Whether you're a travel and tourism or a hospitality student, whether you love traveling or whether you're just going on a holiday, it's pretty handy to know what are the different types of hotels that are available to you. So in this video I am going to introduce you to the different types of hotels, what they are, so that when you're looking for your accommodation for your next trip you will understand exactly what you are booking and why. And if you are new to this channel my name is Dr Hayley Stainton and I teach people the theory behind the facts when it comes to travel and tourism.
There are so many different types of hotels all around the world. In fact, the tourism industry is becoming more varied, more dynamic, more niche in so many different ways that we're seeing lots of different types of hotels popping up. but we've never heard of before. Now the different types of hotels are largely targeted towards the types of tourists.
So for example business hotels will offer things that business tourists might want. Leisure hotels will offer things that leisure tourists might want. Leisure hotels might be broken down into family-centered hotels, singles, couples etc. And this really provides the foundations for the different types of hotels and the varied travel and tourism industry that we have nowadays.
So before I tell you about the different types of hotels let's first establish one. What is a hotel? Well to put it simply a hotel is a building that provides accommodation for people. Hotels might also provide other things such as food and leisure facilities. Hotels are a short term accommodation.
There aren't many people, although there are some, who live long term in hotels. It's normally for a night, a few nights, maybe a few weeks. So why is the hotel industry important? Well it's a big part of travel and tourism.
We need somewhere to stay. In fact the accommodation sector is a key component of tourism and if you're not sure what the components of tourism are you can find out here. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization definition of tourism which some argue is not the be-all and end-all as I talk about in my video where I discuss why there's not really any true definition of tourism but according to the UN which is the most widely cited definition they prescribe that in order to be a tourist you must stay away from home for at least one night so you need a place to stay. Now, of course, there are other places you can stay apart from hotels, but up until today, and things may change in the future because the travel and tourism industry is rapidly evolving and developing, especially with the growth of companies like Airbnb and the sharing economy.
But up until now, hotels have always been the most popular type of accommodation within the tourism industry. So what are these different types of hotels? Airport hotels are hotels that are located at the airport. This is perfect for passengers who have early flights or who might arrive late into an airport or for transiting passengers.
Sometimes airport hotels might actually be located within the airport which is pretty cool but oftentimes they are located just very very close perhaps connected by an air bridge to the airport perhaps just over the road they will often put on shuttle buses for you as well. An apart hotel is a combination of an apartment and a hotel. It offers the conveniences of an apartment such as cooking facilities separate living area from your sleeping area. Whereas typically a hotel will just offer you one room and you won't be able to cook or prepare food in that room. Apart hotels can be perfect for groups, especially families.
I for one know that it's nice to be able to put the kids to bed and not have to creep around in the dark because you're all sleeping in the same room. I also know that it can be super convenient to just be able to get up, make the kids some breakfast without having to get dressed, go downstairs, go to a restaurant, sit and wait etc. So apart hotels can be a great solution for lots of different types of people. A bed and breakfast, also known as a B&B, is quite an intimate, homely experience. People like me, like you, would buy a house, usually a large house, and they would often convert it.
So they will put certain rooms as guest rooms. The clues in the title, that when you stay there, you get breakfast. And usually this will be a traditional English cooked breakfast or a continental breakfast.
Usually it will be cooked by the owners because B&Bs are small. They're intimate. It's it's almost like staying in somebody's home Oftentimes the owners will come and chat with you. They'll sit with you. They'll get to know you It's it's a real kind of homestay experience really bed and breakfast accommodation is particularly popular in the UK Especially at seaside resorts and in country areas places like Brighton Blackpool are full of B&Bs Staying in a boutique hotel can be a really unique experience boutique hotels are typically small and they tend to have some kind of theme or something that is special about them.
They could be decorated in a particular style for example. Maybe they are centered around a film. Maybe they have a local tradition and influence.
Boutique hotels will typically have that that stand out. nature about them. Chain hotels are, just as the name suggests, part of a chain.
There are lots of popular chains, many of which are multinational corporations, meaning that they are big businesses that are found in different countries around the world. Popular examples include Hilton Hotel, Marriott Hotel, Travelodge, Ibis, just to name a few. These can be great because you know what you're buying into. The standards are pretty much the same no matter where you go. So whether you're booking a room in a Marriott Inn...
