3.

Types of Accomodation

Accommodation is a concern of every traveller, whether looking for a place to pitch a tent or
a luxury suite in a fancy resort. Booking accommodation, dealing with the vast array of
accommodation options, and considering alternative lodging options are all issues that
travellers face.

Finding accommodation can be one of the most frustrating aspects of planning your travels.
There are two ways to solve the accommodation problem: booking in advance or finding a
place on the day.

Booking in advance

Booking in advance gives the traveller peace of mind that they will have somewhere to sleep
once they arrive at their destination. It is also a good idea when travelling to a popular tourist
destination.

This can be done in a number of ways:

 Over the internet

 Through a travel agent
 Over the telephone

On the day

If you have planned your trip yourself, which means you have not decided to use a package
from a travel agent, sometimes finding accommodation when you arrive is the best option.

It is sometimes frustrating to read a guidebook and look for the listed recommendations trying
to decipher an unfamiliar map. However, it is sometimes easier to do this rather than tracking
down listings, especially for the first night.

Larger cities and popular tourist destinations may have "tourist information offices". These
may be operated by the local government, a consortium of local hotels and attractions, or
independent parties (of varying trustworthiness). These frequently offer listings of hotels and
other lodging options (e.g. hostels, bed-and-breakfasts). Some act as booking agents for
hotels, placing visitors in facilities with vacancies (though there may be a fee for this service).

Types of accomodation

Hostels (often referred to as "youth hostels" or "backpackers") are a loosely-defined form of

guesthouse, generally low-budget compared to other places to sleep. Although often used by
youth there is usually no upper age limit.

Hotels provide private serviced rooms for guests. They range from very basic budget-style to
extremely luxurious accommodation.
Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) and Guesthouses provide hotel style rooms. However, they are
typically smaller residences and you will interact with your hosts and other guests, often
eating together and sharing common spaces.
Car camping, Caravanning, RV camping... it goes by many names, and the experience
varies widely, but this form of camping involves carrying your equipment in your motor
vehicle, which you drive right to your campsite. Unlike more traditional camping, car
camping allows you to carry quite a bit more equipment, and the focus is usually to enjoy the
site, cook-outs, day hikes, and other outdoor activities.
Camping is do-it-yourself accommodation: you carry your roof and your bedding in your
backpack or your car. It's often the only choice of accommodation you have when you're
travelling off the beaten track, but there are also very popular sites for camping holidays. You
generally need to get permits either in advance or on arrival.
House Sitting. While travelling many people use house sitting as a form of accommodation.
It is free accommodation while you get to live in the comfort of a house. House sitting
involves an agreement between the house sitter and the home owner that the house sitter will
occupy a house while the home owner is away. Generally the house sitters will be responsible
for minor household responsibilities (e.g. keep house clean, bring in post etc).
Services that hotels provide

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities

provided may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with
bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a fridge and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs,
a flatscreen television and en-suite bathrooms.
Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger,
higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool,
business centre (with computers, printers and other office equipment), childcare, conference
and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa and social
function services.
Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow
guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms.
Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies
have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-service hotel facility
offers luxury amenities, full service accommodations, an on-site restaurant, and the highest
level of personalized service, such as a concierge, room service and clothes pressing
staff. Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with a large number of
full service accommodations, an on-site full service restaurant, and a variety of on-
site amenities.
Boutique hotels are smaller independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale
facilities. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments offer a limited amount of on-
site amenities.
Economy hotels are small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic
accommodations with little to no services. Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized
hotels that offer longer-term full service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel.
The organization and operation of hotels

A functional organizational structure provides a hierarchy with one or two executives

overseeing the entire operation. The organization is then broken down into functional groups.
Examples of functional groups would include housekeeping, food and beverage services,
concierge and front desk services. Administrative groups would include sales, accounting and
human resources. Other services related to maintaining the hotel and its surrounding property
would include engineering, security, groundskeeping and general maintenance.

Executives

All operations and financial budgets of a hotel are often overseen by one executive with the
job title of general manager. Many hotels employ an assistant general manager who reports to
the general manager. Because these organizations are typically a 24-hour operation to
accommodate guest, an evening shift supervisor is often required to successfully oversee all
operations.

