What is a Room Type? Types of Hotel Rooms Explained

Hotel room types define features of rooms to help guests choose the right rooms by price and comfort levels for their stays.

For hotel operations, these categories help hotel staff to have more control over revenue targets, daily operational aspects, and marketing strategies.

We delve into the details below.

The ‘Hotel Room Types And Prices’ section explains how the room clarification links to revenue management.
The section, ‘Room Types in Daily Hotel Operation’ discusses on advantages of room categories for hotel staff, managers and owners.
The ‘Room Categories in Marketing’ highlights some benefits hotels have with marketing promotions using room categories.

Hotel Room Types And Prices (Revenue)

Hotels set their room rates based on the room types. So whenever a guest books a room, that reservation has a link to a room type which is the entry point of revenue optimization despite the task involving other factors.

For example, a revenue manager or an RMS (revenue management system) looks at historical bookings and current data, market trends, the city’s event calendar, and other external factors to calculate future demand (demand forecasting). And, based on the above findings, the hotels work on their pricing and upselling strategies while it helps them correct past mistakes.

The highlight of the above is past and present bookings where the room types are directly liked.
Also, hotels apply sell controls (restricting room availability based on set criteria such as a room is available only for long stays, advanced booking, etc,) on room types.
They set channel distribution strategy, and close and open availability is also based on room types (Example: Open, close, reduce, increase the availability of certain room types for certain OTA (Online travel agents).

Let’s dive in to see how hotels categorize their rooms.

Types of Hotel Rooms

There is no set standard on how many or what room types a hotel can have. However, hotels should consider:

Does the particular room type have an impact on pricing? For example, creating separate room types for Sea View and City View; do they have different rates because of the view?
What is the impact at the hotel user level in PMS when having the room type and not having it? For instance, it is quicker and easier for a PMS user to create a booking when the list is shorter.

How Are Hotel Rooms Classified?

Despite many people having different views on room types with different stories to tell, room types are derived from three standard types.

What Are The Three Types of Rooms In A Hotel?

The room types are derived from these standard types: Standard, Deluxe, and Suite depending on individual hotel’s decision. Even large hotel chains leave this for their properties to decide.

What Are Standard Hotel Rooms?

Standard hotel rooms are usually the most affordable room types with less spacious compared to other room types. Hotels provide the essentials in these rooms for comfortable stays. However, providing additional amenities such as a coffee maker or hair dryer depends on the hotel or chain standards.

What Is Deluxe Room In Hotel?

Deluxe rooms are larger, having a separate sitting area with better furnishing and views. Hotels offer extra amenities for the occupants such as a coffee maker, iPod dock, and in-room entertainment system, and they may also include a work desk.

What Is Suite Room In Hotel?

The suite rooms of a hotel are pressed in as a luxury element, providing large layouts and the high-quality fittings. They usually have a separate bedroom, a living room and sometimes dining area, or kitchenette furnished with cupboards and utensils. Suite sizes also vary greatly in accordance with a hotel, but they often fall within the 500 to 1,000 sqft range or above

A small suite is designed for up to four people to stay but there are different levels of suite rooms from a regular suite room to a Presidential Suite, which usually every luxury hotel has one such room.

Hotel Room Types And Sizes

Hotel room sizes differ depending on the country, hotel chain, and the hotel classification. Refer below chart as a general reference guide only for room size references below:

Room Type	Location	Size
Standard Rooms	United States	325 square feet (30 square meters)
Standard Rooms	Europe, Asia	160 to 215 square feet (15 to 20 square meters)
Deluxe Rooms	United States	400 to 500 square feet (37 to 46 square meters)
Deluxe Rooms	Europe, Asia	250 to 400 square feet (23 to 37 square meters)
Junior Suites	United States	400 to 600 square feet (37 to 56 square meters)
Junior Suites	Europe, Asia	350 to 500 square feet (32 to 46 square meters)
One-Bedroom Suites	United States	500 to over 1,000 square feet (46 to 93 square meters)
One-Bedroom Suites	Europe, Asia	450 to 750 square feet (42 to 70 square meters)
Multi-Bedroom or Luxury Suites	United States	around 800 square feet (74 square meters) and can exceed 2,000 square feet (186 square meters) in more luxurious accommodations
Multi-Bedroom or Luxury Suites	Europe, Asia	about 750 square feet (70 square meters) and going upwards, with the most luxurious suites in prestigious hotels offering several thousand square feet of space

