Today we present you a very interesting topic and one on which there is always a lot of confusion: how many types of rooms exist in the hotel industry? Often you will have found yourself searching for accommodation as a customer on various online booking portals and finding different types of rooms: standard, duplex, suite, junior suite, twin room. But have you ever wondered what the difference is and why there are so many? Well, I'm here to clarify a little.
Using the correct terminology helps hosts or innkeepers a lot in defining the services and rates to offer for each room, as well as giving your guest a clearer idea about the room to choose for their stay.
Hotel rooms can be classified into three macro categories:
- Based on the number of beds;
- Based on the room layout and services included;
- Depending on the type of bed;
Regardless of whether you are a hotel or non-hotel accommodation facility, it is good to determine which typology you want to belong to.
The first classification is quite intuitive. The room is identified based on the number of beds. Therefore we will have the single room for one bed that can be single or double; the double room that can accommodate two people with two single and separate beds or a double bed; the triple that can accommodate a maximum of three people with three single beds or a double bed and a single bed and finally the quadruple room that can accommodate up to four guests with two double beds or two single beds (usually bunk beds) and a double bed or even with four single beds or two bunk beds (this last formula is generally used by hostels).
Let's now move on to the classification used by the majority of accommodation facilities, that is, based on the layout of the room and the services included. We count up to five different rooms.
The first is the most common type of room: the standard room. It is not very large and offers essential services such as cleaning, en-suite bathroom and accessories such as television. Obviously it has a more modest price range, to which, if the structure allows it, additional services can be added.
Next we have the superior room. This type has a slightly larger size than the standard, to which are added to the basic services, a more pleasant view, or a balcony, or a bathtub or even a larger television.
The deluxe room, on the other hand, differs both in the services offered and in the additional square meters. The deluxe offers greater comfort to the guest. In addition to the actual room, there is often a space in front used as an entrance. It also enjoys a better view, perhaps of the sea or a beautiful mountain panorama. Generally it can accommodate a family of three or a couple. For the more attentive there is also the double deluxe which differs only in the size of the double bed, which in this case becomes a king size.
Continuing the classification we find the SUITE. This room is distinguished from a normal hotel room, in addition to the services offered, also for the size and number of rooms. Generally the Suite is composed of two rooms, which separate the sleeping area from the living area. It also has a larger and more comfortable bathroom and an outdoor space where the guest can relax, such as a terrace or an equipped balcony. Additionally, a small kitchenette can also be found. Obviously the basic services are always guaranteed, to which are added courtesy items for personal hygiene, slippers, sewing kit or cosmetics. The ultimate goal is always to give maximum comfort to the guest's stay, willing to spend a little more for his stay.
Finally, the junior suite differs from the suite only for the smaller spaces. As you can guess from the word itself, it always includes a living area and a sleeping area but with smaller spaces. The services generally remain the same as those we have already talked about previously.
So far we have been quite exhaustive, and many of you may consider the topic concluded, but in reality we still have another category to put under the scrutiny of our analysis. This is certainly a classification that only the most scrupulous hosts take into consideration but which denotes greater attention towards their customer. The cataloging of the room based on the types of bed. Because if before there was only the difference between a single bed and a double bed, today the music has totally changed. In addition to wanting a good mattress, the guest requires the possibility of choosing the pillow, or the linen and even the space of the mattress itself.
Nowadays even the name of a room can make you categorize it as a retro or renovated structure. The old double room is replaced with the term: QUEEN room, whose double bed has standard dimensions. We then move on to the KING room, where the size of the bed, always strictly double, has a larger size, ideal for the customer who wants to sleep in large spaces. And up to this point we have exposed terms now familiar in the daily life of the host or hotelier. But in reality it does not end there. What was once called a single room, has been transformed into a TWIN room, a room composed of two single beds, but which can be occupied by only one guest.
Finally, for non-hotel accommodation facilities such as holiday homes or B&Bs, but also adopted in hotels, there is the STUDIO room, consisting of a sofa bed, generally a queen-size bed.
Hoping to have been concise and to have clarified some doubts, we remind you that attention to the customer and his comfort must always come first. Therefore, regardless of what it is called, whether it is a queen or king size room, suite or standard room, never leave the choice of bed linen, mattress and its accessories to chance. Because YOUR MOST SATISFIED CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR GREATEST SOURCE OF LEARNING. Always trust the words of a great man of our time: Bill Gates.