Oversight

Each functional group is overseen and directed by a supervisor, who reports to the general
manager. The number of employees required in each functional group determines how many
workers each supervisor oversees. In a functional organizational structure, there can be a
determination as to how many supervisors oversee each functional area without interfering
with business operations of other functional areas. Depending on the size of the hotel, some
functional areas may require a day and evening supervisor. If a small staff is required during
overnight shifts, those employees may be supervised by the assistant general manager to
control personnel costs.
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

200 to 399 rooms

400 to 700 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 travellers and usually located in downtown or business districts.
Although Business hotels primarily serves business travellers, 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 type 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 Ariport
hotels also charges the guest by hour instead of normal daily night charges.

 Suite Hotels: These kind 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 kind of hotels are for longstayers
who wants 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 city's . These hotels have recreational facilities,
scenery, golf, tennis, 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 stay 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 Centres: These 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 centres, spas etc.

3. Levels of Service

 World class service: These are also called luxury / Five Start hotels, they target top
business executives, entertainment celebrities, 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 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 travellers 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 these kind of ownership
usually imposes certain minimum standards, rules, policies and procedures to restrict
affiliate activities. In general the more centralised the organisation the stronger the
control over the individual property.
Factors that contribute to the successful operation of a hotel

Customer Service

Customer service is an integral part of the hotel experience. Clayton Barrows, author of
“Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry,” explains how the front-desk worker
serves as the gatekeeper of the hotel. This employee provides the customer’s first and last
impression. Thus, hotels achieve a critical success factor by ensuring the staff is
knowledgeable, courteous and capable of resolving any conflicts that arise. Providing quality
service also entails remembering the names and preferences of repeat visitors and giving
advice about attractions and surroundings.

Advertising

Successful hotels target specific consumers and will cater their prices, amenities and
advertising strategies to this group. For example, some hotels advertise as an ideal location for
business travelers by giving corporate discounts. This type of hotel also promotes itself as a
venue for business meetings, displaying its on-site conference rooms in magazines aimed at
executives.

Cost Control

Managing costs is a critical factor in a hotel’s success. Most hotels vary their rates according
to high and low seasons. Additionally, the establishment of a loyalty program enables hotels
to lower rates for repeat guests while charging different rates for others. One of the ways
hotels plan is through reservations programs that forecast demand beyond 90 days. Computer
programs also enable managers to identify the customers most willing to spend money and on
which items. From this knowledge, the manager can advertise directly to the person before
arrival by offering packages, upgrades and other incentives. Successful hotels also balance the
cost of workers' wages, food and beverages, and electricity and maintenance with profits
deriving from booked rooms, amenities, gift shops and food and beverages.

Product Differentiation

Hotels thrive by offering guests a unique experience. This uniqueness may stem from the
location. Other times, the differentiation is within the hotel itself, for instance thrive by
providing specific services that cater to the theme of the hotel.
Hotel Staff

Hotel staff - is the appearance of every hotel. People, working in the hotel, form the attitude
of the clients to the hotel no less than the interior or the menu. Among the most common jobs
represented in the hotel are: concierge, doorman, maid, technician, maître d'hôtel, cook,
waiter, security guard, manager of the hotel. Big hotels hire animators, doctors, masseurs,
dealers as permanent employees. It is considered a sign of a good tone for a modern hotel to
have an independent specialist for public relations and PR-manager.
The range of professions, which are taught in the hotel industry, is rather wide: from
financiers to specialists in the field of spa, recruitment and telephone conversations.

The amount of the staff engaged in hotel activity largely depends on the status of the hotel.
According to the recommendations of the World Tourist Organization, the optimum number
of staff per 10 rooms in 3-star hotels 8 persons, in 4-star hotels 12 persons, in 5-star hotels 20
persons. What regards the level of payment, there is still no common approach. The amount of
salary depends on a wide array of factors: country, belonging to a major corporation,
seasonality, etc. Among the basic skills, that a professional engaged in hotel business must
have, are: the ability to handle stress, punctuality, knowledge of foreign languages, and
attention to details. Those requirements are universal for managerial staff as well as service
staff.
Quality assurance as a practice in the hospitality industry goes back to the first days of
franchising. American mobility was the basis for establishments to franchise starting with
well-known brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1930, Dunkin Donuts in 1950, Burger
King in 1954, and McDonald's in 1955. It was only natural for hotels to follow these early
pioneers in the space, and with this move came the need for quality assurance.
Its function continues to evolve, and many organizations today are looking at how to leverage
this onsite workforce for competitive advantage. The primary purpose of quality assurance
was the proverbial stick, especially in franchise agreements. Checklists included physical
items such as exterior signage, room elements down to the number of hangers in the closet,
amenities in the bathroom and procedural elements of the stay like check-in and check-out
processes, room service, wake-up calls, and the like.
Inspectors were trained for consistency. Subjectivity was specifically eliminated from the
evaluation, e.g., the size and nature of a stain on the guest room carpet dictated its relevance
to the overall measures of room cleanliness or conditions.
Service evaluations were yes/no responses on items, such as the number of rings for call to be
answered, use of the guest name, etc. When new programs were rolled out by the brands
internally or externally, the quality assurance team was the conduit to ensure proper
presentation and adherence to the new standards.

