What Is the Hotel Industry?
What is the hotel industry and how is it distinct from the hospitality industry? The hospitality industry covers all kinds of leisure-related services and operations, from bars and restaurants to tourism services. The hotel industry overlaps with this but is specifically concerned with overnight accommodation.
As well as hotels, the hotel industry covers businesses such as resorts, holiday homes, serviced apartments, motels, boatels and bed-and-breakfast establishments. The term covers everything from simple backpacker hostels to the most luxurious 5-star hotel. Essentially, if a business provides accommodation for one or more nights, it’s part of the hotel industry.
The hotel industry is hugely important to society. The hotel industry is an economic powerhouse as well as providing necessary services to travellers. Businesses falling under this umbrella bring revenue into the community around them and provide an array of employment opportunities. To learn more about the hotel industry, read the article “Hotel Industry: Everything You Need to Know About Hotels!”
International Standardisation in Hotel Star Rating Systems
5-star hotels are at the top of rating systems. Over the years, there have been many attempts to standardise hotel evaluations so that prospective guests have an at-a-glance indication of a hotel’s quality. Several companies and bodies are involved in this effort, all offering their own versions of the star rating or something similar.
Typically, hotels are evaluated on a five-yearly basis, with the hotel being upgraded when it improves or downgraded if there’s a drop in quality. These rating systems aren’t perfect. There’s no overall standardisation across different rating bodies, with different organisations using different criteria. The systems used are often complex and confusing for laypeople.
