Airport Hotels
AIRPORT HOTELS
Module 2: Tourism Product
Airport Hotels
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Fig 1. Comfort Suites Airport inn
With the growth of air travel, especially the boom of budget flights, the airport hotel has become an increasingly distinct segment offering specific features to travelers whose length of stay in the hotel is usually very short.
These hotels generally have smaller rooms and reduced common areas. Increasingly the airport hotels have come to recognize the need to reach larger markets and have begun a process of adding guest rooms as well as banquet and meeting facilities.
They target local business customers and large organizations hosting regional conferences, offering good-sized, quality facilities that save participants precious travel time between the airport and a convention centre. Such a marketing strategy puts airport hotels in direct competition with convention facilities and traditional downtown business hotels.
Airport hotels generally adapt their service offering to their target market. For instance, check-in and check-out times are often very flexible. The laundry and dry cleaning service is accelerated to accommodate clients who only have a few hours to spare. Most airport hotels offer a shuttle service, which can constitute a significant operating expense for the property. These shuttles have to operate at a very high frequency i.e. every 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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Fig 2. The Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong
Airport hotels generally enjoy stable year-round occupancy and usually have better weekend occupancies than urban hotels targeting business travelers.
Special situations arise near airports where transfers are likely to require overnight or day accommodation. Aircrew and airport staff needs accommodation in addition to the needs of other tourism developments around the airport.
Airport hotels also provide a convenient meeting place for international representatives and most...
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