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1/ Breaking into any new industry, the jargon can be the hardest part.
So... Let’s talk hotel classifications for you budding hoteliers out there! There are a lot of terms that get used to describe hotels within the industry, and while some have fixed definitions others don’t.
So... Let’s talk hotel classifications for you budding hoteliers out there! There are a lot of terms that get used to describe hotels within the industry, and while some have fixed definitions others don’t.
2/ The first, and most well defined / ubiquitous classification system is the @STR_Data Chain Scale. Branded hotels are assigned to a Chain Scale (economy, midscale, upper midscale, upscale, upper upscale, and luxury) that is effectively a tier driven by brand-wide ADR.
3/ For example, the brand-wide ADR for Mandarin Oriental is above the threshold for the top tier, and the brand-wide ADR for Crowne Plaza falls into the Upscale tier.
4/ The ADR-tiers themselves are never published, and brands will occasionally try to push for a re-classification (the example I saw was a brand whose ADR tipped them over into Luxury wanting to remain Upper Upscale), but the classification system is generally very useful for…
5/ …identifying competitors. @STR_Data also classifies Independent hotels on the basis of these ADR tiers, and calls it the “Class”, I believe. Next set of classifications is Full Service, Select Service, and Limited Service.
6/ Full Service = rooms + restaurant(s) + banquets & catering operations. Select Service = rooms + an F&B outlet operation (could be bar, café, limited menu) + limited B&C. Limited Service is generally thought of as rooms only.
7/ These are much “squishier” definitions, and can vary around the edges. Next up is star classifications… the phrase “4 star” can mean SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. TripAdvisor has its own star rating, Expedia has its own rating, and Forbes has its own rating.
8/ I tend to use star classifications two ways – one, to talk about an expected level of service commensurate with a Forbes 4 Star hotel that may (or may not) be actually ranked as one (you have to sign up / pay to get inspected), and then to refer to an actually ranked Forbes…
9/ …4 Star hotel. The TripAdvisor, Expedia, Google, etc. star rankings are – in my opinion – worse than useless. Next up you’ve got diamond ratings, which are thankfully much more narrow – those refer only to AAA inspected and ranked hotels.
10/ For both Forbes and AAA, you can find the guidelines for inspection and rankings (e.g. what it takes to become a 4 diamond hotel) online. Hope this helps you understand some of the terminology being tossed around in the hotel space!
11/11 Lastly, I’ll say this... as someone who is most at home in the “boutique” and “lifestyle” hotel space: Those. Words. Have. No. Meaning. They’ve been so overused as to have lost any semblance of a definition. A PITA when describing certain hotels, but 
