When it comes to planning a trip, whether it's a few miles from home or abroad, accommodation quickly becomes the main concern. With so many different types of tourist accommodations available, it is easy to get lost. We have therefore identified the most common types of tourist accommodation and offer you a definition that will hopefully guide you in your choices.

Hotel establishments include of course hotels, but also motels and inns.

Hotel: This type of tourist accommodation offers a variety of furnished rooms, ranging from a single room with en-suite bathroom to a suite with several rooms, some equipped with a kitchenette. Hotels offer a variety of services such as restaurant, pool and spa, exercise room, business center, concierge, maintenance, room service, etc.

Although there are independent hotels, the majority are part of large chains established in several countries around the world. Each hotel chain caters to a specific clientele, depending on their needs, tastes and means.

One chooses a hotel, especially one that is part of a well-known chain, when they are looking for a certain standard and the convenience of numerous services.

Hotels offer a variety of services such as restaurant, pool and spa, exercise room, business center, concierge, maintenance, room service, etc.

Motel: Like hotels, this type of tourist accommodation offers furnished rooms with en-suite bathrooms. However, the services are often limited to a reception and, for some, a restaurant or an outdoor pool. The big difference between the motel and the hotel is that the motel rooms are accessible from outside the building and have a parking lot facing the room door. 

This type of accommodation is convenient for people on the move who spend most of their day in the car and only need a bed for the night, or for those who like easy access to their room from their car.

One chooses a motel to spend the night before taking the road again the following day.

One chooses a motel to spend the night before taking the road again the following day.

Inn: Inns have existed since the dawn of time. Today, they are mostly located in ancestral and picturesque houses in villages nearby main roads. This type of tourist accommodation offers furnished rooms, rarely more than twenty, and some with shared bathroom.

Although the services are more limited compared to hotels, the restaurant often offers a high quality cuisine, often based on local products.

One chooses an inn to immerse themselves in a particular decor, often from another era, and to discover the local products during a visit to a village or small town.

Inns are mostly located in ancestral and picturesque houses in villages nearby main roads.

The bed and breakfast was born in England a few centuries ago. These are furnished rooms, some with shared bathrooms, offered with breakfast in a package. In Quebec, many bed and breakfasts are known for their gourmet breakfasts made with local products.

This type of tourist accommodation is unique in that it is actually operated by the owner of a property who lives on the premises. If, in England, the bed and breakfast can offer up to eleven rooms, in Quebec, this number is limited to five. In France, the bed and breakfast is known as "chambre d'hôte" and is mostly found in the countryside, most often on a farm.

The B&B comes in various forms and each one is unique in its kind, as much by the decoration of the premises as by the hospitality of the host. As B&Bs have evolved over time, it is not uncommon to find today luxury establishments offering a level of service similar to that of hotels, or even "niche" establishments that offer their clients an original or special experience.

One chooses a bed and breakfast when they want to immerse themselves in the local culture or when they want to live a personalized accommodation experience.

In Quebec, many bed and breakfasts are known for their gourmet breakfasts made with local products.

The tourist home is a whole house, an apartment or a cottage offered for rent for short periods (less than 30 days). This type of tourist accommodation includes one or more bedrooms, a kitchen and often a laundry room. Contrary to the bed and breakfast, the owners of tourist residences do not live on the premises, either permanently or during the rental period.

Generally, the tourist residence does not include any of the services normally offered in hotels and B&Bs. Post-stay housekeeping is a service for which the client must often pay, even if he has already left the premises.

Booking a tourist home is mainly done on a web platform, the best known of which is certainly Airbnb. People often confuse Airbnb with B&B because of the similarity in sound of the two words. Although it is possible to find bed and breakfasts on the Airbnb platform, it mainly offers tourist homes of all kinds.

One chooses a tourist residence to reduce costs, especially when there are several people traveling together, or to be able to cook their own meals on the premises.

The tourist home is a whole house, an apartment or a cottage offered for rent for short periods.

The youth hostel is an establishment offering accommodation in rooms or dorms, as well as communal rooms. Some hostels also include facilities where you can cook your meals on your own or with a group.

This type of tourist accommodation is designed to offer very inexpensive lodging to young people who are willing to share the space, including the bathroom, with other travelers for a short stay, or even a stopover of a few nights at most. Most major cities have at least one youth hostel.

One chooses the youth hostel if travelling cheaply and meeting other people is more important than comfort.

One chooses the youth hostel if travelling cheaply and meeting other people is more important than comfort.

Little known in Europe, the outfitter is a business that offers services and infrastructures related to hunting and fishing on top of providing one of the above-mentioned types of accommodations.

One chooses to visit an outfitter primarily to practice hunting or fishing on a territory dedicated to these activities.

One chooses to visit an outfitter primarily to practice hunting or fishing on a territory dedicated to these activities.

The classification of hotels, tourist homes and youth hostels is based on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and is awarded according to the level of services, facilities and amenities offered in the establishment. That said, this scale is not uniform in all countries and what may be considered a 4 star in one country may be only a 3 star in another.

In Quebec, classification of hotels, tourist homes and youth hostels is based on a scale of 1 to 5 suns and is awarded according to the level of services, facilities and amenities offered in the establishment. In the rest of the world, the scale is from 1 to 5 stars.

In Quebec, as in many countries, all types of tourist accommodations must be subject to government regulations and display a valid operating permit.

Operating Permits

Regardless of the type of tourist accommodation you choose, it is best to ensure that the establishment has a valid business permit. Why should you do this? Because in order to obtain this permit, the establishment will have been subject to safety and sanitation inspections and will have to comply with certain basic standards.

The business license also guarantees a certain professionalism of the operators and the commitment to provide you with the services you are paying for. This recommendation is more important when you decide to use platforms like Airbnb and Homeaway, to name a few, because although more and more municipalities require a permit, many of the accommodations offered do not have one.

Direct Bookings

Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Booking, Hotels and Expedia can be useful when looking for accommodation in an unfamiliar city, but remember that they are intermediaries who stand between you, the customer, and your host. These OTAs made life easier for travelers in the early days of the Internet, but with Google and Google Map, it's now super easy to search for accommodations in the desired area and get the necessary information before making a choice.

We strongly recommend that you book directly with the chosen accommodation establishment, in order to establish a direct and personalized relationship with your host right from the start. The latter will not have to pay a commission to the OTA and will be more inclined to give you benefits that you would not otherwise have by going through an intermediary.

This topic of direct bookings is the subject of my next blog.