What is the defination of a business hotel?
 

I found that because of the more expensive rate of international full service hotel in Toyko, many people who is not into frequent flyer or hotel program usually choose to stay at so call " business hotel". The defination of a "business hotel" from their eye is usually a local one or a domestic chain, not a full service hotel, usually 3 star or 3.5 star, with very small and clean room, (that aiming at business travler's requirement?), and the rate is moderate .

But what always confused me is that full service international chain such as Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton or Hyatt (forgive me IHG) is also considered a "Business hotel", especially in the US, even some of their more upscale line such as Grand Hyatt is still considered a business hotel with full service, lounge, meeting space..etc.

But they Marriott, Hyatt, Westin is usually ranked as 4 star or 5 star internationally, and they charges the double rate of other domestic "Business hotel", so what is the real defination of a" business hotel"?

I though staying at Hilton or Marriott is not a big deal but my colleague considering them as very high end hotel and told me most company would not allow their worker to stay at Hilton when traveling for business....a holiday inn is good enough...lol. (and my client is one of the giant sports brand from Germany, the major one, they did only allow their basic level employee to stay at holiday inn and economy class for 10 hours flight.)

That's about as well defined as a "sports car" or a "sports sedan".

Further, there are many brands within each family and while some meant Marriott to mean strictly "Marriott", others lump JW Marriott at the high end and a Courtyard by Marriott as one and the same.

For pragmatic purposes, a business hotel is one that caters to business travelers, generally meaning a fair mid priced range (i.e. not resort/luxury), 18-24 hour reception, breakfast service, laundry service, often times very large properties with conference facilities, etc. Four Points and Hyatt Regency are good examples.

It's perhaps easier to label what are not generally considered business hotels, which are Motel 6, Aloft, Regis, Four Seasons, etc. (Of course, it doesnt preclude people staying in such places for business).

In japan the term business hotel refers to a quite specific type of hotel which is not the same as what is meant by the same term in western economies. The words may be the same but the location is needed to give the term proper context and meaning. This is not an odd thing, there’s thousands of words or terms which have different meanings around the world.

Agreed. This is a case where a term means different things depending on regional customs. It's almost laughable to expect that "business hotel" would mean the same thing across multiple countries thousands of miles apart.

It perfectly demonstrates there is no single perfect system to define it.

BTW the star rating varies depending on the issuing authority and even then it's really a features-checklist.

As far as I'm personally concerned, there are:

* Motels
* Budget Hotels

Another factor that can influence whether a hotel is perceived as a “business hotel” is its location.

I think of "business hotel" as an urban hotel in the Marriott/Hilton/Westin range. I do not expect to it to have formally pursued any star rating from a stringent, reputable ratings authority focusing on quality, even though various websites loosely call these places 3* or 3.5* hotels.

I've stayed in some boutique hotels that try to capture both the business traveler and the upscale/luxury traveler. I mentally put these in their own category, but can see them being referred to as business hotels as well. A boutique that is simply trying to be a midrange business hotel isn't too interesting - the big brands execute that well enough - which is probably why so many of the boutiques try to add some of the near-luxury soft touches even if the physical plant isn't Forbes 5-Star level.

It depends also on what is meant by "business". As commonly used in the US (and Canada and most of the EU) the category "business traveler" is understood to mean well-paid professionals with sought-after skillsets who travel to enable high value business for their companies. Management consultants, lawyers, sales managers, IT specialists, etc. Business hotels are those which cater to this category, with amenities and price-points appropriate to it.

The category does not include everyone who literally travels for business purposes. For example, one of my friends drives a truck. Mostly he does short hauls but occasionally he catches a longer distance assignment that requires staying overnight in a hotel. By literal definition he is a business traveler. But he does not stay at anything commonly regarded as a "business traveler" hotel. He stays at off-brand places undercutting Motel 6 to keep his costs in line with margins and company policy.

depends, how much does your business allow you to spend?
 

i am a small business owner so if i am in tokyo, even rose garden is already on the expensive side.

but once i get my new factory up and running and my marketing team working full time, maybe i can choose much nicer business hotels.

if your business allows you park hyatt, then business must be good, whether you own it or work for it.

Stayed at a Park Hyatt a couple months ago on business...it was pretty similar to any other business hotel I've stayed in. I'm not a huge Hyatt guy, but this was a city where it was the only option in the part of town with our office...at least in terms of a brand I knew and ability to book/change/cancel via mobile app and without a travel agent involved.

I get that Park Hyatt in some cities is aiming for a near-luxury niche, but here (Hyderabad) it was just a good overall business hotel for $140-ish per night.

My travel is all personal adventures to various places around the world, so no business travel. There was a time when I would book local. After a couple of sketchy experiences I stopped doing that.

I like to stay at nice places, usually in the center of where we want to be. In Europe, or any other place I find Hilton, if I can get a full fledged Hilton property with executive suites that is what I book with Hilton Honors. Second choice is Marriott.

Other than that I will look for comparable.

Definitely no Motel 6, Holiday Inn, etc.

In Australia I will first look for Meriton Suites and serviced apartments. We have really enjoyed them.

True, the "business" in business hotel refers to white collar professions.

But, I have to laugh at one part... "sought-after skillset" and "management consultant" !

Westerners don't use the term Business Hotel in the same way the OP is looking for. When travelling for business and selecting a price point, it tends to be the most expensive that whoever is paying the bill will tolerate.

I'm sure the Bobs stay at a business hotel. :D