SIZE ARE:
 SMALL HOTEL- A HOTEL WITH 25 ROOMS OR LESS IS CALLED A SMALL HOTEL.
 AVERAGE HOTEL- A HOTEL WITH 26 TO 99 ROOMS IS CALLED AN AVERAGE HOTEL.
 ABOVE AVERAGE HOTEL- A HOTEL WITH 100 TO 299 ROOMS IS CALLED ABOVE AVERAGE HOTEL.
 LARGE HOTEL- A HOTEL WITH MORE THAN 300 ROOMS IS CLASSIFIED AS LARGE HOTEL.
CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS ON THE BASIS OF STAR SYSTEM
 THE STAR CATEGORY TO THE HOTELS IS GIVEN BY THE COMMITTEE CALLED “HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS APPROVAL
AND CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE (HRACC)”.
 ONE STAR  FIVE STAR
 TWO STAR  FIVE STAR DELUXE
 THREE STAR  FIVE STAR SUPER DELUXE
 FOUR STAR
CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS ON THE BASIS OF LOCATION
 CITY/DOWNTOWN/COMMERCIAL HOTEL:
 These hotels are located in the heart of the city.
 These hotels are more expensive than the suburban hotels.
 These hotels are patronized by business men and high income tourists.
 These hotels are centrally located and at a convenient distance from markets, railway station, airport, etc.
 SUBURBAN HOTELS:
 These hotels are located in the suburb of cities, moderately priced and are of mostly medium, large or small size.
 Normally these hotels are patronized by low budget tourists.
 The tourists, who do not want to stay in the heart of city as they want to be away from hustle and bustle of city,
prefer these hotels.
 Usually writers, poets, low budget tourists etc. prefer to stay at suburban hotels.
 AIRPORT HOTELS:
 These are Hotels located near the Airports, especially international airports.
 Airport Hotels are popular because of their proximity to major travel centers.
 Airport Hotels vary widely in size and level of services.
 Typical target market includes business clientele, airline passengers with overnight travel layovers or canceled
flights and airline personnel.
 Hotel owned courtesy vans often transport guests between the hotel and the airport.
 MOTELS:
 Motels are also called Motor Hotels or transit hotel and are located alongside the highways.
 Motels are normally economical and they provide comfortable bedrooms that motorists prefer to stay on their
way for a night rest.
 Motels have facilities of proper motor garage to service a car and a filling station to refill vehicles, parking area
for motor vehicles etc.
 They also have road maps, dormitory for drivers. These days Motels also provide various indoor and outdoor
facilities like Video parlor, Billiards, Table tennis, Cyber café, Library etc.
 RESORT HOTELS:
 A resort located in the tourist interest places like hills, forests, beaches, on an island, or in some other exotic
location away from crowded residential areas.
 The recreational facilities and breathtaking scenery typical of most resorts.
 Most resort hotels provide extensive food and beverage, valet and room services, sightseeing to vacationers.
 Many resorts also provide special activities, indoor and outdoor games for guests such as dancing, golf, tennis,
horse riding, nature hikes, skiing and swimming, health club, steam sauna bath, spas etc.
 A more leisurely, relaxed atmosphere distinguishes most resort hotels from other types of hotels.
 ROTELS:
 The hotels which rotate on wheels are called rotels. It is also called motel on wheels. Best example of rotel in
India is Palace on wheels. It is a luxurious train, fully air-conditioned, well-furnished with attached restaurant and
bar. The fare is inclusive of train ticket, food, alcoholic beverages and sightseeing. The train starts from Delhi and
covers the tourist interest places of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh including Taj Mahal, Agra, and Mathura.
 In Japan Rotels are parked in the parking slot in the late evening and during day the rotel is towed away.
 FLOATELS:
 The hotel which floats on water is called floatels. The best examples of floatels in India are House boats in
Kashmir Dal Lake. These are luxurious suites consisting of drawing room, dining room, bed room, sitting room,
balcony, kitchen, bathroom etc.
 These days luxury ships are becoming popular for travelling. The guests are offered cabins to stay. These float on
sea water and these have all facilities of five star hotels.
 BOATELS:
 These are luxury boats/yachts which can ferry people from one place to another. The best example of yachts are
in Mediterranean or Caribbean, they can ferry guest through canal-based narrow boat or Broad-based cabin
cruiser.
 In Sirhand, Punjab there is restaurant on boat.
 TIME SHARE:
 This is a new concept in India but is picking up very fast.
 This is also known as ‘Vacation Ownership’ or ‘Holiday Ownership’ concept.
 These properties are in resort areas like hills, beaches, forests etc.
 Time share involves an individual who purchases the ownership of accommodation for a specific week or weeks.
 The price of the property will depend on the week, one tends to buy.
 The guest can choose a peak season, semi peak season or a lean season.
 The owner pays a fixed price for certain number of years say 20 to 30 years and has a right to stay at the hotel
during rented week.
 The guest also required to pay an annual contribution towards the maintenance of apartment and public areas,
electricity, gas, water, safety, insurance etc.
 The owner can also rent out the unit through management.
