ABSTRACT

Accommodation provides the base from which tourists can engage in the process of staying at a destination. It is an element of the wider hospitality sector that is used by tourists. Accommodation has emerged as the focal point for the hosting of guests and visitors through the ages: a guest pays a fee in return for a specified service and grade of accommodation, and associated services such as food and beverages. The accommodation establishment as a commercial venture, especially the evolution of the commercial hotel in the Victorian period, has dominated the literature on accommodation, as entrepreneurs responded to the demand for serviced accommodation of a high standard. The development of accommodation has normally accompanied the growth of resorts, areas of tourism activity and the demand to visit specific areas. Like the tourist, accommodation assumes many forms, and not all of them fit the conventional image of the hotel. Indeed, recent trends in accommodation have seen great changes in the form and nature of accommodation provision.