The hospitality industry is a broad sector that revolves around providing services to travelers, guests, and tourists. It encompasses various segments including lodging, food and beverage, travel and tourism, and event planning.
At its core, hospitality is all about offering comfort, convenience, and memorable experiences to people away from home.
Among the key pillars of the hospitality industry, accommodation plays a central role. Whether it’s a short weekend getaway or a long-term business trip, travelers need a place to rest, recharge, and feel secure.
The right accommodation not only enhances a guest’s travel experience but also influences their perception of the destination itself.
From luxurious five-star hotels to budget-friendly hostels, the diversity in lodging options caters to a wide range of preferences, budgets, and travel purposes.
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Accommodation
Staying arrangements is one of the basic needs of tourists at the destination during their trips.
It is a type of residential establishment which provide boarding and lodging to the travellers who stay away from their homes for more than a day and are in need of lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.
Let us briefly consider the various types of accommodation which are broadly classified into primary and secondary type.
1) Primary Accommodation
i) Hotel
A commercial establishment providing lodging, meals, and other guest services, is termed as hotel. Thus, a hotel is a place where a bonafide traveller can get food and accommodation where he is in a position to pay for it and is in a fit condition to be received.
Today, hotels not only provide accommodation and meals but also offer a variety of other services as per the needs of the guest. For example, many hotels offer a health club, crèche, etc.
ii) Types of hotels
Based on the facilities offered to the tourists, the hotels are broadly classified into the following types.
International Hotels
They are the modern western style hotels, found mostly in metro cities and at major tourist destinations and are located at prime locations in the city.
These hotels are classified on the basis of internationally accepted star grading which ranges from one star to five stars. The grading is given to the hotel depending on the facilities and services which the hotel provides.
The facilities which are provided by the five star are an information desk, conference centre, travel desk, multi cuisine restaurants, banquet halls, room service, swimming pool, gymnasium, health clubs, shopping arcades, beauty parlours, entertainment or cultural programmes, etc.
Floating Hotels
These types of hotels are located on the surface of water such as the sea, river, or lake. These hotels have facilities which are similar to a regular hotel.
For example : Houseboats of Kashmir and Kerala or old cruise liners which have been converted into a hotel.
Commercial Hotels
These hotels are located mostly near the business or commercial centres and mainly serve the business tourists, middle income tourists and their repeat customers.
Most of these hotels are equipped with parking space, restaurants, and facilities for their business guests such as convention centres and meeting rooms.
Heritage Hotels
These are the old properties like castles, forts, palaces, and havelis belonging to royalty which have been renovated and converted into hotels. Here, tourists enjoy the majestic grandeur and splendour of the olden days.
Some examples of heritage hotels are Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur, Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Shalini Palace in Kolhapur, Lalitha Mahal in Mysuru and Sheesh Mahal in Orchha.
iii) Resorts
Resort hotels are usually located in the mountains, on an island, or in some other exotic locations away from cities like sea side, hill stations, wildlife sanctuaries, etc.
These hotels have recreational and relaxation facilities, scenery which includes indoor and outdoor games like golf, tennis, sailing, skiing and swimming, gambling, spa, etc.
Resort hotels provide enjoyable and memorable guest experiences that encourage guests to repeat to the resort.
Resorts can be of various types and can be classified on the basis of climate, and topography. Broadly they are divided in the following categories:
Mountain and Hill Resorts
In India, almost all mountainous and hilly areas of India are dotted with places of tourist interest. In the north are the Himalayan ranges, blessed with scenic beauty which is beyond description.
Besides, there are high hills in the northeast and in and around the Nilgiris in the south. There are hill ranges of medium to low heights in the Western Ghats, Vindhyas, Satpuras and the Aravalis in addition to isolated hillocks elsewhere.
Hill resorts are divided into following three categories according to their altitude:
- Resorts at great heights (between 2,100–3,500 meters above mean sea level)
- Hill resorts at medium altitudes (between 1,200 and 2,100 meters above mean sea level)
- Hill resorts at low altitudes (between 800 and 1,200 meters above mean sea level)
Ski or Winter Resorts
A winter or ski resort is developed in cold locations, mostly having snow for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. One can enjoy holidays in these winter resorts in India and stay in the best winter resorts that offer ultimate luxury as well as some warm cozy time with loved ones.
Some examples of these are Grand Dragon (Laddakh), Avlan (Mussoorie), Solang Valley (Manali), Kasauli Resort (Kasauli) and Savoy hotel (Ooty), Auli (Uttarakhand), etc.
Beach Tourism or Sea-side Resorts
India’s long coastline of over 7000 Km from Kandla in Gujarat to Kolkata in West Bengal and along the islands offers an opportunity for the promotion of beach tourism
A number of beautiful beaches of Goa and that of Kovalam in Kerala are quite popular with the tourists. There are vast stretches of shining golden sands of beaches at Chorwad and Ahmedpur-Mandvi.
The Maharashtra coast has eight small beaches from Mumbai’s famous Juhu to Murud at a distance of 220 km. Goa’s 105 km long coastline has as many as 40 beaches, out of which 12 are very popular with the tourists.
Karnataka’s beaches are at Mangalore and Karwar. The sun-swept Marina beach in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) is the world’s second longest beach.
It runs for a distance of 12 km from Chennai harbour in the North to Santhome Church in the South. Two beaches of Andhra Pradesh, namely Ramakrishna Mission and Rishi Konda are located in close proximity of Vishakhapatnam. Orissa’s Gopalpur beach is surrounded by sand dunes.
Besides Puri and Konark, Chandipur near Balasore is known for its 55 km recession of the tides each day at its head. Digha beach of West Bengal is situated on the shores of Bay of Bengal.
