Difference Between Hotel and Motel

 Hotels  No Responses »
Nov 102011
 

Are you planning to take a vacation to the country side? You are wondering about your accommodation when you are traveling. After a lot of research you have come across the names of some hotels and some motels, but you are now confused and want to know the difference between hotel and motel, so that you can decide where should you make the bookings and be put up?

What is the Difference Between Hotel and Motel

Before we get into the hotel vs motel debate, we will first understand, what is a hotel and what is a motel. This will make the difference between motel and hotel a bit more clear.

Hotel
A hotel is an establishment, which provides for paid lodging for a short duration of time. Traditionally people where provided with a bed, cupboard, a small table and a washstand in a hotel room, but with changing times they also come with modern facilities like en-suite bathrooms, air conditioning, etc. These days telephone connection, television, Internet access are also provided to the guests. If it is a large hotel the guests will also have the swimming pools, restaurant facility, etc. Therefore, normally hotel reviews are checked, before one makes bookings there.

The meaning and the facilities offered in a hotel, however, can change from one country to another. Like in the United Kingdom, the law demands that food be served to guests within stipulated hours, yet there are private hotels, where the rule may not apply. In countries like United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia and in some parts of the United States, a hotel can also represent a pub or a bar and may not offer accommodation. In India, Bangladesh and certain parts of the Asian sub-continent, the word hotel refers to a restaurant.

Motel
The word motel made its way into the dictionaries after the World War II. It is actually a hotel, that is designed for motorists to take a halt at night and usually have ample parking area for the motorists to park their motor vehicles. ‘Motel’ is a combination of the words ‘motorist’ and ‘hotel’. In the initial days, a motel consisted of a single building with connected rooms, whose doors faced a parking lot and in some cases a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. The concept of motels started to grow, when the highways system started developing and there came a need for inexpensive hotels, which were easily accessible overnight accommodation close to the main roads.

Difference between Hotels and Motels
The first difference between hotel and motel is in its architecture. They differ in their layout and construction. Hotels normally have a number of rooms on different floors of the structure and have staircases, elevators and internal corridors, which lead to the rooms. However, motels on the other hand have one or two floors, where the guests can access their rooms directly from their parking lot. Hotels offer different luxuries, while motels are more utilitarian.

There is a difference in the number and types of employees employed by hotels and motels. Hotels normally tend to have a large retinue of people, like receptionists, concierges, housekeepers, parking valets, etc. Motels on the other hand employ very few people like receptionists and housekeepers. If the motels are really small, the receptionists may also perform the duties of housekeeper as well. It is natural that the services offered by hotels are much more than motels. Hotel may offer services like restaurant, recreation options, gym, swimming pools, etc. However, motels are traditionally known to offer limited services, but you may come across a few motels, who also have swimming pools, complimentary light breakfast, etc. There are also some extended stay hotels or resorts, where one can stay for more than one or two days.

The most important difference between hotels and motels is in pricing. Normally, hotels are costlier than motels, but if you go to rural areas, then the cost of a cheap hotel, and a motel in an urban area, may be the same. At the same time, one can spend more time in hotels, as they are designed for longer stays. There is a difference between the location of a hotel and a motel. Hotels are normally located in cities, while motels are located in remote areas or on the outskirts.

To sum up the difference between hotel and motel in a single line, we can say motels are hotels located around the highways, where one can spend a night, when one is traveling long distance. On the other hand, one can have an extended stay in hotels.

 Posted by at 9:56 am  Tagged with:

What Do Hotel Star Ratings Mean?

 Hotels  No Responses »
Nov 052011
 

Normally the hotels are segregated into five different ratings. ‘One Star’ being the lowest rank and ‘Five Star’ being the highest. This raking system is called the star ranking system.

I am sure we all have experienced that when we look for a rating for a hotel. we find the same hotel ranked with three different ratings on different websites. Why does that happen? This happens because there is a lack of a Unified global system for rating hotels. Different countries, different websites and different rating agencies follow different methods for rating hotels. For example: The Sanctuary Hotel of South Beach in Miami, Florida is rated as a 5 star, 4 star and 3 star by different websites.

As you go up from one star to five star hotels, the services, facilities, staff, decor, ambiance and comfort provided, increases.

★
These hotels are the most affordable options.

Amenities: A single star rating for a hotel indicates minimum quality of maintenance, cleanliness, furnishings, and other services. The items provided are very basic and functional. The staff members are more informal and the food services are normally provided in a common designated eating area. Rooms would be small and even congested sometimes.
Accommodation: Only the basic necessity-services are provided by the one star hotels. Variety of cuisines are not offered and the hospitality is also minimum. TV’s and AC’s may or may not be provided.

★★
These hotels are affordable and convenient.

Amenities: A hotel with a two star rating will provide a wider range of items. The rooms will be larger and services are of a better quality and standard. The beds and the washrooms are well maintained.
Accommodation: They normally have a restaurant which is operational for all the three times; breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food will be cooked with greater care. The staff will be considerably formal and the variety of dishes offered will be limited.

★★★
These hotels fall into the semi-luxury category.

Amenities: Extra care is taken in maintaining the cleanliness, hygiene, furnishing, hospitality and F&B services. The decor is good, good provisions are made for the recreational and the kitchen services.
Accommodation: The staff members are formally dressed and are hospitable. The beds and the washrooms are well maintained. There will be a good range of choices for cuisines and the food is cooked with good care.

★★★★
These hotels fall in the luxury category.

Amenities: The standard of furniture used, cleanliness, hygiene, and the decor will be high. A good provision for recreational services and a well stocked kitchen is provided. The space available in the rooms will be more. The bedrooms, washrooms are well maintained and quick rooms services are provided. Many luxuries like jacuizzis, dance-floors or discotheques and lawns will be provided.
Accommodation: Staff members will be perfectly dressed in uniforms and they provide personalized services. Great care is taken in the food cooked and in the utensils and crockery used. You will find multi-cuisines offered here. Two or more restaurants are created and are also made available to outsiders.

