An establishment providing accommodations, meals, and other services for travelers and tourists.

A commercial establishment providing lodging, meals, and other guest services.
In general, to be called a hotel, an establishment must have a minimum of six letting bedrooms, at least three of which must have attached (ensuite) private bathroom facilities. Although hotels are classified into ‘Star’ categories (1-Star to 5-Star), there is no standard method of assigning these ratings, and compliance with customary requirements is voluntary. A US hotel with a certain rating, for example, is may look very different from a European or Asian hotel with the same rating, and would provide a different level of amenities, range of facilities, and quality of service.

Whereas hotel chains assure uniform standards throughout, non-chain hotels (even within the same country) may not agree on the same standards. In Germany, for example, only about 30 percent of the hotels choose to comply with the provisions of the rules established by the German Hotels & Restaurants association. Although both WTO and ISO have been trying to persuade hotels to agree on some minimum requirements as world-wide norms, the entire membership of the Paris-based International Hotel & Restaurant (IH&RA) opposes any such move.

 

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