With a total length of 6 km, it is one of the widest in the world amidst gently rolling sea and thick casuarinas forest on its two sides.
All-season Resorts
These are located at any places of natural scenic beauty with food services and amenities.
2) Supplementary and Secondary Accommodation
Supplementary accommodation plays a very important role in the total available tourist accommodation in a country. This type of accommodation can cater to both international as well as domestic tourist traffic.
The secondary accommodations are—
i) Motel
The concept of motel, a kind of hotel with parking, originated in the USA perhaps in the year 1925 in San Luis Obispo, near Los Angeles.
Since, the automobile trade was catching up, there was discovered a need for hotel for drivers and this was called a motel by an architect developer, Arthur Heineman’ (An extract from the article Smithsonianmag.com, December 12, 2016). Motel was meant for local motorists and foreign tourists travelling by road.
Primarily designed to serve the needs of motorists, motels almost exclusively meet the demand for transit accommodation. The services provided by motels include parking, garage facilities, accommodation, restaurant facilities, public catering and recreational facilities.
With a view to provide the above services to the motorists, all the motels are equipped with filling stations, repair services, accessories, garages, parking space, elevator service to the automobile entrance, restaurants, etc.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has developed the guidelines to approve motels in India so that a set standard can be established.
ii) Youth Hostels
Youth hostels made their first appearance in Germany in about 1900. In order to provide some sort of accommodation and services, the dormitories in the inns were equipped with cots, mattresses, sheets, and blankets.
The youth hostel can be defined as a building which offers clean, moderate, and inexpensive shelter to young travellers exploring their own country or other countries and travelling independently or in groups for holiday or educational purposes.
iii) Caravan and Camping Sites
These are very popular in some European countries as also in the United States. These are also known as open air hostels, tourist camps or camping grounds. Camping, originally practised by hikers on foot, is increasingly giving way to car camping.
The sites are usually located within the large cities in open spaces. Equipped to receive mobile accommodation in the form of caravans, the camping sites provide facilities for parking, tent-pitching, water, electricity, toilet, etc.
iv) Bed and Breakfast (B&B) Establishments or Home-stays
A Bed and Breakfast (B&B) is an intimate, independently run lodging establishment, where breakfast is included in the room rate. These are houses with rooms converted into overnight facilities; this can have up to 1 to 10 guest rooms. They are also known as ‘Home Stays’.
The owners of the B&B usually stay on the premises and are responsible for serving breakfast to the guests. Indian Tourism’s Home Stay Scheme is a golden opportunity for all those Apartment, Bungalow, or Cottage owners who can provide accommodation and food facility to domestic and international tourists.
This scheme is based on India’s core philosophy and tradition, Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam. This unique and profitable scheme will enable the property owners to introduce tourists to the culture, cuisine, customs and lifestyle of India.
A home stay is similar in concept to that of a bed and breakfast establishment. Guests are either accommodated in the family home, or in separate quarters nearby. Nowadays, most home stays provide their guests with just as much comfort as a reputable hotel.
There are a number of reasons why staying at a home stay can be preferable to staying in a hotel. These benefits are—distinctive and characterful accommodations, personalised service, local knowledge, home cooked food, celebrating festivals with local traditions, etc.
v) Forest Lodges
The rest houses at sanctuaries, which fill in the shortage of accommodation at such places, are called Forest Lodges. The state concerned makes land available free of cost, provides water and electricity connections and also undertake supporting construction for staff quarters, garbage and dormitory for drivers.
Their location is finalised with the concerned ministry and State Forest Department. ITDC is entrusted with the responsibility for the management of all the forest lodges. These lodges are very popular among nature tourists who love wildlife as they provide a clear view of the forests to the residents from the guest rooms.
Examples of forest lodges are Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, Bharatpur Sanctuary in Rajasthan and others.
vi) Circuit Houses
Circuit House is the accommodation for Government officers. There is one Circuit House in each city or a small town in all the States of India. They may even be called as Rest Houses.
The rates charged are very minimal and differ in case of an official trip or a personal stay. The rates are different for different parts of the country.
3) Other Types of Accommodations
i) Mansion
This type of accommodation is very popular in certain European countries mostly in Austria, Italy and Germany or some of the African countries.
It is a type of guesthouse or B&B, where in addition to lodging and breakfast, guests are also offered lunch and dinner. Pensions are usually family-run and cost less than other accommodation options.
ii) Inns
Inns is a concept that was first introduced by the Roman empire. It was a place for the travellers to stay for the night, where they were provided with shelter, food and also shelter for the horses.
Inns are similar to the sarai in India that was prevalent during that time.
iii) Chalet
As defined by the Webster’s dictionary, it is ‘a wooden dwelling with sloping roof’ and the floor edges go beyond the structure of the building found in Switzerland and the Alpine region.
They were originally used for dairy cattle during summer season but have been converted to vacation homes for ski and hiking tourists nowadays.
iv) Timeshare or 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 the ones in which the guests 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.
In a timeshare rental, the vacation property is owned by the guest for a specific period which is same every year. During the allotted time period, the guest has access to the property.
For example, if Mr. Gupta owns a two bedroom timeshare vacation home in Kerala for the last week of January, he is guaranteed a stay every year during the same time.
Looking at the growth potential, The Ministry of Tourist, Government of India, has prepared guidelines for approval and classification of time share resorts. They are classified in three subgroups— 3 Star, 4 Star and 5 Star.
Capsule Hotels
These were first opened in Osaka, Japan in 1979. These hotels serve mostly the business tourists. The rooms in the capsule are lined similar to that of a ‘double decker’, or sleeping compartment of an AC 2 tier train.
Common washrooms, vending machines and a lounge area are located on each floor. Facilities such as a bed, a television, flexible lighting, a box for valuables, etc., are provided in each capsule room.