The hotel industry can be further categorized into three segments: hotels, restaurants and contract caterers.
HOTELS
The hotels in India can be broadly classified into the following segments:
1.Star rated hotels
2.Heritage hotels
3.Budget hotels
4.Unclassified hotels
Star Rated Hotels
These are mainly situated in the business districts of metro cities and cater to business travelers and foreign tourists. These are considered to be very expensive. They are built over an area of up to 18000 sq. meters. These account for about 30% of the industry. The star hotels are further classified into six categories:
1.1 Five star deluxe
1.2 Five star
1.3 Four star
1.4 Three star
1.5 Two star
1.6 One star
Five Star Deluxe & Five Star: These are restricted to the four metros and some major cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad. The customers of these hotels are mostly foreign business and leisure travelers, senior business executives and top government officials. Three Star & Four Star: These are located in all major cities as well as tourist destinations. Their customer group ranges from middle level business executives to leisure travelers. One Star & Two Star: These are located in major cities as well as in small cities and other tourist destinations.
Their customers include usually the domestic tourists.
Heritage Hotels. These are characterized by lesser capital expenditure and affordability and include hotels running in palaces, castles, forts, hunting lodges etc. The heritage hotels are further classified as:
2.1 Heritage classic
2.2 Heritage Grand
2.3 Heritage
Heritage Classic: These include hotels built between 1920 and 1935.
Heritage Grand: These include hotels built prior to 1920.
Heritage: These include hotels built between 1935 and 1950.
Budget Hotels: Budget hotels especially cater to domestic travelers who favor reasonably priced accommodations with limited luxury. These are characterized by special seasonal offers, low and good services.
Unclassified: These are low-priced motels spread throughout the country. A low-pricing policy is their only selling point. It accounts for about 19 % of the industry.
RESTAURANTS
These typically include fast food chains, ethnic restaurants, fine dining and coffee bars. The major players include Barista, Mc Donalds, Ruby Tuesday, Bercos, etc.
CONTRACT CATERING
This includes any catering business unit that is formally not a part of the hotel industry but is closely allied to it. Some of the major players in this category include Sodexho, Compass Group, etc.