 The owner can also exchange their resort with any other resort either directly owned by the company or through
contract signed with any other company/management by paying a nominal fee.
 Best examples of Timeshare in India are Mahindra Holidays, Sterling Holiday Resorts, Avalon Resort, Nanda
Tourist Corporation etc.
 CONDOMINIUM HOTELS:
 These are quite similar to Time share. These units are developed on joint ownership basis.
 Each owner purchases and has full right of an unit he has purchased and shares the cost common to the complex,
such as taxes, insurance, maintenance and upkeep of public areas including swimming pool, health club, parking,
security, air conditioning, heating, cable, broad band etc.
  Each owner can occupy or sell his unit independently but is required to follow the rules and regulations laid by
the management.
 In some cases the management can help the owner in renting out the property.
 They take the full responsibility of the owner’s unit’s safety and also pay to the owner a major portion of the rent
earned from renting out.
 The management earns a major portion by renting out conference hall and from catering.
 Usually the management requests the owner to rent out in case of major conferences.
 CHAIN HOTELS:
 A chain is usually classified as operating under a management contract or as a franchise or referral group.
 Chains usually make certain rules regarding standards, rules, policies, procedures of affiliation etc.
 In general, the more centralized the organization the stronger the control over the individual property.
 Some chains own affiliated properties, but many do not.
 Some chains have strong control over the architecture, management and standards of affiliated properties.
 Other chains only concentrate on advertising, marketing, purchasing.
 INDEPENDENT HOTELS:
 Independent hotels do not have ownership or management affiliation with other properties.
 They have no relationship to other hotels regarding policies, procedures, financial obligations, management,
accounting etc.
 These may be registered as sole proprietor-ship or a private limited company.
 The owner may decide the standard, type of clientele, the tariff etc.
 He may tie up with travel agencies to sell his property against commission.
 MANAGEMENT CONTRACT:
 Management companies are organizations that operate properties owned by others.
 Those other hotels may be owned by individual persons, partnerships or private limited companies.
 The individual hotel, under construction, may contract with a professional hotel management company to
operate the proposed property.
 These contracts are normally on a long-term basis.
 Some management companies, when feel that they must have a hotel in a particular location then they
approach prospective individuals to build a hotel and operate under their managements contract.
 The management contract can even be signed before the construction starts.
 After paying the management fees, operating expenses, the owners keep the balance cash for paying their debts,
taxes etc. and the balance is their net profit.
 The Management companies only take over the management of the company, whereas the franchising
companies provide the financial assistance, advertising, central reservation facilities, marketing etc.
 FRANCHISE:
 Franchise is a system in which the franchise owner grants another the right or privilege to merchandise a product
or service for a specified return.
 Franchise Agreement is an agreement under which the owner operates as a member of the chain, utilizing the
brand image, name, goodwill and obtaining for a certain fee some services of marketing and operating nature
support from resources of a large organization, advertising, sales promotion, technical and financial help etc.
 The best known franchising companies are Holiday Inn, Choice International, and Quality Hotels & Inns etc.
 REFERRAL GROUPS:
 Referral Groups consists 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.
OTHER CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS
ON THE BASIS OF LENGTH OF STAY:
 TRANSIT HOTELS:
 Motels and airport hotels are the best example of these hotels.
 These hotels are patronized by those guests who are in transit and will be travelling further to their destinations.
 Sometimes these hotels also charge room rent for half a day as guests would like to stay just for a few hours.
 At times these hotels have much more than 100% occupancy.
 In India the motels have not become very popular as people do not travel very long distances by their own
vehicles.
 TRANSIENT HOTELS:
 Rest houses, Government guest houses etc are the best examples of transient hotels.
 In these hotels one is not allowed to stay for a very long time as these hotels are very economical and are
patronized by the employees either on transfer or on tour or on vacations.
 RESIDENTIAL HOTELS:
 These hotels offer rooms/apartments on monthly basis and even if a guest stays for a part of the month, is
normally charged for the full month.
 The best examples for these hotels are hostels, paying guest houses for students, trainees, working people etc.
 Some big companies also hire them for months/years for their company executives for pleasure, business,
training etc.
 These can be located in any part of the country, it may be a hill station, beach etc. for pleasure or a big city or an
industrial town for business.
 SEMI RESIDENTIAL HOTELS:
 Most of the hotels in present days are semi residential hotels and are located through out the country.
 The guests, staying in these hotels, are required to pay room rent on daily basis.
 guest may hire the accommodation for months or years together but the rent charged will be on daily baiss.
 The hotel may offer a special allowance on room rent to these guests.
ON THE BASIS OF CLIENTELE:
 HOSTELS:
 The students hostels are very common both in schools and colleges.
 These can only be patronized by the students of a particular school or college.
 The hostels can also be attached to offices, banks etc.
 These are also called residential hotels as they charge on monthly, half yearly or yearly basis.
 These hostels provide nutritive food, keeping in view the needs of the residents.
 HERITAGE HOTELS:
 The Government of India to boost up tourism and to preserve the India heritage, has started a scheme, where old
heritage buildings, palaces constructed before 1935 were converted into hotels.
 Heritage Grand Hotels are those which are more than 100 years old.
