AntSol Travel

Have you wondered what kind of hotel brand you were staying in and what makes it to be on that level as hotels come in many sizes, locations, amenities, and price ranges. Ranging from a simple economy motel off of Route 66 to a luxury hotel in New York City. After working in hotels for two years so far and a lot of research about the industry, I created a general guide hotel the different hotel classes based on the amenities of the hotel from the American Automobile Association (AAA) hotel rating system based on the 1 to 5 diamond rating scale (AAA, 2019). Below is an excerpt for their ratings.

A One Diamond hotel is budget-oriented, offering basic comfort and hospitality.

A Two Diamond hotel provides affordable, modestly enhanced facilities, decor and amenities.

A Three Diamond hotel is distinguished and multifaceted, providing enhanced physical attributes, amenities and guest comforts.

A Four Diamond hotel is refined and stylish, providing upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail.

A Five Diamond hotel provides ultimate luxury, sophistication and comfort with extraordinary physical attributes, meticulous personalized service, extensive amenities and impeccable standards of excellence.

(American Automobile Association (AAA), 2019)

One diamond is a basic roadside motel with guestrooms and that is it. Two diamonds is a step above a one diamond with better looking buildings, also known as facilities, and even a swimming pool. Most travelers would not want to stay at one and two diamond hotels since the hotels are really bare bones, really low room rates, and not the best facilities. However, three diamonds and above are much better for most travelers since those hotels since there are more amenities, better looking facilities, and is a bit more expensive, so they can have a piece of mind when they stay there. Three diamonds means that the hotel is nice with good amount of amenities included such as a fitness center and full hot breakfast if breakfast is included. Four diamonds means that the facilities are much more refined with much more attentive staff to the guest needs. Five diamonds is the highest level of hotels with elegant and high end facilities, staff to attend to your every need, and huge room rates to pay for it all.

Hotel Classes and their Brands

Hotels have formulated brands that hit a price range, facilities, audience, and market for each hotel brand. Brands were formulated so travelers know what they are going to get when they are staying at the hotel and can stay constant with each property no matter where they go. For example, many travelers love Hilton International’s Hampton Inn brand since they know that they will get a comfortable room, breakfast, fitness center, in lobby coffee, swimming pool, and hot tub all at a reasonable rate. However, there might be a few differences with parking as situations for parking can vary as parking might be free at a Hampton Inn that is off of the freeway vs $53 per nigh parking at the Hampton Inn in San Francisco since parking is at a premium there is dense urban areas (Hilton Worldwide, 2019).

• Guest Room Basics
  • Below are the bare bones that a hotel room needs to have along with extras bath amenities and forgot at home items that can be retrieved at the front desk.
• A standard guestroom should include
  • Bed Area
    • One King or Two Double/Queen Sized Beds
    • Flat Screen TV
    • Chair and Side Table If Possible
    • Work Desk and Chair,
    • Closet with Hangers
    • A Chest to Store Clothes
    • Luggage rack
  • Bathrooms
    • Sink
    • Shower or Bath Tub with Shower Head
    • Toilet
    • Towels
      • Bath Towel
      • Bath Mat
      • Hand Towels
      • Face Towel
      • The number of towels are based on the room’s occupancy without using the sleeper sofa is in the room, and there should be one bath mat for each bath tub or shower.
    • Bath Amenities
      • Shampoo
      • Conditioner
      • Bar or Liquid Bath Soap
      • Lotion
    • Hair Dryer
    • Basic Drip Coffee Machine.
  • At the front desk, you can request items that might have forgotten at home such as
    • Toothbrush and Toothpaste
    • Manual Razor and Shaving Cream
    • Mouthwash if part of brand.
    • Earplugs if near train tracks or highways
    • Refills of any bath amenities.
    • If a microwave and/or mini fridge is not included in the room, you might be able to request it and be brought up by housekeeping if available.

In this series about hotel classes, each class will be split up by the level of amenities, facilities, and staff attentiveness. From each class, there are sub classes that are split by specific brand amenities such as kitchenette in rooms for extended stay hotels, if breakfast is included or not, and more. Each post will be updated below with links to each class article.

• Sources Cited
  • AAA Bellagio. (2019). Bellagio – Las Vegas NV | AAA.com. Retrieved from http://www.aaa.com/travelinfo/nevada/las-vegas/hotels/bellagio-108453.html
  • AAA Cosmopolitan. (2019). The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Autograph Collection – Las Vegas NV | AAA.com. Retrieved from http://www.aaa.com/travelinfo/nevada/las-vegas/hotels/the-cosmopolitan-of-las-vegas-autograph-collection-174267.html
  • American Automobile Association (AAA). (2019). Diamond Ratings | AAA NewsRoom. Retrieved from https://newsroom.aaa.com/diamond-ratings/
  • Hilton Worldwide. (2019). Hampton Inn San Francisco Downtown Convention Center. Retrieved from https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hampton-inn-san-francisco-downtown-convention-center-SFOCCHX/index.html