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Defintions of terms
An explanation of the terminology used within accommodation listings.
| Style | Definition |
| Hotel, Motel | Offering sole occupancy of a room which typically consists of a bedroom and attached ensuite. Hotels are usually situated in large cities and offer dining facilities. Motels are designed more for the motorist in mind, usually offering adequate parking. |
| Self-contained | A wide range of property types including apartments, cabins, cottages, flats, holiday houses, townhouses, units and villas. They may be stand-alone or attached to other buildings on the property. Cooking facilities are provided and often laundry facilities as well. |
| Bed & Breakfast, Guest house | The term "bed & breakfast" encompases a wide range of styles, so it is always important to verify the accommodation facilities offered. A "traditional" bed & breakfast is a property where both the owners and their guests live under the same roof and breakfast is prepared and presented by the hosts. This property is typically a family home, with parts of the house shared with guests. A guest house is an extension of a "traditional" bed & breakfast whereby there are a large number of rooms. With both "traditional" bed & breakfast accommodation and guest house accommodation, bathrooms are often ensuites to rooms or in some cases bathroom facilities may be shared with other guests. The bed & breakfast category can also be applied to some types of self-contained accommodation, typically cottages. In these cases, guests have sole occupancy of the building and thus do not live under the same roof as their hosts, but the hosts do supply breakfast provisions for guests. |
| Hostel, Bunkhouse, Dormitory, Lodge | Generally low cost accommodation usually with communal self-catering (cooking) facilities. Bathroom facilities are generally shared. Shared laundry facilities may be provided. Some styles of this accommodation type, like those aimed at backpackers, allow guests who essentially don't know each other to share sleeping quarters. Other styles of this low cost accommodation type allow guests to have use of a private bedroom and share facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens. Some properties of this style may be aimed more at guests who are part of a large family or group looking for affordable accommodation who can effectively book an entire building and thus house all their members under the one roof. |
| Caravan park, Camp sites, Tourist park | They offer spacious grounds with either communal or ensuite sites for caravans or tents. There may be a choice of sites with power connections or cheaper ones without power. A range of recreational facilities are usually provided on-site for guests. Note that these tourist or caravan parks may also offer self-contained accommodation in the form of cottages, cabins or units, and sometimes budget cabin accommodation with no ensuite or cooking facilities. |
| Houseboat | Available in areas where navigable bodies of water exist, such as large lakes or rivers. In Victoria, houseboats are generally limited to some cities and towns along the Murray River, Lake Eildon and the Gippsland Lakes. Houseboats are typically fully self-contained with cooking, bathroom and sleeping facilities. No boating licence is required. |
| Facility | Definition |
| Pool | Refers to either an above-ground or in-ground pool. It may or may not be heated and may or may not offer shelter. |
| BBQ | This may refer to either a wood, gas or electric barbecue. Depending on the type of accommodation property, it may be shared by a number of guests or offer exclusive use. |
| Laundry facilities | This provides a washing machine for use by guests and ironing facilities. A dryer is optional. Note that there may be a charge for use of these facilities where the laundry is shared by multiple groups of guests. |
| On-site restaurant | Dining facilities for evening meals are located within the boundaries of the accommodation property. The restaurant, bistro or cafe may or may not be licensed. Bookings may be required. Note that dining facilities may not necessarily be operational every night of the week, so ensure you check before you plan to dine in. Some accommodation properties offer room service whereby meals prepared within their restaurant can be delivered to your room for consumption. |
| Tennis court | Tennis court (either half-size or full size) located within the boundaries of the accommodation property and available for guest use. Note that there may be charges for tennis racquet and ball hire. |
| Spa pool | This refers to a spa facility where the water is chlorinated and drained only after a lengthy period of time. Typically this may be a spa pool attached to an existing regular pool or it may refer to a dedicated heated spa pool, typically located outside but under shelter. This does not refer to a spa bath which is typically located within a bathroom area and that is filled and drained for each use. |
| Pet friendly | This indicates that the accommodation property may allow certain types of pets to accompany guests during their stay. Some may permit animals inside the accommodation or have appropriate fencing to contain animals outside. You should always ensure you discuss your pet and its requirements at the time of booking to verify it can be accommodated, as this will usually be at the manager's sole discretion. |
| Maps | Definition |
| Location map | If you have JavaScript enabled in your web browser, this pops up a location map with a house icon showing where the actual accommodation property is located, plus the surrounding area. The supplied navigation tools allow the map to be dragged around and zoomed in and out. Some accommodation properties do not list their number in the street but just their street name. Location maps for those properties will therefore only show a general map of the whole street with a note to advise of that. A very small number of properties are only identified by the town they are in, thus only a general town map is shown with a note to advise of that. The location maps uses the on-line Google Maps service. While Google continually strives to improve the accuracy of its service and source the latest maps, there may be some inaccuracies in map data and pinpointing exactly where an accommodation property is located. Therefore use the map as a guide only. |
