Hotel accommodations have been in existence from historical times and the first mention of it comes in the Bible when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem during the census. According to the holy book of Christians, Mary and Joseph were refused accommodations as there was no room at the inn – the fact shows that those days inns were popular a lot. Inn in those days served the purpose of accommodation for travelers and were considered ‘home away from home.
India too has its own history of hotel accommodation. During medieval period, there were thousands of ‘Sarai,’ which were the Indian version of inns. Hotels are known for offering paid lodging on a short-term basis; however, there are some hotels these days which provide residencies or long term residences to people who have long stay for their missions. Depending upon the term of staying, rents too are defined and discounts are given for long stay.
Although, hotel accommodation in real terms should mean services such as bed and a room and bathroom, modern hotels provide a comprehensive range of luxury facilities and amenities to residents. Now, rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control are preferred than rooms with basic facilities. It is also true that hotels offering additional services in hotel room charge for all and there is no free or gift service to hotel inmates.
Facilities which once were considered luxury including of telephone, alarm clock, television, Internet connectivity; snack foods and drinks, etc. are included even in budget hotels. Luxury hotels take extra care of inmates and offer mini-bar, hot drinks maker, etc. to hotel residents. Each service has its cost and services such as restaurant, swimming pool, childcare, conference and social function services, etc. come with heavy charges.
Depending upon the plan chosen by travelers, hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. Moreover, offering of food is country specific as in the UK; a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. Similarly, the size of hotels matter a lot and countries which have lots of territory and do not face crunch of land provide large rooms. Then there are countries which have paucity of land and such countries offer capsule hotel rooms and shared accommodation.
Understandably, it is price, services, and amenities which determine the classification of hotel accommodation. However, location also matters a lot when deciding whether certain hotel belongs to certain category. The most popular among the masses of the world are budget hotels which offer clean albeit simple rooms that provide the basics of places to sleep and shower. These hotels are designed specifically to travelers with shoe string budget.
Travelers who prefer rooms equipped with high speed Internet connections, alarm clocks, comfortable beds, irons and ironing boards, coffee makers, complimentary newspaper delivery and hairdryers, etc. can stay in business hotels. These hotels charge extra for the facilities being offered to travelers and more often than not are preferred by upper rich class people such as businessmen, CEOs, sport persons, actors, celebrities, etc.
Equally attractive are luxury hotels which posses lavish decor and extraordinary services and try to pamper and impress guests. Moreover, full-service day spas, five-star restaurants staffed by world-class chefs, ballrooms, lavish pools, golf packages and guest services, etc. are some key features of luxury class hotel accommodation. Luxury class hotels rooms provide in-room safes, goose down comforters and pillows, marble showers and tubs, larger rooms, separate sitting or living area and fog-free bathroom mirrors, etc. to travelers.
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