Apartment Numbering System In A Hotel. How Can You Quickly Understand It?

When you are in a hotel, you need to know some things. For example, you need to know how to understand where your room is by knowing just the number of this room. It’s a clear hint that all hotels have a very similar numbering system. Actually, a lot of offices and even apartment buildings tend to use this simple numbering system.

But sometimes, you will still see some other types of numbering systems in hotels, especially outside the US. It depends on many things. And today, we’ll tell you about the apartment numbering system in hotels, and compare it with houses, office buildings, and other objects. You will be able to understand where your room is quite quickly.

Here are some points from our today’s article:

The standard hotel room numbering system – how does it work?
Alternative numbering systems for hotels all over the world.
How does the numbering system differ in other buildings?
What should you know about the numbering system in hotels?
How can you quickly find your room in a hotel?

Let’s get started!

The standard numbering system – some main things you should know

First of all, you should know that the standard system doesn’t always work. Many hotels have a unique numbering system. For example, some small boutique hotels with only 5-8 rooms will name their rooms somehow without even using numbers. And some special hotel chains have come up with their own numbering systems that help them much.

But still, most hotels prefer using the standard scheme for numbering their rooms because it’s convenient for both the hotel and its guests. We would say that over 95% of hotels in the US and Europe will have this standard numbering system.

Here’s how it actually works:

The first digit in the number of any room stands for the floor. For example, all rooms on the second floor will start with 2.
After that, most hotels will just use the numbers from 01 to 99 to number the rooms on this floor. So, the 101 room is actually the first room on the first floor.
If the hotels are huge and they have over 99 rooms on one floor, they may also use a four-digit numbering system where the second digit may also mean the block or the section where the room is.
Letters may be used in this system. For example, there can be room 105a and the next room (or the room in front of it) can have the number 105b.
Also, hotels may use the letters W, E, and C, for example, in front of the standard number. They will stand for West Wing, East Wing, and Central Wing, respectively. In this case, the room will have such a number on the door: W105.
Usually, the rooms start their numbering from the elevator on the right. So, the first room on the right of the elevator should be 101, then the next room is 102, and so on. But this can vary according to a certain hotel.

We know some hotels that just use a simple numbering system. Their first room will just say “1” on its door. This is not very convenient because you don’t even know where your room is located once you get the key at the reception.

The standard numbering system is pretty convenient, especially for big hotels. Once you get the key, you understand where you should go. For example, you get the key with 507 on it. You know that your room is located on the fifth floor and it’s the seventh room on the right of the elevator. You will not run around the hotel for half an hour and struggle to find your room.

How do they number underground floors?

According to the standard numbering system, you may think that if your room is on one of the underground floors, you will have “-203” on your key, but it’s ridiculous. So, most hotels that use a standard numbering system, will use a letter or two to indicate one of the basement or sub-basement floors

For example, the hotel has 3 levels under the basement and you can find rooms, a casino, a restaurant, and parking there. Each object will have its own number and it may start with the letter “B” if it’s just a basement. And it may also start with the letters “SB” for sub-basement floors.

So, your room at the place you are going to may have the number “SB2-106”. In this case, you understand that this is the second sub-basement floor and the room will be the sixth on the right of the elevator. It’s actually a cool system that allows you to understand where you should go just by looking at the number of the room.

How does the hotel numbering system differ from offices and apartments?

Actually, a lot of apartment houses and office buildings have the same system and it may only differ because of the large number of flats or offices on one floor. Also, in skyscrapers, they can have a different scheme of numbering flats and offices because using those long numbers is not always cool.

For example, a flat on the 135th floor may have such number: 135-196. And this doesn’t give you much information but the floor. So, they may have different letters included. For example, the section on the right of the elevator can be called “a” and the section on the left will then have “b”. And this reduces the number of flats to 135-b7. At least, now you know that you should go to the b-section and try to find your flat there.

In hotels, nearly never use this scheme because most hotels have a limited number of rooms and they just don’t need this. If a hotel is placed on the top of a skyscraper, it can still have a personal level numbering system. For example, they can start their rooms at the 135th level, but the rooms will be numbered as if they were placed on the 1st floor – starting with 101.

Alternative numbering systems all over the world

Some hotels see the numbering system as a way to stand out. They invent some special technologies and algorithms to name their rooms and number them. And eventually, all these systems are not very convenient. But if a hotel doesn’t have numerous floors, it can invent new numbering systems.

But if a hotel is big, the standard numbering system is the best option. First of all, it’s very convenient for clients. Guests will not have to always ask how they can get to a certain room. They will clearly see the way from the elevator because they understand the numbering system.

Secondly, this system is more convenient than any other because it is used in all hotels and people have already got used to it. If you often stay in hotels, you will find your rooms easily in any hotel with a standard room numbering system. But if a hotel uses an alternative weird system of numbering its rooms, you may walk around its corridors for some time to find the needed room.

What to do to find your room quickly?

Once you are in a hotel, you should just look at the room number. Usually, it’s written on the key that you are given at the reception after you check-in. You will understand immediately that the numbering system in this hotel is standard if you see a three- or four-digit room number.

Then, you just need to do the next:

head to the elevator that is usually not hard to find in the hotel lobby;
if the hotel doesn’t have an elevator, just find the stairs;
look at the first digit in your room number – this is the floor you need to go to;
go to that floor and once you are out of the elevator look at the rest of the room numbers;
find the nearest room to the elevator and look which number it is;
after that calculate where your room is – this is not hard to do;
then, you should just find the room and use your key to open it.

If you fail to find the room, you may go to the reception and ask the receptionist to help you. The hotel staff will be glad to show you the room or to tell you in detail how to get to your room without any problems.

Final words

You should know a little about the numbering system in hotels. This will help you find your room easily and understand where you can or can’t go in the hotel. Fortunately, the system is very simple and it doesn’t require a lot of time and effort to remember. You will need to know just that the first digit usually refers to the floor while all other letters and digits refer to the location of the room on that floor.