The hotels are been classified depending on their size, location, target market, level of service, ownership & affiliation, and star ratings.

1. SIZE

Below 200 rooms – Very Small

Up to 200 rooms – Small

200 to 399 rooms – Medium

400 to 700 rooms – Large

More than 700 rooms – Mega

The above classification enables hotels of similar size to differentiate the operating procedures and statistical results.

2. LOCATION

AIRPORT HOTELS

These hotels are typically located near airports, it can also be called a transit hotel, and guests in transit use them for a short stay.  

BOATELS

Boatels are referred to as houseboats that provide luxurious service to the guests such as Shikara in Kashmir and Kettuvallam in Kerala.

CITY CENTER

These are located in the heart of the city near commercial areas and they do have high traffic on weekdays and occupancy is high.

MOTEL

They are small hotels usually located on highways, they provide lodging to the guests who are traveling and they have a lot of space for parking and the stay is for overnight.  

SUBURB HOTELS

They are located near urban areas and the room rates for this hotel are moderately low so budgeted guests prefer to stay.

FLOATING HOTELS

They are on cruise ships, large lakes, or rivers and it is located on rivers, sea or big lakes.  

RESORTS

They are on the beaches, mountains, islands, or on the river banks, the guest who comes for relaxation and wants to enjoy the vacation peacefully.  

ROTELS

These are hotels on wheels such as the Deccan Odyssey train and they provide a luxurious atmosphere.  

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3. TARGET MARKET

Hotels target many markets and can be classified according to the markets which usually attract the guest. The common type of markets includes business, airport, suites, residential, resort, casino, convention, and conference hotels.  

BUSINESS HOTELS

These hotels are the largest group of hotel types and their primary focus is to provide service to business travelers and it is usually located in downtown or business areas where it makes it convenient for traveler guests. Although Business hotels primarily serve business travelers, many tour groups, individual tourists, and small conferences where these groups find these hotels attractive and comfortable. Guest amenities which include in business hotels are complimentary newspapers, tea & coffee, free local telephone calls, breakfast, free internet service, bathroom amenities, etc.  

AIRPORT HOTELS

These types of hotels typically target business clientele, airline passengers with overnight travel layovers or canceled flights, and also airline crews, or airport staff. Some hotels provide free transportation and some hotels charge the guest by the hour instead of normal daily night charges.  

SUITE HOTELS

These kinds of hotels are the latest trend and the fastest-growing segments of the hotel industry which offer living rooms and a separate suite bedroom. Professionals such as accountants, lawyers, businessmen, and executives find suite hotels attractive and their first choice as they can interact with their guests in small meetings without any interruption and sacrificing privacy and also entertain in an area beside the bedroom.  

EXTENDED STAY HOTELS

Extended stay hotels are somewhat the same as suite hotels but usually offer kitchen amenities in the room. These kinds of hotels are for long-stayers who want to stay more than a week and do not want to spend on hotel facilities.  

SERVICED APARTMENTS

Serviced Apartment is also called as Residential hotels, it provides long-term or permanent accommodation for a guest. The guest needs to execute a lease agreement with the hotel for a minimum of one month up to a year. Rooms generally include a living room, bedroom, kitchen, private balcony, washing machines, kitchen utensils, etc. In these types of hotels, housekeeping services are provided once a week. etc.  

RESORT HOTELS

Generally, these types of hotels do locate in the mountains, beaches, also islands, or some kind of exotic place which are away from cities. Usually, these hotels are ideal for the vacationer who wants to relax and enjoy with their family. These hotels do have recreational facilities, scenery, golf, tennis, sailing, skiing, and swimming. These hotels provide such an enjoyable and memorable stay which encourage guest to visit back again to the resort.

BED AND BREAKFAST

Generally, these hotels are small in size which usually targets guests in transit or on leisure tours. Probably the owner of the B&B stays on the premises and takes responsibility for serving breakfast to the guest.    

CASINO HOTELS

The hotels that provide gambling facilities are called Casino Hotels. They mostly target those guests who are interested in gambling and they have a guest room and food & beverage operation but the food and beverage operations in the casino hotel are luxurious, very supportive & secondary to their functions and housekeeping is primary.  

CONFERENCE AND CONVENTION CENTRE

These types of hotels mainly focus on meetings and conferences and provide overnight accommodation for meeting attendees. They also provide facilities such as video conferencing, audio-visual equipment, business services, flexible seating arrangements, etc. These hotels are mostly located outside the metropolitan areas and have facilities like golf, swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness center, spas, etc..…………………..

According to Solly Assa, a famous real estate developer from New York, hotels can be divided by different criteria (location, length of stay, type and level of services, etc.). He personally knows this this qualification by:

The way of serving - hotel board and hotel-garni;

Duration of stay - a family hotel and hostel for new arrivals;

The purpose of stay - rest, treatment, sport, trade and business;

The location - urban, mountain, road, hotel on the coast;

The connection of transport nodes - Postal hotel (to mailing base), hotel to the bus or train station, hotel to port, airport hotel, etc.;

The form of travel for tourists - party hotel (groups of tourists) and hotel with the same price (to cover excursions and exotic tourism);

The number of rooms, or, according to the capacities vary - small, medium and big hotels ("Hotel Izmailovo" in Moscow is world's largest hotel with 7,500 rooms);

Solly Assa’s favorite classification is according to the class of hotel - luxury, first, second, third class;

Or stars - one, two, three, four, five stars;

Duration of exploitation - a hotel for the whole year for one season, two seasons;

The type of ownership - owned by a private individual, or owned by a company.

In some classifications there are some other criteria still being used:

transit hotel - room payment only and can be cheap or very expensive;

European type - no food;

American type - includes all meals;

modified type - the price includes breakfast;

casino-hotel - provides accommodation for card players. Free rooms for regular customers and customers who pledged large sums;

a conference-hotel -  is meant only for groups and conferences. It can be used for vacation or belongs to the authorities in the field of education;

accommodation for vacation - have the conditions for rest;

spa hotel - with conditions for rest and treatment;

Hotel & Suites - available with two rooms and a small kitchen, an American breakfast and cocktail hour (happy hour - reduced prices for drinks in certain hours) - resembling motels for vacation - have maids;

"Guest house" - a small hotel which offers breakfast (bed and breakfast).