Types of hotel services

There are two options in the standard classification of services:

• basic and additional hotel services;
• paid and unpaid services in a hotel.

All these options will be discussed below.

Basic and additional hotel services

Basic services of hotel business

Two basic services provided by a hotel are room and board. Thus, room (or the official term hotel accommodation) is the main service of the enterprise that belong to hotel business. Checking-in and checking-out are held round-the-clock. Besides providing an accommodation for temporary staying, related services such as changing bedclothes, giving towels and hygiene items, the opportunity to use appliances and TV set, cleaning and sanitation are available. All these services are included into the cost of a hotel room in accordance with contractual obligations.

Meals are provided by dining facilities, restaurant, cafes, bars that work in a hotel or in collaboration with it. Foods can be also delivered to a hotel room.

Additional services provided by a hotel

To attract more clients to a hotel additional paid or unpaid services are often available. They could be different entertainments, personal services, services for families, business or VIP clients that are often provided in the form of packages. Attractive additional services provided by a hotel are able to fill the season of low demand, to increase profit and improve image.

The most common additional services:

• clothing and footwear repairing, laundry and dry-cleaner;
• hairdresser;
• bath, sauna, swimming-pool;
• billiards, gym and playgrounds;
• delivery of flowers and gifts;
• using a luggage locker or a safety deposit box;
• sports equipment and household appliances rentals;
• car rental;
• calling a taxi;
• tickets sale service for transportation and various events;
• getting a booking in a restaurant;
• guided tour service;
• renting of a conference-hall or other premises.

Hotel management defines the final list of additional services provided by a hotel taking into account the size of the object, its location, target audience and the competitive situation.

Additional hotel services will be considered later in a separate article, wait for announcement.

Of course, the services provided by a hotel complex will differ greatly from the services of a mini-hotel. It is obvious that large- and medium-sized hotels have greater possibilities and budget. They are able to supply the clients with more impressive and voluminous services, without losing their profitability. Small hotels cannot provide their clients with comprehensive and rapid basic and additional services. However, any hotel has to have their target audience, learn their needs and demands, strive to meet them. The list and the quality of additional services have to conform to the requirements of the category that a hotel has been assigned to – in other words, the number of stars it has.

The issues that define “the starship” of a hotel will be discussed later in a separate article, wait for announcement

The size of a hotel and infrastructure determine the range of hotel services and define if they are standard services or not, what a hotel can afford and how beneficial it is. In special cases, there are not only basic and additional services but also individual ones. As a rule, these are the hotels of high category where VIP clients stay, it is important for hotel image and the development of business. But not all the clients can afford to have similar services because of financial or technological reasons; however, they are acceptable for special occasions. In particular, hotel individual services might include a personal manager, motivated deviation from the standard procedure or getting keepsake with the logo.

Basic and additional services provided by modern hotels and other objects are the direct source of income for hotel business. However, it should be taken into account that not every service has to be paid for.

Paid and unpaid hotel services

When you plan your business, it is important to consider the kind of services you are going to provide the clients with and if they are paid or unpaid services.

Basic unpaid hotel services are enshrined in legislation:

• waking by a certain time;
• delivery of personal letters to a hotel room if they are sent to the hotel address;
• calling an ambulance if it is needed;
• using first aid kit;
• providing a set of dishes, boiling water, scissors, a needle and thread.

Besides, the owner of a hotel can provide the other unpaid services at his own discretion, depending on profitability, seasonality, competitive environment and other factors.

It is important to remember that if you provide only unpaid basic services, ratings are down. If the competitive rate is higher, you should anticipate the expectations of guests and improve the services at a hotel in accordance with new developments. For instance, if you constantly charged for the internet service, now it is often considered unpaid one; the hotels, which do not provide it, will have fewer clients. According to the guests, it is bad form to charge for useful information such as advice on transportation, the events in the city, the location of the sights etc. That heightened the imbalance between the hotel profitability (through the increased occupancy of a hotel) and the necessity to add new unpaid hotel services!

Nevertheless, it is actually a business venture and no services provided may be free of charge. Paid services are also in demand, but it is not only to stay in a hotel room.

The most common hotel paid services:

• staying in a hotel room;
• meals;
• clothing and footwear repairing, dry cleaner;
• recreational and rehabilitative services;
• sale of souvenirs and printed products;
• currency exchange;
• renting of premises.

Read more about this in our article What can be sold in a hotel?

Paid hotel services are provided according to certain standards. Two rules are the most important:

1. Not only to follow the demands, but also predict them. It means that a client should be offered to choose the services provided by a hotel.
2. Services cannot be imposed on the clients or some of them will be provided on condition the guests buy the others.

The rules for providing hotel services will be discussed later in a separate article, wait for announcement

Kinds of packages for hotel services

Basic and additional hotel services are sometimes offered in the form of packages with the list of provided services for a fixed fee. Well thought out packages attract clients with their simplicity and convenience; they also help to reduce costs of the enterprise. Paid and unpaid services are grouped in accordance with their relevance or for a special period. The most popular packages are day-off packages, holiday packages, family packages, newly-weds or honeymooners’ packages and thematic ones.

Hotel service providing depends on seasonal changes. That is bad business to provide all the services all year round, but in the time of high demand special paid services, extra staff and equipment might be added.