In the No Frills” approach, the non-necessities are either not present or are not provided. The term refers to a lodge or a guesthouse that offers the bare necessities to clients at a low, preferential price.
Motels (or Motor-Hotels) were originally designed to provide a night shelter for the tired, long-haul drivers who, rather than continuing to laboriously drive on with their journey at night, (which could, in most of the cases, be risky and hazardous) preferred to spend their night at a hotel, relax, take a shower, have fresh meals, go in for a good, undisturbed sleep and, in the morning, feeling good and comfortable, would resume their journeys for the day. These motels are located next to highways and usually have designated areas to park heavy vehicles.
The study concerning hospitality is not limited to the understanding of how the start-rated, luxury hotels and resorts operate. The principal endeavour of the Vatel Hotel and Tourism Business school, Sushant University is to instil in its students a clear knowledge and awareness about the various other domains in which the world of hospitality operates and to make them aware of the nitty-gritties involved in the different aspects of hospitality. Hospitality stands out as the only domain which has a ready product for all types of pockets and budgets.
Who says a stay can be enjoyed only in the top-class hotels of the world? the entrepreneur in the hotel management students has created several no-frill and motels which provide cleanliness, safety, security and, indeed excellent food and service.
Let us examine the no-frill hotels of the modern day.
In a no-frills hotel or in a motel a visitor pays for a room which provides the basic amenities, such as security, a clean bed, hygienic food, sanitization and clean water. However, all other offerings, for example, towels, hair dryers, shampoos, creams, hair conditioners and Wi-Fi come at an additional price. Due to the fact that the rack rate of a motel simply covers the bed, power and water, the charge is low as compared to the fully loaded, luxurious hotels and resorts.
To recognize if a lodge must adopt a no-frills approach to its services, it must first determine whether or not their regular consumers would really like to patronize their hotel, or would they much rather prefer paying higher charges in exchange of better amenities.
The price range of motels and inns in India outdo their counterparts in other countries considering the human touch and the personalised service that the Indian hotels extend to their guests. With regard to the manpower charges, motels in India have the highest EPR – (Employee Per Room) compared to any hotel in the world. Even as globally budget or no-frill motels maintain an EPR ratio of 0.5, it is in the excess of 1.5 in India. So in case you check in at a budget motel in India, the probabilities are that hospitable employees will pamper you would be far greater, unlike in west or other South Asian nations in which ‘no-frills’ is synonymous with self-service.
The strategic location of No-Frills hotels at various points on a highway, in view of the distance covered by a vehicle within a determined period of time, makes these places as stop-by or night-stay establishments, which then become regular places to frequent by the heavy-duty vehicle drivers. These frequent visits by these regular drivers make the hotel staff understand the needs of these customers, thereby making their motel as a preferred location for relaxation or for a night stay.
With the surface transport network rapidly increasing, such no-frills motels have been mushrooming at different locations in India and have been providing employment opportunities to the semi-skilled people and yet with a clear mission in mind – To pre-empt customer needs and to do the best to provide the basic necessities at an affordable price.
