Types of accommodation

An inn is a place that offers shelter and food to travellers, often in rural areas. It was more common before railroads and modern hotels came into existence. The word ”inn” now has a quaint old-fashioned sound.

Guest house or a tourist home means a small establishment that accommodates travellers. They usually have relatively few rooms.

Motel is a hotel with special facilities for motor vehicles. The word " motel" is made by combining " motor" and " hotel". Condominium is a building or group of buildings in which a unit can be bought by an individual. The public spaces are owned jointly by all the purchasers of the individual units.

Pension, which is pronounced in French, is another type of accommodation for travellers, especially in Europe. Nowadays, it usually offers bed and

breakfast at low prices. In Britain it is traditionally called " B and B" and means a boarding house which offers breakfast.

Caravaning or camping means travelling with one's own facilities for shelter and often for eating. A caravan or van is a type of vehicle with sleeping space. In camping, the traveller carries a tent or other equipment with him. Marina is a place at which boats can dock. The marina usually offers electricity, telephones, water, etc so that people can use their boats for accommodations.

Occupancy rate is the per centage of rooms or beds in a hotel that are occupied in a particular period of time. Franchise means a business operated according to guidelines and standards set down by whoever sells or leases the franchise.

Room Service is a catering service in which food and drink are brought to a guest's room in a hotel.

Gourmet is a lover of good food. The word is also used as an adjective to describe food of special, very delicious taste, as in the phrase " gourmet meal."

Snack bar means a quick food service.

Casino is a place for gambling. Where gambling is legal, some hotels and motels include casinos. In Las Vegas, for instance, the hotels are really secondary to gambling. They feed, house and entertain the guests, but the real profits come from the casinos.

A few resorts that contain a mixture of several different kinds of accommodations have been built in recent years. Probably the most spectacular example is the Costa Smeralda development, constructed on the Italian Island of Sardinia. It contains hotels of varying price ranges, residential areas, marinas, elaborate recreational facilities, and even some light industry. The syndicate's own airline flies passengers to the island from Nice and Rome. The Costa Smeralda is the largest and most expensive example in the world of developing not just a resort but an entire resort area. Careful planning included not only the mixture of facilities, but also the architecture and the preservation of the natural landscape.