5 Accommodation and Catering Service

ACCOMMODATION AND CATERING SERVICES

TOPIC 5

• 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 hospitality sector and other sectors of the tourism industry

Outcomes

“In 1990, only one in five people stayed in a hotel – now that’s one in three. It’s no coincidence that that’s the time in which branded budget has grown”

Grant Hearn, 2008

Introduction

• 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.

The structure of the accommodation sector

Commercial Sector

Hotels Motels

Private HotelsGuest HousesFarmhouses

Caravan and Campsites

Villa, apartments, chalets, hired motor

homes

Holiday centres, Villages, Camps

Serviced Self-Catering

Cruise ships Hired yachts

Quasi/Non-commercial sector

Youth hostels YMCAs

Private caravansPrivate camping

Private motor homes

Private yachtsHome exchanges

TimeshareSecond homes

VFR

Educational institutions

Serviced Self-Catering

• 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 -

The corporate chains

• Recently there has been a trend to initiate brand extensions across products

• E.g. Bulgari and Versace has invested in hotel sector• Maxim, a men’s magazine, has opened a Las Vegas

hotel and casino.

Brand Extension

• 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

Budget hotels

• 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

The character property

Burj – Al Arab

• 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.

Consortia

• 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 features of the service offered , such as the number of courses served at meals, whether 24-hour service is provided, etc.

Classifying and Grading Accommodation

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.


**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. Décor 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.


***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 wide range of drinks. Continental breakfast is available from Room Service. There is a laundry service available.


****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.


*****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.

• Demand for hotel product is dependent on five characteristics;

• Location• Mix of facilities(bedrooms, restaurants, other public

rooms and leisure facilities).• Image• Services• Price

The nature of demand for accommodation facilities

• 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.

Bed and Breakfast Unit

• 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.

Farmhouse Holiday Accommodation

• 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 co-owners, each of whom purchase the night to use the accommodation for a given period of the year.

• A number of timeshare exchange organizations have been established. This include, RCI (Resort Condominiums International)

Second Home and Timeshare Ownership

• 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

Educational 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

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• Décor, furnishing and fittings• atmosphere

Documents

5 Accommodation and Catering Service