An important part of organizing tourism activities is creating accommodation for travelers. Due to the wide variety of tourism and its goals, there are many types of such organizations. A unified classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities has not yet been developed, but there are several basic approaches.
Individual and collective accommodation facilities
The simplest classification of accommodation is based on the number of guests. International practice divides such places into individual and collective. The first includes personal apartments, cottages, summer residences and similar objects that are rented to tourists for living. The second - hotels, pensions, motels, tourist centers. It is the latter group that is the subject of our consideration. Their diversity allows us to classify collective accommodation facilities on various grounds. Among such placements, one can distinguish hotels and similar establishments (hostels, motels), specialized recreation places (summer camps, health resorts - sanatoriums, rest houses, public transport facilities - botels, rotelas, congress centers, other collective recreational places (campsites , tent parking and the like).
The concept of hotels and accommodation
Any classification of hotels, accommodation facilities is based on certain signs of objects. But before talking about typologies, you need to understand which institutions can be attributed to hotels. They have certain signs:
- have a number of rooms;
- provide various services, not including bedding, cleaning;
- have a single guide.
A wide class of hotels means such establishments as hotels, guest houses, hostels, motels.
Classification Options
The classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities can be carried out on various grounds:
- In size.
- By target markets. In this case, the basis for dividing into groups is the purpose for which tourists come. On this basis, there are hotels for tourists, travelers, business travelers. That is, transit and permanent places of residence.
- By price level. Allocate budget, economical, medium, apartments, fashionable placements.
- According to the mode of operation: year-round and seasonal.
- According to the degree of comfort.
It is also possible classification of accommodation and other signs. This information is outlined below.
Comfort level
There is also a classification of accommodation facilities according to the level of services provided. The criteria for referring to a particular group are: the number of rooms in the hotel, the equipping of common areas, equipment, maintenance, the number of staff, accessibility for people with disabilities. In this classification, the following hotels are distinguished:
- Luxury. Such institutions are located most often in the city center, in the most prestigious buildings, have a large service staff, reaching a ratio of 1: 1. They always have an excellent, designer, often themed, room decoration, exclusive furniture, a lot of different equipment, good kitchen, room stock of only a high level. Usually in such hotels there are no more than 400 rooms, and more often much less.
- High class hotels. Such establishments can have a sufficiently large (up to 2000) and diverse number of rooms, are located in the city, they are characterized by high-quality design and modern equipment, well-trained staff and a wide range of services at prices above average.
- The average level. The hotels of the mass segment can be very large, the number of rooms includes both deluxe rooms and budget options, the design is standard, as well as the list of services. The staff is professional, but in small quantities. Such hotels can be located within the city and in the suburbs, and prices are in the middle of the region.
- Aparthotel A special type of self-catering apartment-type hotels with a kitchen: the staff only prepares rooms for the arrival of guests. Typically, the situation in such institutions is rather modest, but there is everything you need, including kitchen equipment. There are few rooms, prices are average and below average.
- Economy class hotels. Such institutions are designed for the unpretentious tourist, there is a minimum of amenities, staff and equipment, but low prices.
The size
Classification of accommodation facilities by size allows you to highlight:
- Small hotels. In Europe and the USA, hotels with up to 100 rooms are considered as such, while in Russia the scale is smaller and a small hotel is an institution with no more than 50 rooms.
- Average hotels. From 100 to 300 numbers, and in Russia up to 200.
- Great hotels. They usually have from 300 to 600 rooms.
- The giants. These are hotels with a huge number of rooms - over 600 pieces. In the USSR, such was the hotel "Russia".
International classification
The classification system for accommodation facilities may vary from country to country. All over the world, the most popular typology is the starryness of hotels, but in the UK, for example, crowns or keys are used instead, and in India a point system is adopted.
To classify a hotel into a certain category, many factors are taken into account, but most often they include: the state of the number of rooms, the quality and quantity of services offered, including additional services, the quality of food, the condition of the building and surrounding areas, the design of the room and geographical location, number and the level of staff.
Characterization of the "star" classification
In international practice, the following parameters have been established that a hotel must meet in order to be assigned to a certain category:
- One star. Such hotels offer minimal comfort, usually they have few rooms, most of which are multi-seat, and the bathroom is usually shared. They do not have additional services, often do not even offer food.
- Two stars. These hotels offer overnight and shower services. Everything else is for a fee. Usually in the same building there is a cafe or restaurant, the number of rooms is modest, with a small number of singles.
- Three stars. This is the most common type of hotel offering a standard set of services: overnight, breakfast, and a bathroom in the room. They have a large list of additional services.
- Four stars. These are luxury hotels: here we are talking not only about the range of services, but also about the excellent design and service.
- Five Stars. Everything here speaks of luxury: location, room decoration, design, kitchen in the restaurant. Hotels offer a huge range of services. To live in such hotels is not only comfortable, but also prestigious.