TOPIC 5

ACCOMMODATION AND
CATERING SERVICES

Outcomes
Explain the structure and nature of the
hospitality sector, distinguishing between
the various categories of tourist
accommodation and catering services
Describe how accommodation is classified
and be aware of the problems involved in
classification
Understand the nature of demand for
accommodation and catering and how the
sector has responded to changing patterns
of demand over time
Understand the relationship between the

Introduction
In 1990, only one in five people stayed in
a hotel now thats one in three. Its no
coincidence that thats the time in which
branded budget has grown
Grant Hearn, 2008

The structure of the

accommodation sector
Comprise of serviced and self-catering facilities.
Hotels are the most significant and widely
recognized form of overnight accommodation.
This is also one of the key element of most
package holidays.
Enormous number of international hotel chain
with various different concepts and prevalent.
(Franchise, Management contracts etc).
Styles of accommodation range from boutique,
luxury to no-frill hotels.

Commercial Sector
Serviced

SelfCatering

Hotels
Motels
Private Hotels
Guest Houses
Farmhouses

Caravan and
Campsites
Villa,
apartments,
chalets, hired
motor homes

Holiday centres, Villages, Camps

Cruise
ships

Hired
yachts

Quasi/Non-commercial sector
Serviced

SelfCatering
Private

Youth hostels
YMCAs

caravans
Private camping
Private motor
homes
Private yachts
Home
exchanges
Timeshare
Second homes
VFR

Educational institutions

The corporate chains

Notable leading hotel chains are:
(2007)
InterContinental Hotel Group 3700
properties in over 100 countries
Hilton Hotels 2985 units
Marriot International 2900 units
Starwood Hotels and Resorts 870 units
Accor 3800 units
Envergure Hotels -

Brand Extension
Recently there has been a trend to initiate
brand extensions across products
E.g. Bulgari and Versace has invested in
hotel sector
Maxim, a mens magazine, has opened a
Las Vegas hotel and casino.

Budget hotels
It is in the budget sector of the hotel
industry that growth has been strongest in
recent years, with 50 percent growth in
the five years to 2007 and forecasts that
this market will treble by2027.
Sometimes termed as limited service
hotels
E.g. Granada, Travelodge, Premier Inn

The character property

The competition between luxury hotels
has led to new forms of market
segmentations based on product
differentiation.
Country house or town hotel place
emphasis on giving personal service
Boutique and designer hotels have
attracted wide publicity

Burj Al Arab

Consortia
In an effort to counteract the distributions
strengths of large chain, independent
hotels around the world have frequently
branded together to form loosely knit
consortia.

Classifying and Grading

Accommodation
Classifying is widely considered by tourist when
choosing accommodation.
Three distinguish terms need to be considered;
Categorization: separation of
accommodation by type, that is distinguish
between hotels, motel, boarding houses,
guest houses etc.
Classification: distinguishes
accommodation on the basis of certain
physical features, such as the number of
rooms with private bath or shower, etc.
Grading: identifies accommodation
according to certain verifiable objective

English Tourism Council Star

Ratings
*
Acceptable overall level of quality. Adequate
provision of furniture, furnishings and fittings.
One star hotels tend to be smaller, privately
owned, properties. Accommodation is simple and
practical with limited facilities and services. At
least 75% of bedrooms will have en-suite or
private bath/shower rooms. There is an eating
area offering breakfast to residents and their
guests, plus a licensed bar or lounge. Dinner may
or may not be offered. Friendly and courteous
staff offering efficient if limited levels of service.

English Tourism Council Star

Ratings
**
Two star hotels tend to be small, privately owned
properties, including resort hotels, Inns and Small
commercial hotels. Accommodation offers a good
degree of space and convenience. Dcor and
furnishings may be simple but are well maintained. All
bedrooms will have en-suite or private facilities.
Services may be limited but efficient, provided by
proprietor, management or well-trained staff.
Breakfast is offered daily to residents and their guests.
Dinner is available at least five nights per week.

English Tourism Council Star

Ratings
***
A more formal style of hotel, likely to be larger
than one and two star hotels, with a greater
range of facilities and services. Bedroom
accommodation will be spacious and designed for
comfort and convenient use, including colour
television, telephones, radios and desk/dressing
table areas. Public areas will include lounge
seating, a restaurant and bar.
More formal service will include a staffed
Reception desk. Dinner will be provided seven
nights per week and light snack lunches are
available in the bar or lounge, together with a

English Tourism Council Star

Ratings
****
More formal service is expected at this level. Accommodation is
of a very high standard, offering a wide range of facilities and
services. All bedrooms will be designed and furnished for
comfort and ease of use, with very good quality furniture, beds
and soft furnishings. All rooms will have en-suite bath and
shower facilities.
Service will reflect attention to detail and quality. There must
be a formal reception and porters desks with uniformed staff
offering a proactive style of service. The restaurant will be open
for lunch and dinner seven days per week. Serious attention is
paid to food and drink. Table service is available in the bar or
lounge. Cooked and continental breakfast available, cold
snacks and beverages available from Room Service 24 hours
per day.
Where leisure facilities are provided these will be of a high
quality, very well maintained and supervised as appropriate.

English Tourism Council Star

Ratings

*****
Accommodation must be of luxury quality with
services to match. Spacious bedroom suites and public
areas. A selection of catering options all offering
cuisine and service of the highest international quality.
Extensive range of facilities include leisure, retail and
conference services. Highly trained, professional staff
providing exceptional levels of anticipatory service.

The nature of demand for

accommodation facilities
Demand for hotel product is dependent on
five characteristics;
Location
Mix of facilities(bedrooms, restaurants,
other public rooms and leisure facilities).
Image
Services
Price

Bed and Breakfast Unit

These are generally family-run, catering to
business tourists in the towns and to
leisure tourists in the country towns, rural
areas and the seaside.
B&Bs particularly provide the valuable
service of informality and the friendliness
sought by many tourists.
B&Bs are very popular in Europe and in
North America.

Farmhouse Holiday Accommodation

Houses built in farms that caters to
tourists.
The simultaneous trend to healthier
lifestyles and the appeal of natural food
and the outdoor life, have helped to make
farm tourism popular.
One study reveals that 15%of all farms in
England have some form of tourism
project on their land.

Second Home and Timeshare Ownership

Increase in disposable income has led to

the massive growth in second home in
ownership
Nations such as Spain, France, Greece and
Malaysia have attractive offerings
Timeshare is a scheme whereby an
apartment or villa is sold to several coowners, each of whom purchase the night
to use the accommodation for a given
period of the year.
A number of timeshare exchange

Educational Accommodation
Universities and other institutions of
higher education enhance their revenue
through the rental of student
accommodation during the academic
holidays.
This is mainly marketed for budget
holidays to tour operations and others
More than 1.5 million holidays are sold
each year in the UK using the
accommodation of educational institutions

Distribution of Accommodation
There are myriad of options to effectively
distribute and market the accommodation
Virtually all of the larger hotel chains, and
many smaller hotel companies, have today
installed their own computer reservation
systems to cope with worldwide demand
for immediate confirmation on availability
and reservation
Tour operators, travel agents, Global
Distribution System (GDS) are common
intermediaries inherent within the
distribution of accommodation

CATERING
Catering is the
business of providing
foodservice at a remote
site or a site such as a
hotel, public house
(pub), or other location.

Distinguishing tourism

catering
Catering, often seen along with hotels as
distinct from other elements of the tourism
products, is nevertheless a vital ingredient
of the tourism experience and, it
sometimes provides the prime motivation
for a journey.

The meal experience

Food and drink

Service
Dcor, furnishing and fittings
atmosphere