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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 larger cities and typically offer dining facilities. Motels are designed more for the motorist in mind, usually offering adequate parking. Note that some pub-style hotel rooms may have shared bathroom facilities. |
| 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" encompasses 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. |
| Backpacker 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, holiday park, camp sites | They offer spacious grounds with either communal or ensuite sites for caravans, motorhomes 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 |
| 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. |
| Broadband internet | This means that high speed internet access is provided for guests who bring their own network-enabled computing device. It can be offered through a high-speed network socket which a computer is directly connected to using a network cable. Alternatively, broadband internet can be provided by a wireless service, allowing connectivity via a computer's wireless adapter. Compatibility between your computing device and the type of broadband service provided should be discussed when enquiring or making a booking. Broadband internet services may be provided free of charge or may incur a usage cost. |
| Disabled access | This refers to accommodation which caters to some extent for guests with mobility impairments. For some properties, only specific rooms or particular on-site facilities may be suitable for those requiring special access. Therefore it is important that you discuss your access requirements when making an enquiry or booking to ensure the facilities available meet your own needs. |
| 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. |
| Pets welcome | 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, restrict them to only certain parts of the property, 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. Note that there may be an additional charge to the tariff if you bring a pet with you. |
| Pool | Refers to either an above-ground or in-ground pool. The pool may or may not be heated, or if it is stated as being heated, it may only be heated at certain times of year. The pool may or may not offer shelter. |
| Restaurant on-site | 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, or they may be reserved only for group functions, 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. |
| Spa pool or hot tub | 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, such as a hot tub or jacuzzi, typically located outside but under shelter. It may only be available for use at certain times of the year. Please note that this does not refer to a spa bath which is typically located within a bathroom area and is filled and drained for each use. |
| 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. |
| 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 39 (2012) 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.
There is also a local Melway Ballarat directory covering Ballarat and its surrounding suburbs which is used to locate properties in that area. Map numbers and references are taken from edition 1 (2008). See further information about street directories in Victoria. |
| 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 8 (2011) of that directory. See further information about street directories in Victoria. |
| 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. A basic guide to STAR ratings is:
An additional half STAR, depicted as star outline with an unfilled centre, is awarded to properties that provide a more extensive range of facilities. Further information about star ratings can be found on the Star Ratings Australia web site. |
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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 are inclusive of GST and other applicable taxes.
Unless otherwise stated, the pricing represents 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. If pets are permitted, an additional charge may be applicable for each animal. 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. Some accommodation tariffs may mention terms such as single, double, queen, king or twin. These refer to bedding arrangements. A "single" may refer to either a single bed, but more typically a double (or larger) bed which will be occupied by only one guest. "Double", "queen" or "king" refers to a bed size suitable for sleeping two guests. "Twin" refers to two beds of any size, usually within the one room, allowing guests to sleep in separate beds. Additional costs guests may incur during their stay could result from telephone usage, internet access, use of laundry facilities, breakfast, meals and items consumed from in-room mini-bars. Some particular operators of self-contained accommodation may also charge for hire of linen if you require it. Some accommodation properties may not permit stays of just one night. They may have a minimum stay policy which may be a general minimum for all times of the year, or the minimum stay restriction may apply only to certain periods such as weekends, holidays or special events. When booking accommodation in advance, you may be asked to either provide a deposit or supply your credit card details to secure your booking. Some properties (typically privately-owned self-contained accommodation) may require the payment of a refundable bond to off-set any damage that may occur to the property by the guest during their stay. |
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| Phone & FAX numbers |
See telephone services for further information about making calls to phone numbers in Victoria.
The letters "BH" next to a telephone number advises that to get hold of the person, the number should be called during business hours, which is typically between 9am and 5pm local Victorian time. The letters "AH" next to a telephone number advises that the number should be called after hours (outside of business hours) to get hold of the person. |
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Clicking on the email address displayed will bring up a message window which allows you to enter in your details and enquiry. This enquiry is then sent directly to the accommodation property to deal with. Travel Victoria is not involved in the booking process, except for automatically passing your initial enquiry onto staff at the accommodation property.
If making an enquiry for a specific period, please specify both the check-in and check-out dates, plus the total number of nights you intend to stay, so that there's no confusion over the exact days of your stay. Also include details related to the number of guests that will be staying and any special requirements you may have. Listed below the email address may be a brief note indicating how often or when emails are read and/or responded to. This is a general statement which is relevant to typical periods of time, however certain factors or situations may affect how quickly emails are read and responded to, despite the standard response time quoted. For urgent enquiries, a phone call is recommended. All times specified are in local Victorian time. |
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| Our web site | Clicking on a property's web site link will bring up a new window in your web browser which will consist of two components. There will be a header frame which specifies the title of the accommodation property, and if applicable, a contact email address and/or on-line booking link. The rest of the window will contain the property's nominated web site. If an email address or booking link is provided in the header, please use those to make your enquiry or booking. If you wish to get rid of the header and see only the property's web site in the window, click on "remove this frame" in the top right-hand corner of the page. |
| On-line bookings | Definition |
| Official |
A booking link of this type uses the accommodation property's officially nominated on-line real-time availability and booking system, typically also found on their official web site. This permits room availability to be instantly checked or a booking to be made. The booking and payment for accommodation is usually done directly with the accommodation provider. |
| 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). |
| HotelsCombined |
HotelsCombined is based in Australia and is one of the world's largest accommodation price comparison search engines. When looking up a hotel, HotelsCombined compares rates and availability from over 30 suppliers and lists all rooms types and costs on offer. You then choose the room type and deal you want, and click through to the supplier's website to make your final booking. See a list of all HotelsCombined suppliers (opens up in a new window). HotelsCombined offer a best price guarantee (conditions apply) to ensure you pay the lowest price possible for your hotel. One of the interesting features of HotelsCombined is that it displays a summary of consumer reviews from paying guests that have actually stayed at the hotel. They call it "Verified Reviews". In contrast, some travel websites allow anyone to submit reviews, regardless of whether they've stayed there or not. |
| 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). |
| 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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