What is ISO 18513:2021?
ISO 18513:2021 establishes an internationally agreed vocabulary for tourism services, specifically focusing on hotels and other forms of tourist accommodation. The standard provides a set of definitions to ensure consistency in communication across the global tourism industry, including terminology used by hospitality service providers, booking platforms, tourism authorities and travellers. This standard enhances transparency, comparability, and service quality across international tourism markets.
Whether you’re a hotel chain, guesthouse, resort, travel aggregator, or regulatory body, ISO 18513:2021 ensures you’re using globally recognized terminology that promotes clarity and confidence in tourism services.
Looking to integrate standardized vocabulary into your hotel quality or certification systems? Contact support@pacificcert.com.
Scope and Applicability
ISO 18513:2021 aims to harmonize the terminology used across the tourism accommodation sector, enabling consistent definitions and descriptions of facilities, services, accommodation types, and operational practices. It applies to hotels, hostels, resorts, serviced apartments, holiday villages, rural lodges, boutique hotels, bed-and-breakfast establishments and other hospitality venues. The standard is also relevant to national and international tourism bodies and any organization that communicates or documents tourism services.
By providing a single point of reference for definitions, ISO 18513:2021 facilitates better customer communication, accurate classification, and quality assurance in hospitality services. Need help applying ISO terminology to your tourism certification scope? Email support@pacificcert.com.
Key Definitions in ISO 18513:2021
The standard contains precise definitions for terms across various categories of hospitality and accommodation, including:
- Hotel: A commercial establishment offering paid accommodation and ancillary services, with a reception desk, private rooms, and daily housekeeping
- Resort: A facility that offers lodging along with recreational activities and services, often in a leisure or vacation destination
- Serviced Apartment: Accommodation that includes kitchen facilities and is serviced regularly (cleaning, linen replacement)
- Guesthouse: A smaller establishment offering accommodation, usually with fewer services than a hotel, often family-operated
- Room Categories: Terms such as single room, double room, twin room, suite, and family room are clearly defined to prevent ambiguity
- Facilities and Services: Definitions for services such as concierge, room service, laundry, spa, fitness center, and parking
- Operational Terminology: Includes terms like check-in/check-out, reservation, guaranteed booking, no-show, overbooking, and more
Each definition is contextually adapted to ensure that travelers, service providers, and auditors interpret terms uniformly. Need support incorporating these terms into your internal audit, SOPs, or service standards? Contact support@pacificcert.com.
Structure of ISO 18513:2021
ISO 18513 is structured by category and covers terms in:
Category | Terms Defined |
Types of Accommodation | Hotel, hostel, guesthouse, serviced apartment, resort, eco-lodge |
Room Types | Single, double, suite, family, connecting room |
Services Offered | Room service, reception, housekeeping, concierge, food and beverage |
Booking and Reservation Terms | Advance booking, guaranteed reservation, cancellation policy |
Facility Descriptions | Swimming pool, gym, parking, spa, conference room |
Operational Terminology | Check-in, check-out, guest, night, early departure, overbooking |
These definitions provide a common language for contracts, websites, audit reports, and guest communication.
Requirements of ISO 18513:2021
- Adopt standardized terms in marketing materials, contracts, websites, and booking platforms
- Train front-desk, reservations, and customer service teams on approved terminology usage
- Integrate definitions into standard operating procedures (SOPs), guest communications, and classification audits
- Align internal documentation, such as service catalogs and quality manuals, with ISO vocabulary
- Apply terms consistently in compliance-related documentation, especially when undergoing audits, certifications, or quality grading
- Collaborate with national and international tourism bodies to adopt consistent classification descriptors
Documentation Required
Organizations applying ISO 18513 should maintain:
- Service description manuals using ISO-defined terms
- Training materials for staff aligned with the standardized vocabulary
- Guest-facing documents (e.g., booking forms, websites, brochures) that reflect ISO terminology
- Internal audit checklists verifying correct terminology usage
- Quality manuals or classification records that reference ISO 18513 terminology
- Supplier contracts or partner communications that use consistent accommodation definitions
Want to align your tourism operations with ISO 18513? Contact support@pacificcert.com.
Benefits of ISO 18513:2021 Implementation
- Ensures clarity and consistency in accommodation descriptions across platforms and partners
- Enhances guest trust by delivering exactly what is promised through accurate service descriptions
- Simplifies training and onboarding by using globally recognized definitions for service roles and processes
- Reduces contractual disputes and customer dissatisfaction due to misinterpretation of terms
- Supports national tourism boards in establishing credible classification systems and star-rating schemes
- Aligns with ISO 9001 and ISO 21101 for organizations seeking broader management system certification
- Facilitates better integration with OTAs (online travel agencies), booking engines, and global distribution systems
- Improves compliance and audit-readiness for hotels undergoing quality, sustainability, or safety certifications
- Enables benchmarking across markets using a shared vocabulary for accommodation categories and services
- Promotes transparency and service comparability, especially for international travelers and regulatory bodies
This year, the global tourism and hospitality sector is focusing heavily on digital transformation, sustainability, and international alignment of service standards. With the rise of online travel platforms, mobile-first bookings, and AI-driven customer service, using consistent and accurate terminology is crucial to avoid misunderstandings and ensure guest satisfaction.
Additionally, tourism recovery post-COVID-19 has created a strong push for harmonized quality and safety frameworks. ISO 18513 is being widely adopted by hotel chains, travel associations and certification bodies to standardize service descriptions across languages, markets, and booking platforms.
As travelers become more discerning and travel aggregators increase their reach, hotels that adopt ISO 18513 gain a marketing advantage in global visibility, audit-readiness, and classification compliance. The standard is also being increasingly linked with digital taxonomy systems used by government tourism departments and booking platforms to streamline accommodation listings.
Want to align your tourism operation with international standards? Email us at support@pacificcert.com.
How Pacific Certifications Can Help
Pacific Certifications provides independent audit and certification services for ISO management systems relevant to tourism and hospitality, including:
- ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems for hotels and service providers
- ISO 21101 – Adventure Tourism Safety Management
- ISO 14001 – Environmental Management for eco-tourism and sustainable lodging
- ISO 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety for hospitality staff
- ISO 22000 – Food Safety in hotel kitchens and catering operations
Our audits help verify:
- Correct use of ISO vocabulary in documented processes and guest communications
- Alignment with international terminology in quality and safety documentation
- Consistency across multilingual tourism platforms, SOPs, and training content
- Integration of ISO 18513 into your broader management systems for clarity and compliance
For audit and certification inquiries tailored to the tourism sector, contact us today at support@pacificcert.com!
FAQ on ISO 18513:2021
Is ISO 18513:2021 certifiable?
It is a vocabulary standard meant to support certifiable management systems and classification programs, certificate of compliance is issued by the certification bodies.
Who should use ISO 18513?
Hotels, resorts, hostels, serviced apartments, tourism boards, booking platforms, and tourism certification bodies.
How does ISO 18513 relate to ISO 9001 or ISO 21101?
It provides standardized terminology that can be used to support quality management or safety management in tourism.
Can it be used across languages and regions?
Yes. The goal is to create globally recognized definitions that transcend local variations and reduce ambiguity.
Is it applicable to both luxury and budget accommodation providers?
Yes. The standard covers all types and levels of tourism accommodation.
Ready to get ISO 18513:2021 certified?
Contact Pacific Certifications to begin your certification journey today!
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