Shanghai or London or Delhi or Buenos Aires it doesn't matter where you go the standard is always going to be of a similar style and of the same level now in one way this is great but for me I try where possible to avoid chain hotels and multinational corporations the reason for this is because they are international corporations it means that the money you spend on the hotel the vast majority of it is going to leak out of the local destination so in contrast to a bed-and-breakfast where all of your money will be going to local people and benefiting the local economy as i talk about in my video all about the economic impacts of tourism if you stay in a chain hotel your money is leaking out of the country and it's probably going back to america or europe wherever the hotel chain is owned this is known as economic leakage and it's really not great for the local community or the local economy eco hotels are a great example of sustainable tourism sustainable tourism is tourism that will last it has has little damage on the environment and environmentally friendly practices. Sustainable tourism is on the rise throughout the world, so eco-hotels are something that we are going to see more and more of in the coming years. Eco-hotels will typically have solar panels, use recycled water, do less laundry, those sorts of things to limit their impact on the environment. These hotels are typically independently owned, but there are a few chain eco-hotels too. Eco-hotels are popular around the world, but there are some specific destinations that are known for having fantastic eco hotels.
Examples include the Gambia in Africa and Costa Rica in Central America. A gastro hotel is a hotel that focuses on food. So if you are a foodie you will probably love gastro hotels.
Some of these hotels will have on-site vegetable patches, some will have michelin star restaurants and these hotels are typically very popular with foodies. Golf resorts are resorts that are found on golf courses. They are very popular with golf golfers because it means that you can stay on the course your whole holiday can be centered around your golfing experience and golfing holiday is a popular type of niche tourism golfing holidays are typically quite expensive as our golf resorts so it's not for people who are on a budget but at the same time they do tend to offer a certain degree of luxury hostels are the perfect choice of accommodation for people who are traveling on a budget whilst hostels are particularly popular with young people anybody of any age can stay in a hostel Hostels are known for their shared accommodation.
So whilst you can book your own private room, many people will stay in dormitory style accommodation. So often there will be several beds, maybe bunk beds, all in one room and you will share a room with other travellers. This is really popular with backpackers as well as student trips. Hostels will also offer shared facilities such as cooking facilities, which again is great for travellers.
I remember staying in a hostel in Australia, which is a pretty expensive country to travel in, and so many backpackers were all in the shade. kitchen cooking their beans on toast every night. I love to stay in independent hotels. An independent hotel is one that is owned independently so it's not part of a chain, it's not owned by a big corporation or a big company it's owned by independent individual people like me for example. I don't own a hotel but if I had the money I could buy one and I could have tourists come stay with me.
I like the idea of that actually. Independent hotels are great because they are unique usually in their style. They're not standardized.
like a Hilton or a travel lodge. And it often allows you to really experience the local culture and you know that your money is staying local, which is a positive economic impact of tourism. A micro stay hotel is something that lots of people haven't heard of.
And that's because it's new. It's an emerging trend. A micro stay hotel is just as the name suggests for little stays. So this might be, for example, if you have a few hours before a flight, but not an entire night.
Or perhaps you want a few hours rest because you've got travel coming up later or you're struggling with the time difference and and you're in between places so a micro stay hotel is perfect for those little gaps where you just want some downtime and a rest but you don't want to commit to a full night stay at a hotel micro stay hotels can make a lot of money from tourists because unlike normal hotels they can book multiple people in to stay in a room within a 24-hour period you could have one person overnight and the other person in a day for example so it can can be a pretty profitable business. Motels are commonly found in the USA and they are synonymous with road trips. I love a good road trip.
A motel is typically a hotel room but usually your door won't lead into a corridor. It will lead to outdoors where you will have a parking space for your car. Another emerging trend is that of pop-up hotels.
A pop-up hotel is one that can be taken down and put back up. And they are very popular at events and festivals. The hotel rooms...
are often actually tents or they are made of some kind of fabric structure similar to a tent. And these can be assembled when necessary. Resort hotels are becoming more and more popular around the world.
For any of you who follow me on Instagram, you will know that I am currently based in China and here in China, resort hotels are big business. You stay in a hotel and you have everything you need in that hotel. You don't need to leave.
You don't need to go anywhere. You'll have restaurants, leisure facilities, shops, everything inside the hotel. Sometimes...
these resorts are part of a chain so it might be a Marriott resort or a Radisson resort perhaps they are owned by holiday companies like TUI or Sandals and there are other places outside of China where this is popular too for example Egypt and the Caribbean likewise a ski resort is a resort in a place where you can go skiing so these resorts will also have everything you need from leisure facilities to cooking facilities eating outlets and shops and everything you need but they are right there in your ski area. Meaning oftentimes you don't even need to leave the resort. You can literally step out of your hotel room, onto the slopes, back into your hotel, to the restaurants, et cetera, when you're done after a hard day of skiing.
So those are the major types of hotels. But what do you do when you want to book one of these hotels? Well, there are lots of different websites that you can use. You can go directly to the company if you want, but personally, I tend to use booking.com.
I will leave that link for you in the description. I just love booking. the refund policies are great, customer service is great and in my experience most hotels, not all, but most hotels are usually listed there so you can do some really good comparisons as to price and facilities and which ones look the best etc.
So those are the different types of hotels, if you found this video helpful do me a favour and hit like and watch this next