The first step in the valuation of hotels/motels for assessment purposes is to segment all properties into the various categories. The industry at a high level segments them into:

• Full Service
• Limited Service
• Suite
• Resort

For the purposes of this Guide it is necessary from an analysis perspective to drill down a little deeper and expand the segmentation as follows:

• Full Service
• Limited Service
• Convention
• Resort
• Casino
• All suite/Extended stay
• Boutique
• Beverage or Gallonage
• Strata/Condominium (not addressed in this Guide)
• Motels

Full Service hotels provide a variety of guest unit styles, meeting rooms, spacious public areas, and a wide variety of facilities including restaurants, lounges, fitness centres, pools, spas, business centres, shops and parking.

Limited Service hotels are usually multi-storey establishments with interior entrances but containing fewer rooms than full service hotels. A variety of guest unit styles are offered, however, public areas including food and beverage facilities, pools and spas are usually limited.

Convention hotels are usually located near or attached to convention centres. They generally fit the full service category and in addition contain a large number of rooms, significant meeting space, several restaurants and lounges, banquet facilities and provide ample business and leisure amenities.

Resort hotels are recreation-oriented and attract travellers seeking a specific destination experience. These hotels can range in size from the boutique style to larger complexes and may offer a wide variety of guest accommodation.   Recreational facilities can be extensive including skiing, golf, tennis, fishing, and water sports. Travel packages, meal plans, entertainment and recreational programs can be available.

Casino hotels are generally full service properties attached or adjacent to casinos offering extensive gaming facilities such as slot machines, blackjack, craps, keno, and other games of chance.

All Suite or Extended Stay hotels are designed to attract patrons who require accommodation for a week or longer at a time. They are somewhat analogous to apartment buildings in that amenities include fully equipped kitchens. They may or may not have a restaurant but may have a small kitchen for continental type breakfast preparation.

Boutique hotels are smaller facilities generally containing less than 100 rooms. They tend to cater to the upper scale niche leisure and business market, stressing homelike atmosphere, highly personalized service, distinctive style with generous amenities including easy access to business services. They are considered to be the “place to stay” for the sophisticated traveller.

Beverage/Gallonage hotels are generally older facilities originally constructed to satisfy minimum historic licensing requirements. Today these hotels cater to transient patrons or non-transient patrons many of whom consider the hotel as their primary place of residence. Unlike most types of hotels, the majority of this hotel type’s income is derived from liquor sales which causes significant valuation problems, from an assessment perspective. This will be discussed further in the case study section contained in Part 11 - Case Studies.

Strata/Condominium hotels have units that are separate legal entities which may be owned individually or in bulk, can be vacation or business oriented, and are available to patrons either through a hotel chain or management company. Units vary in type from basic sleeping modules to one or more bedrooms, a living room, full kitchen and eating area. Guest registration can be on or off site.  Strata/condominium hotels raise valuation issues different from other hotels and, consequently, are not considered in this Guide.

Motels are usually one to three storey buildings with inside or outside entrances to the units which provide easy access to parking. The standard guest units usually include a sleeping room and bathroom and are similar in decor and design throughout. Public areas are limited in the size and the variety of facilities provided. Motels range from the “mom and pop” type operations to chain affiliations where the higher end product is analogous to a hotel. It is common to have third party providers for food and beverage facilities that may be present.

For the purposes of analysis individual hotels can be stratified into groups reflecting quality, price level, size (number of rooms), location, age/condition and amenities. This is discussed in the Part 4 - Hotel/Motel Market Segmentation.
This Guide does not discuss Bed & Breakfast homes, Cabins/Cottages, Ranches, or vacation homes.