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Summary Chapter 14 Accommodation
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Summary of 'Tourism principles and practice', John Fletcher, sixth edition, Chapter 14 Accommodation.
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Chapter 14Accommodation
Introduction
Accommodation or lodging is, by a long way, the largest and most ubiquitous sub-sector within the
tourism economy. With few exceptions, tourists require a location where they can rest and revive
during their travels through, or stay within, a tourism destination.
In this chapter, we are primarily concerned with those establishments and organisations that provide
places of rest and revival on a commercial and organised basis including accommodation that is now
included under the terms of collaborative consumption or the sharing economy, or what was
previously referred to as the ‘commercial home’ within which paying guests are taken into a personal
home on a business basis.
Accommodation and the tourism product
In the context of the tourism sector in general, accommodation rarely has a place or rationale in its
own right. It is rare for a tourist to select to stay in a hotel or other form of accommodation for its
own sake. Rather, the choice is made because the accommodation provides a support service for the
wider motivation that has brought the visitor to the destination, whether for business or leisure
purposes.
An emerging trend in many destinations is for the need to provide the discerning tourist with an
innovative or even unusual mix of accommodation in which to stay. In such instances, ‘unusual places
to stay’ become the essence of the visit experience rather than as an ancillary product or service.
Ultimately, accommodation is a necessary component in the development of tourism within any
destination that seeks to serve visitors other than day-trippers. The quality and range of
accommodation available will both reflect and influence the range of visitors to a location. As such,
achieving the appropriate balance of accommodation to meet the destination’s strategic tourism
development objectives can be a challenge.
Accommodation also plays an important role in the overall economic contribution which tourism
makes at a local and national level. It is difficult to generalise about the proportion of total tourist
expenditure that is allocated to accommodation because this varies greatly according to the market,
accommodation type and nature of product purchased. As a very general rule, perhaps 33% of total
trip expenditure is allocated to this sector but this varies greatly between different market segments.
Important dimensions of the accommodation sector:
demand is highly volatile and fluctuates on a seasonal and weekly basis; and
accommodation can act as the catalyst for a range of additional sales opportunities within
complex tourism and hospitality businesses
Defining the accommodation sector
Hotels
Hotels are undoubtedly the most significant and visible sub-sector within accommodation or lodging.
Although a highly varied collection of properties in most countries, hotels are the tourism sub-sector
that provides the greatest total employment in global terms and probably accounts for the highest
level of receipts. The traditional view of a hotel was an establishment providing accommodation as
well as food and beverage services to short-stay guests on a paying basis. This view has influenced
most attempts to define hotels.
, In many countries of the world, hotel businesses are dominated by small, family-owned operations,
which have developed hand-in-hand with the tourism sector often earlier in the twentieth century
and, in particular, since 1945. This small business sector has declined in importance in recent years,
faced with the challenge of branded multiple operators offering a range of products from budget to
luxury. The cost of reinvestment in order to meet changing consumer demand combined with the
marketing and operational challenges posed by technology have forced many hotels of this kind out
of business. Those that do survive successfully in the contemporary tourism industry do so because
they have recognised the importance of niche marketing by tailoring their products and services to
meet the specific niche requirements of identified market groups. An important survival strategy for
small, independent hotels is membership of a marketing consortium representing similar operations
at a national or international level.
The almost universal trend in the hotel subsector is for multiples to gain market share from
independent operators within expanding markets.
Ownership and management of hotels reflect the growing complexity of business formats within the
private sector generally. There are three major operating models with various combinations:
1. Hotel companies may own and operate the hotels that are marketed under their name or
they may have a part equity stake in the property.
2. Alternatively, the hotel may be operated and owned by a franchise partner – this is a rapidly
growing business format, especially within the budget market.
3. Finally, the hotel company may manage the property on behalf of an owner – this is a
common format at the top end of the international market.
A major influence on the publicly quoted hotel sector in recent years has been that of increasingly
focused performance demands placed upon operators by stock market investors.
Boutique hotels
One of the newest forms of accommodation, is the boutique hotel, which normally relates to the
accommodation of a highly individual, quality and full-service hotel, frequently on a distinct theme.
Although they often vary in size, boutique hotels tend to be located in the main cities with their
ultimate point of differentiation being the need to avoid the uniformity of corporate hotels.
Guest houses, bed and breakfasts, farmhouse accommodation, inns
This sub-sector brings together a number of different types of operation with the common
characteristics of offering accommodation plus some food and beverage (often just breakfast) in a
small, family-style environment. Internationally there are significant contrasts in the operation of this
sub-sector.
Farmhouse accommodation is a central component in the growing international agritourism
movement.
Small, independent operators across this sub-sector face significant challenges from the growing
budget hotel sector. In physical product terms, there may be considerable similarities between the
two in terms of their bedrooms – indeed, budget properties may well exceed the competition in this
respect.
Self-catering accommodation – apartments, cottages, gîtes, etc.
Self-catering accommodation is an important and varied component of the lodging sector within
tourism. Essentially, what such properties have in common is a combination of accommodation with
additional recreational areas and the facility to prepare food on a personal basis. Apartments form a
major element within the accommodation available in many Mediterranean resorts but the sector
also includes:
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