| Melway | This refers to street maps that exist in the Melway Street Directory - the most widely used, accurate and fully-featured street directory of Greater Melbourne. The street maps cover Melbourne, surrounding suburbs, the Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island, Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and selected surrounding towns. Map numbers and references listed within accommodation listings are taken from Edition 36 (2009) of that directory. Map numbers may change between editions of the Melway due to directory expansion and reorganisation, so try to ensure you use the latest version. |
| VicRoads Country | This refers to either town/city street maps or regional touring maps in the RACV VicRoads Country Street Directory of Victoria. This directory includes over 300 street maps of towns and cities in Victoria (excluding Melbourne and Geelong suburbs), regional maps of surrounding areas of Melbourne and Geelong, plus state-wide map coverage. Map numbers and references listed within accommodation listings are taken from Edition 7 (2007) of that directory. |
| Other | Definition | ||||||||||||||||||||
| STAR rating |
This is a widely recognised certification scheme for accommodation establishments, managed by AAA Tourism which is a company owned by Australia's automobile clubs. Over 500 criteria are used to assess an accommodation property and determine its rating between one and five STARS, in half star increments.
Some accommodation properties may display more than one STAR rating. This is because rooms or dwellings on the property may have facilities that are of differing standards to each other. |
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| Chain |
Accommodation chains are a collection or grouping of establishments under a recognisable brand name. Some chains may own each of their accommodation properties or each property may be an independently owned and operated franchise within the chain.
A list of chains recognised within accommodation listings on this web site are:
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| Nightly rates |
The amounts are specified in Australian Dollars and represent the minimum rate you will have to pay to stay overnight at a particular accommodation establishment, unless wording indicates the amount applies to a different length of stay.
Prices may fluctuate depending on the particular season and location of the property. For example, higher rates may be payable at coastal properties during the warmer months or at properties located close to ski fields during the snow season. Staying during weekends, school holidays, public holidays or during periods of local events such as festivals may also attract a higher tariff. Extended stays may attract a discount. It is important to verify the tariff when enquiring about accommodation and understand that significant variations can occur throughout the year and during periods of high demand. Accommodation rates may be dependent on the number of guests staying and there may be extra costs for additional adults or children. An accommodation establishment may offer a variety of accommodation styles and different levels of comfort with different facilities, thus there may be a wide range of applicable tariffs at a particular establishment. Additional costs guests may incur during their stay could result from telephone usage, use of laundry facilities, breakfast, meals, items consumed from in-room mini-bars and linen hire from some particular operators of self-contained accommodation. When booking accommodation in advance, you may be asked to either provide a deposit or supply your credit card details to secure your booking. |
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| Phone & FAX numbers | See our page on telephone services for further information about making calls to phone numbers in Victoria. |
| On-line bookings | Definition |
| Official |
A booking link of this type uses the accommodation property's officially nominated on-line booking system, as found on their official web site. This permits room availability to be checked or a booking to be made. The booking and payment for accommodation is usually done directly with the accommodation provider. |
| BookingCenter |
Booking links of this type allow potential guests to instantly check availability, get a quote for an intended stay, and make a booking with the accommodation provider in question. The booking and payment for accommodation is done directly with the provider using their BookingCenter property management system. |
| RoamFree |
RoamFree is an Australian company using the latest technology to provide real time on-line availability and booking systems for accommodation providers. Any details you provide and all bookings and payments are made directly with the accommodation provider. For further information on how their booking system works, see their frequently asked questions (opens up in a new window). |
| HotelClub |
Established in 1996, Australian-operated HotelClub is a global on-line accommodation reservation service offering consumers a choice of over 32,000 hotels world-wide. It has special arrangements with leading hotel chains to give guests competitive rates and wide choice. HotelClub staff process your on-line booking request by interacting directly with the accommodation provider you choose. In some cases, this may be instant, while in other cases there may typically be a one day delay between submitting your booking and having it confirmed. For further information on how the HotelClub booking service works, see their frequently asked questions (opens up in a new window). |
| Note that accommodation tariffs displayed when using the above type of on-line booking links may be discounted, promotional or last minute rates. Those special rates may not necessarily be available if you instead decide to request a booking on the phone or using email. | |
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