★★★★★
A five star hotel is a synonym for luxury.

Amenities: There is class in the decor and the ambiance. The furniture and the interior designing will be affluent. A wide range of items are offered and all the needs of the customers will be taken care of, personally. Recreational activities and F&B services provided will be of a high quality.
Accommodation: Every guest’s personal needs are addressed to. The beds and the maintenance is of an excellent standard. Rooms would have ample space and all the facilities like heaters, AC’s, TV and jacuzzies will be basic services. Multi-cuisine dishes will be offered and the crockery, utensils and the inputs used in cooking are of the best grade. Many extra facilities like conference rooms, lawns, cafe, casino’s and bars are provided.

Six and Seven Star Hotels
The hotel ‘Burj Al Arab’, in Dubai is conspicuously known as a seven-star hotel. It is really rated as a 7 star hotel? The fact is that, no rating body has till now rated any hotel more than 5 stars. The hotels that claim to have 7 or 6 star, address themselves like that to show their supreme-luxurious status. They do offer a better range of amenities and luxury rooms and services. The customers who live at Burj Al Arab come via helicopters and use Rolls Royce automobiles as taxis. Every room has a Jacuzzi and rain showers in it and the customers have easy access to the Helipads. Even after having all of these affluent features, Burj Al Arab is still called a self-proclaimed seven star hotel.

Besides the star rating system, the other widely used hotel rating system is the Diamond Rating system.

One cannot rely completely on the hotel star ratings as different rating measures are used by different bodies. You will need to look for customer reviews to see if it matches your need. Also look at the pictures that are put on hotels official websites; they can give you a clearer picture. You can also rely on one particular authentic website and follow it, as you will learn about how they rate a hotel and will be able to understand their future ratings too.

 Posted by at 9:51 am  Tagged with:

dream for some. They plan in advance

 Budget Travel  No Responses »
Oct 202011
 

Every child and adult, at least once in his life has wished that he or she could make a trip to the famed Disney World for a ‘magical’ experience. And every time we watch a Disney movie, this feeling become stronger and stronger, only to be thwarted by a lack of funds for the exorbitantly priced vacation spot. While eventually everyone will agree that every dollar they spend at Walt Disney World is totally worth it, when they finally see what it costs them, they do feel a bit let down. Not to worry. This Buzzle article will give you some simple and practical Walt Disney vacation tips that you can keep in mind while planning it on a budget.

How to Plan a Trip to Disney World on a Budget

If you’ve been planning to take your kids to Disney World, then you’ve obviously kept some money on the side to fund this extravagant vacation. But with the constantly rising prices and air fare costs, your trip looks like it’ll have to be postponed for a bit, does it? Given below are some easy ways that you can save money on unnecessary expenses and use them at the park. You never know, you might even be left with some extra money from the budge that you’ve kept aside. Let’s have a look at some pointers that you can use to plan your Disney vacation, whether in California or Florida!

Travel
The first thing that you need to do is take care of the mode of transport and travel to and from the park. First decide when you will be going to Disney World or Disneyland. Parents often make the mistake of taking their kids during the peak holiday season. What they don’t realize is that this is the most expensive time of the year, for any kind of travel. So, if you want to save a reasonable amount of money on air as well as train travel, pick a day when it’s neither holiday season nor a weekend. Let the children have a couple of days off from school and visit the park. Plan it in advance. The tickets will cost you much lesser when you book them well in advance. Browse online for sites that give you special discounts on Disney vacations. They will help you save a lot of money. Also, once you reach, you’ll need to rent a car. So, book this in advance too, to avail a good discount.

Accommodation
Another mistake that people often make is of thinking that if it’s a Disney vacation, you absolutely have to stay at a Disney resort! While you surely can if you want to, it is not a hard and fast rule that you have to. You’ll find that Disney resort accommodations are exceptionally expensive and if you’re planning a budget vacation and want to spend as much as you can within the park itself, then you surely can compromise on where you’ll be staying. So put up at a non Disney resort and use the money you save in the park or simply save it.

Food and Drink
Since you’re staying at a hotel, you’ll probably take care of one meal there. But there are also various things that you can do within the park, to help you save money on refreshments. There are a lot of discount coupons, meal coupons and even ‘kids eat free’ coupons that are distributed in various places. All you have to do is keep your eyes open for such discounts and coupons. Another thing that you can do is browse through the numerous sites that offer these discounts. People are often skeptical about availing discounts from online sources. But you won’t know till you try, so give it a try and see what they have to offer you. Another thing you can do is pay for all the meals that you’ll be having at the park as soon as you go to have your first meal. This way, you’ll avail a discount and don’t have to worry about keeping money aside for food.

Recreation and Entertainment
The most important part at a Disney park is the entertainment and the recreational games and activities that the park has to offer. These are generally steeply priced, especially in the peak season. The benefit of visiting the Disney during a slack period is that you get lower rates within the park. Another thing you can do is, when your date of travel and accommodation are fixed, book the Disneyland discount tickets to the park in advance as well. You can get great deals online for this. Anything done in advance will help you save a lot of money. So be practical, use all the methods available to you to avail Disneyland discount packages wherever you can.

Even before you visit a Disney park, you need to do some solid research on what to do and what not to, what to carry with you and what not to, how you can save time and money within the park by studying which are the lines that are the fastest moving according to the popularity of the rides and other such small things. These tidbits may seem small and inconsequential but they’ll go a long way in making your Disney vacation fun and not too heavy on the pocket either!

 Posted by at 9:46 am  Tagged with:
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