Difference Between Hotel and Restaurant

Hotel vs Restaurant

What’s the difference between Hotel and Restaurant? If you ask this question to a westerner, he may ridicule you for not knowing the difference between such basic things. But in a place like India, you would be surprised to see signboards of roadside eating joints claiming to be hotels. In fact, people use the word hotel in conversation when they are merely going out to have dinner or lunch at a restaurant. This article is meant to remove all such confusions by highlighting the differences between a hotel and a restaurant.

Hotel

Hotel is defined by various dictionaries as a place that provides accommodation besides providing meal services. It is in general a place for lodging and food requirements of travelers and tourists. A hotel may or may not have a restaurant (some have many) though it is common for hotels to provide meals through room service. A hotel is a large building having many rooms and even floors with differences in their features. Some hotels are premium where many additional services are offered besides accommodation and food. These services may include swimming pool, conference rooms, cafes, casinos, and other entertainment services. The tariffs of hotels are dependent upon the kind and quality of services it offers. Hotels are star rated from one star to seven star depending on these facilities and services.

Restaurant

A restaurant is simply a place to have food outside your home. It is smaller in size than a hotel as it does not have accommodation facilities. The one and only feature of a restaurant is the kind of food and/or beverages it serves to its customers. There are all sorts of restaurants in all cities of the world ranging from budget to very expensive ones where international cuisine is served and the ambience is great. Some restaurants also serve alcoholic drinks for which they obtain a license from the administration. Some are specialized restaurants where a particular cuisine is served such as Chinese, Italian, Thai, Japanese, and so on.

There are some hotels that are known more for their high quality restaurants than their lodging services. Restaurants in all hotels are open for those having booked rooms in the hotel as well as outsiders to generate more revenue for the hotel.