Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

OVERVIEW OF THE LODGING INDUSTRY
Luxury
Upscale
Mid-Price
Budget*
Economy*
*Hotels in this classification can be full- or limited-service properties.
FIGURE 4
Range of hotels classified by guestroom rental charges.
Source: Ninemeier, J., and J. Perdue. 2005. Hospitality operations: Careers in the world’s greatest industry, p. 62.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Reprinted by permission.
By location
By rate
By size
Urban
Under $30
Under 75 rooms
Suburban
$30–$44.99
75–149 rooms
Highway
$45–$59.99
150–299 rooms
Airport
$60–$85
300–500 rooms
Resort
More than $85
More than 500 rooms
Note: These classifications are used by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA); check out current
statistics applicable to each classification on AH&LA’s home page: www.ahla.com.
FIGURE 3
Common ways to classify hotels.
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same site. In contrast, clothes or televisions are manufactured at one site and sold at
another. The hotel’s staff must be experts at both manufacture and sales.
•
Perishability. If a guestroom is not rented on a specific date, the revenue is lost for-
ever. In contrast, clothes or televisions can be sold tomorrow if they are not sold
today.
•
Repetitiveness. The steps required to register a guest checking into a hotel are
basically the same every time the guestroom is sold. These routines (operating
procedures) allow for some standardization. At the same time, however, they cre-
ate challenges. It is always important to focus on a guest’s individual needs, and
standardization can provide less opportunity for staff creativity in the decision-
making process.
•
Labor intensive. In many industries, technology and equipment have replaced peo-
ple in some work activities, but in the lodging industry this has occurred to a lesser
degree. For example, technology is being used in the front office and the sales and
accounting departments where many tasks are highly automated. Although tech-
nology could be used even more (e.g., automated check-in and check-out systems are
available), many segments of the traveling public desire and are willing to pay for
services that must be delivered by employees. As well, the two hotel departments
with the greatest number of staff members (food and beverage and housekeeping)
provide fewer opportunities for technology to reduce labor hours.