by Aias Katsaros, Account Manager/Recruiter & Makayla Roth, HR Intern | Workathlon
When it comes to hospitality, the discussion will inevitably lead up to an amazing experience that someone had at a Hotel or Resort when visiting a new destination.
Hotels and Resorts are the reigning champions of the tourism industry because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if someone is on a business trip, attending a convention, enjoying vacation – all will end up being a guest of a Hotel or Resort.
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For most people these two words sound familiar and in many cases indistinguishable. Is there any difference between them or is it just the same meaning expressed by two different words?
Of course they are not the same. That is why, this blogpost’s purpose is to illustrate the differences that sat a hotel apart from a resort. Ready?
What is a City Hotel?
A city hotel is what you probably know best. It provides accommodation and meals to travellers. Often times, people come from all over the world to stay at a hotel so that they can tour around the place that they are staying. They do not spend their day in the hotel and they only come back to sleep and shower, maybe a meal or two. In general, hotels despite having the amenities and luxuries similar to these of resorts are more a place to stay and not a destination.
What is a Resort?
A resort is the destination. Oftentimes, resorts are located in scenic areas but not near a city or anything really. People visit a resort to get away from other people and cities. They stay in the resort and probably don’t travel around as they may do when staying at a city hotel.
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Furthermore, resorts tend to have a larger variety of choices as far as entertainment and food venues concern. That is a great bonus of being out of urban centers and at remote locations – city hotels have stricter options because of stricter spaces available.
Finally, resorts can offer a more traditional environment since the rapid development in most urban centers makes this exceptionally challenging for city hotels.
What about people working in these two types of hotels?
Working in a hotel means that you will probably have more shift work with a high and low time. But at a resort, since the guests most likely won’t leave, it is always a high time. This means you have to be at your peak energy at all points of the day.
Furthermore, at a hotel, you must provide prime customer service when handling guest relations, but there are very prominent high points and low points of the day. During morning and night, when the guests are preparing for their day or after they got back from their excursions, you have to be at the top of your game. But in the middle of the day, there are less people coming and going, so there is less of a demand. So more of your stress situations are concentrated to certain points of the day.
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While at a resort, since guests almost never leave, you have to be top of your game at all points of the day. With that said, the points of stress will be much less intense since they will occur throughout the day rather than all at one point.
Even guests are slightly different
At a hotel, guests are more tourists on the go or business travelers, meaning that they will be constantly running around trying to get to as many sights as possible. While in a resort, there are more vacationers. Everyone is calm, relaxed, wanting to have a more laid back time. Since no one is leaving, they don’t have to worry about getting to different places. But with that said, they will be expecting top-notch service since they paid a lot more for the resort.
You will also probably get to know the guests more if you work in a resort vs in a hotel. Since they are there more often, you will get to know their names, where they are from maybe even their hobbies. But in a hotel, they will be more on the go so you’ll be lucky to even get to know their names.
Finally, working in a resort means that you will be surrounded by an amazing environment where luxury meshes with nature. This leads to a feeling of tranquility and provides you with a chance to see a wonderful destination when off-duty.
To sum up, when picking to work in a hotel or resort, think about what kind of atmosphere you’re going for. If you are quick on your feet and like a little more down time, hotel may be best. But if you are looking for a more community feeling accompanied with higher energy, go for a resort. Either way, you will pick what’s best for you!
