HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY
Introduction:
Can anyone imagine how life could possibly have been before hotels came into existence? Well, I believe it should rather be imagined than experienced. You probably travel to a distant location with no way to make it back to your home base that same day. You have no friend or acquaintance in the strange place either, even though your pockets are bulging with more than enough cash or rather, your MasterCard, Visa or American Express card is right there with you. What to do? Your guess is as good as mine. What you simply need is a hotel to lay your head.
A hotel, which is sometimes referred to as “Home away from home,” is a highly essential aspect of modern life. It is important to today's hospitality industry and comes in different forms, sizes and classes. Based on forms or types, they fall into different categories. There are the commercial hotels, usually located in busy business districts to cater to the needs of transient businessmen and women who stay for a few days or less. Their location downtown makes them easily accessible to the head offices of banks and insurance companies, retail outlets and departmental stores.
Airport hotels are often sighted close to airports to serve airline passengers and crews who might need to pass a night or two due to delayed or cancelled flights or other reasons. People who prefer a homely hotel with a separate bedroom, living room and kitchen will normally go for a suite hotel. Residential hotels also are suite-type hotels which offer long-term or semi-permanent accommodation to guests.
Other hotel types are the resort hotels which provide sports activities like golfing, bowling, swimming and tennis to vacationers; small bed and breakfast hotels whose owners usually reside on the premises to provide breakfast for guests; casino hotels which offer gambling facilities; and conference hotels which are designed to handle large groups of people who might require a sizable conference centre in-house.
Based on size or number of guestrooms, hotels can be classified as small, medium, large or extra-large. Small hotels are those that have less than 150 guestrooms; medium sized hotels would have between 150 to 299 rooms while hotels with between 300 to 600 rooms would be considered large. There are also extra-large hotels with over 600 guestrooms. Going by the International Tourism Organization ratings which are dependent on the quality of service provided, a hotel is classified as 5-star or deluxe if it offers excellent services; 4-star or first class if it offers very good services; 3-star or standard if the services are simply good; or economy when its services are limited to bare necessities. But, the Burj Al-Arab in Dubai is said to be the only 7-star hotel in the world although that is yet to be universally acknowledged.
For the average hotel guest anywhere in the world, the main things he or she would often look forward to are smooth arrangements regarding booking, reservation or registration as the case may be, and checking in or checking out. Friendly and servile staff from the manager to the cleaners is always a plus any day and good food, choice drinks and a relaxed atmosphere are a must. Rooms should be equipped with at least a fixed line telephone, television and internet facilities to satisfy both communication and entertainment needs. A good size refrigerator is also necessary.
Also, there is no gainsaying that any decent hotel should have a parking lot with ample space for vehicles; some greenery in the form of flower gardens and lawns, an unencumbered driveway and in most cases an impressive main building. With the façade staring at you as you arrive the premises; you go through the main entrance and vestibule to be greeted by a friendly porter, and a spacious well-appointed and ventilated lobby, lounge or reception area.
You are beckoned to the front desk by a courteous front desk officer who meticulously registers and welcomes you to your temporary home while giving you the keys to your room. After dropping off your luggage in your new 'crib' upstairs, you head back downstairs via the same neat and efficient elevator to the bar, restaurant or café either for some refreshing drinks or for dinner. The bar or restaurant setting is complemented by soothing music and a good mixture of local and out-of-town guests who are just out to have fun.
To whet your appetite, continental dishes or local ones should be available on demand. Shopping can be done in an in-house boutique, jewelers, tobacco shop or newspapers stand. Throw in a bureau de change, a casino, a ballroom or conference hall, as well as a real nightclub and you have everything in place for a really great time. Depending on your mood, you can stroll to the bandstand, barbecue stand, tennis courts or mini-golf course in order to participate in some other fun activities.
All facilities including toilets, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry and service elevators should be spic and span, properly maintained and in tip-top shape. Trash cans, garbage bins or dumpsters should be readily available and well-positioned too to prevent littering. Oops! Let's not forget a well-organized taxi stand, a gift shop, an accessible hotel manager and a tight unobtrusive security set up. You will always want to come back again and again.
Question:If you find yourself in a far-off city for one reason or another; maybe for a football game, a concert, an exhibition, a seminar or just sightseeing and you missed your flight, train or bus back home that day. How would you pass the night?
A. At the home of a relative B. At a girlfriend or boyfriend's apartment
C. In a nightclub till daybreak D. In a shelter for the homeless E. In a sleeping bag at the venue
F. In an affordable hotel. Give me a reason for your choice. Thanks
Anthony Iduh is a freelance writer
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