Room Types Are Determined by Layout & Bed Size (Small hotel room types, example)

Layout	Bedding	Sample Room Type Code
Standard – ST	Double – D	STD
Standard – ST	Queen – Q	STQ
Standard – ST	Twin – T	STT
Deluxe – DL	Double – D	DLD
Deluxe – DL	Double-Double – X	DLX
Deluxe – DL	Queen – Q	DLQ
Suite – SU	Queen – Q	SUQ
Suite – SU	King – K	SUK

It is not a complete list, but you get the idea. Typically, room type codes are 3 to 4 alpha-numeric

Room Types by Occupancy

In our examples, we don’t consider room types by occupancy. For instance, placing a Queen or Double bed in a standard room doesn’t change the maximum number of persons who can occupy the room. The hotels decide on maximum occupancy by considering the room’s space.

Room types by Amenities and Features

Similarly, in our example, we don’t consider the amenities or features having a valid reason for creating a new room type based on these since they don’t directly influence pricing.

However, when amenities or features affect room pricing, a new room type should be considered since different pricing needs to be attached.

For example, a ‘Breakfast at Club Lounge’ is an amenity offered to all Deluxe rooms. Does it affect the pricing? No. So, there is no point in creating a new room type. And again, what if a guest from a Standard room requests access to it? The hotel will provide it with or without an extra charge. So it is better to deal with a package on room by room basis.

Likewise, a ‘connecting room’ is a room feature where the two adjacent rooms share a door internally. There can be such rooms among Standard and Deluxe also; are we going to have different room types, or will we make a room feature, ‘Connecting Room,’ and attach it with the specific rooms better?

Room Types in Daily Hotel Operation

It helps the hotel’s revenue department get a clear understanding of how profitable their room types are and correct mistakes to optimize for increased revenue.

Tip for Opera PMS hotels: In the image, the Published Rate is the rack rate or the standard rate set for each room type before discounts. Opera PMS’ Rate Variance report shows rooms sold below the potential selling rates. Check out here for Opera PMS Rate Variance report.

Increased revenue opportunities through upsells and paid-upgrades. Hotel staff can conveniently discuss with the guest and show the difference between different categories to convice the guest for upselling.
Gain guest loyalty through free membership room category upgrades.
Room categories help hotels maintain consistent quality standards in the hotel or throughout the hotel chain.
Housekeeping cleaning tasks are assigned to rooms. However, the task duration, required amenities, and other cleaning stocks are calculated based on the room types. For instance, a Standard room might take a lesser workforce, amenities and cleaning materials compared to a Deluxe due to their size considerations. It helps the housekeeping department by providing near-perfect forecasts to get ready with their resources for a future date.
For investors and hotel owners, it is economical to bulk buy room fixtures, furnitures and store them for any repairs. Room categories help them do that.

Room Categories in Marketing

With room categories, hotels can tailor their marketing efforts to specific guest segments by not only market but also by room category.
Room categories can be helpful when gathering guest feedback. Hotels can use them to segment surveys and understand guest satisfaction levels for different room types, allowing them to tailor improvements accordingly.
Advertise different room types with amenities at different price points according to guest types and needs (From budget guest to luxury-seeking travelers).
Hotels use their websites, OTA (online travel agent) sites and other meta search engines to showcase their room categories with images and descriptions of benefits to influence potential guests’ booking decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a double bed at a hotel?

A hotel bed often equipped with a double bed is a common bed for one or two people staying in a hotel room. It typically is about 54 inches wide and 75 inches long, which will be enough room for a single person or a couple. They are a favorite option among single travelers, couples.

What is hotel double bed size?

Standard double bed size given in the hotels commonly is 54 inches in width and 75 inches in length. Nevertheless, note that there may be slight differences observed in bed-sizes across various hotels based on their specific standards and on the region.

Certain hotels provide choices of double bed sets, for example, queen beds, whose largest sizes are 60 inches wide and 80 inches long. Guests should go through the specific bed size specifications of the hotel while booking and it is helpful for having a great sleeping experience.