 BOUTIQUE HOTELS:
 These are very small and very expensive hotels and mainly cater for elite class.
 Though the hotel is small but still it has more number of restaurants. Each one is decorated keeping in view a
theme and the food served.
 ALL SUITE HOTELS:
 The All-suite concept a new addition to the hotel industry.
 These suites provide living room, bedroom, kitchenette etc.
Types of Hotels or classification of hotel by type
Hotels are classified according to the hotel size, location, target markets, levels of service,
facilities provided, number of rooms, ownership and affiliation etc.
1. Size - Or number of rooms
 Under 200 rooms  400 to 700 rooms
 200 to 399 rooms  More than 700 rooms
The above categories enable hotels of similar size to compare operating procedures and
statistical results.
2. Target Markets
Hotel targets many markets and can be classified according to the markets they attempt to
attract their guests. Common type of markets include business, airport, suites, residential,
resort, timeshare, casino, convention and conference hotels.
 Business Hotels: These hotels are the largest group of hotel types and they primarily
cater to business travelers and usually located in downtown or business districts.
Although a Business hotel primarily serves business travelers, many tour groups,
individual tourists and small conference groups find these hotels attractive. Guest
amenities at business hotels may include complimentary newspapers, morning coffee;
free local telephone calls, Breakfast etc.
 Airport Hotels: These types of hotels typically target business clientele, airline
passengers with overnight travel layovers or cancelled flights and airline crews or staff.
Some hotels might give free transport between hotel and airport. Some Airport hotels
also charge the guest by hour instead of normal daily night charges.
 Suite Hotels: These kinds of hotels are the latest trend and the fastest growing
segments in the hotel industry. Such hotels have a living room and a separate bedroom.
Professionals such as accountants, lawyers, business men and executives find suite
hotels particularly attractive as they can work and also entertain in an area besides the
bedroom.
 Extended Stay Hotels: Extended stay hotels is somewhat similar to the suite hotels,
but usually offers kitchen amenities in the room. These kinds of hotels are for long a
stayer who want to stay more than a week and does not want to spend on hotel
facilities.
 Serviced Apartments: Serviced Apartment / Residential hotels provide long-term or
permanent accommodation for Guest. Usually guest makes a lease agreement with the
hotel for minimum of one month up to a year. Rooms generally include living room,
bedroom, kitchen, private balcony, washing machines, kitchen utensils etc. Unlike
normal hotels Serviced apartment only provide weekly one housekeeping service.
 Resort Hotels: Resort hotels are usually located in the mountains, on an island, or in
some other exotic locations away from cities. These hotels have recreational facilities,
scenery, and golf, tennis, and sailing, skiing and swimming. Resort hotels provide
enjoyable and memorable guest experiences that encourage guest to repeat to the
resort.
  Bed and Breakfast / Homestays: These are houses with rooms converted into
overnight facilities; this can size up to 1 to 10 guest rooms. They are also known as
'Home Stay's'. The owner of the B&B usually stays on the premises and is responsible
for serving breakfast to guest.
 Timeshare / Vacation Rentals: Another new type or segment of the hospitality industry
is the timeshare hotels. These are sometimes referred to as “Vacation-interval" hotels.
Timeshare hotels are where the guests who purchase the ownership of
accommodations for a specific period. These owners may also have the unit rented out
by the management company that operates the hotel.
 Casino Hotels: Hotels with gambling facilities are called Casino Hotels .Although the
food and beverage operations in casino is luxurious their functions is secondary to and
supportive of casino operations.
 Conference and Convention Centers: this type of hotels focus on meeting and
conferences and overnight accommodation for meeting attendees. They also provide
video conferencing facility, audiovisual equipment, business services, flexible seating
arrangements, flipchart etc. These hotels mostly located outside the metropolitan areas
and have facilities like golf, swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness centers, spas etc.
3. Levels Of service
 World class service: These are also called luxury / Five Start hotels; they target top
business executives, entertainment celebrities, and high- ranking political figures, and
wealthy clientele as their primary markets. They provide upscale restaurants and
lounges, Valet, concierge services and also private dining facilities.
 Mid-Range Service: Hotels offering mid-range or otherwise 3 to 4 star hotels service
appeal the largest segment of the travelling public. This kind of hotels does not provide
elaborate service and have an adequate staffing. They also provide uniformed service,
food and beverage room service, in room entertainment's and also Wi-Fi etc.
 Budget / Limited Service: These hotels provide clean, comfortable, safe, inexpensive
rooms and meet the basic need of guests. Budget hotels appeal primarily to budget
minded travelers who wants a room with minimum services and amenities required for
comfortable stay, without unnecessary paying additional cost for costly services.
4. Ownership and Affiliations
 Independent / Single Owner Hotels: They do not have identifiable ownership or
management affiliation with other properties. Example for the same would be family
owned and operated hotel that is not following any corporate policies or procedures.
 Chain hotels: Hotels which are part of a hotel chain and this kind of ownership usually
imposes certain minimum standards, rules, policies and procedures to restrict affiliate
activities. In general the more centralized the organization the stronger the control over
the individual property.