Customer care at hotels

Customer service is an internal and integral part of the processes of each hotel. If there’s any
place where customers are likely to be paying attention to the type of service they receive, it’s
within the hospitality industry. A job as a hospitality service provider is to maintain customer
happiness and satisfaction. Keep your customers at the forefront of your operational plans to.
Pleased customers are looking for a memorable experience and dynamic service where it
counts. To be on the receiving end of customers’ satisfactory ratings in surveys and among
their network, anticipate their needs and be able to have your staff deliver accordingly.

Quality customer service

As a start provide genuine and quality customer service. Provide even more creative,
personalized service to your customers than your competitors One size shoe does not fit all
feet. Nor is one type of customer service suitable for all your customers.

Quality customer service is to meet the customer’s expectations for the material product that
we sell as well as the fulfillment of expectations for subjective benefits they expect to derive
from the transaction with us. The quality of customer service therefore depends solely on
subjective expectations. The expectation is that we can manage, that we can serve them. If
you meet their expectations, then you have managed to really serve them. If we manage to
overcome their expectations with an element of surprise (e.g.: a gift, a companion service, a
warm sincere smile of understanding, etc.), then and only then will we have managed to
satisfy them.
Expectations vary

Expectations of course vary from person to person depending on the personality of each
client. A disgruntled customer behaves in many different ways; therefore you should behave
individually to each client. So, be creative. Get to personally know your customers and
recognize their individual needs. Above all, make certain that what you are offering really is
something that your customer can value; that’s the key to good customer service.

Customer loyalty is fundamental

Happy customers are loyal customers. Repeat customers are vital for hotels. Not only is it
important for you to provide stellar service, but awesome products as well. Make it a point to
be on the fast track for keeping up with trends that your customers may follow such as
building personal assistance services for traveling customers or making special concessions
for passionate repeat consumers. Keep customers loyal by focusing on them at all times!.

Let customers vent

Give your customers an outlet for telling you about poor experiences. When you have
customers who have had a negative experience, make it easy and clear for them to not only
tell you about it but get it off their chest to you and not someone else. Don’t patronize them
when they are disgruntled. Try hard to fix the problem – communication is key – and
remember keep calm and try to resolve the situation so the customer ultimately goes away
happy.

In conclusion, the key word in quality customer service is ‘expectations’. So we need to

provide special attention to the expectations we create and the way we manage them. The aim
for customer satisfaction is to exceed their expectations. Understanding customer expectations
is the key step to satisfaction. Take out of your mind and your vocabulary the sign of the
“difficult and strange customer”. See all your customers as positive, investigate their
expectations and positively manage their aspirations to satisfy them!

Events that hotels might host

Hotels offer several possibilities either for organising business events or special occassions of
individuals.
Business events can be described by a mosaic word MICE that involves meetings, incentives,
conferences and exchibitions.
Meeting can be defined as any number of people coming together in one place for a particular
activity. It can be a one-time event or it may recur regularly. A conference is similar but
usually has a specific objective and exchange of information. A congress is usually a larger
gathering.
Incentive travel is given to employees as a reward. It doesn't usually have a business or
explicit educational component but instead is more of a non-business vacation with the aim of
continued motivation for performance. It might involve the family of the employee or it could
be a reward for a workgroup. Such events also include Christmas parties or team building
weekends.
At an exhibition, products or services are displayed and they may be the primary focus of the
event. Other conferences and events may have an exhibition as one of the components.
Businesses court new clients and debut their latest offerings.

Individuals also like to organise a lot of events and celebrations at hotels such as birthday
parties, engagement parties, wedding receptions and anniversaries, Christening or funeral.

Chain Hotels in Hungary

A chain hotel or hotel chain is a group of hotels which belong to the same company or owner,
or are associated in some way.
Marketshare: Danubius Hotels 7.5 %
Hungest Hotels 4.9 %
Mercure 2.5 %
Novotel 1.9 %
Accent Hotels 1.8 %