{"id":5191,"date":"2026-04-22T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/tmp-en-4672\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:17:22","slug":"hotel-establishments-typologies-permitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/hotel-establishments-typologies-permitting\/","title":{"rendered":"What are hotel establishments? Typologies and permitting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"trc-art-meta\"><span><strong>Tourism<\/strong><\/span><span>3 min read<\/span><span>Updated June 2026<\/span><\/div>\n<p>\u00abHotel establishment\u00bb is a precise legal category \u2014 and choosing it well defines the construction requirements, the classification and the viability of the investment. Since 2014, the RJET recognises three types: hotels, aparthotels and pousadas. Here is what each demands and when it makes sense.<\/p>\n<h2>1. The three current typologies<\/h2>\n<div class=\"trc-diagram\">\nHOTEL ESTABLISHMENTS<\/p>\n<p>HOTELS1 to 5 stars<br \/>\nAPARTHOTELSunits with kitchenette<br \/>\nPOUSADASlisted \/ historic buildings\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Hotels<\/strong> \u2014 the classic typology, with a 1-to-5-star classification awarded by Turismo de Portugal after inspection: permanent reception, units with private bathrooms and proportionate common areas. <strong>Aparthotels<\/strong> \u2014 the same logic with domestic autonomy (kitchenette), ideal for medium stays. <strong>Pousadas<\/strong> \u2014 installed in listed buildings or buildings of recognised value, where the architecture is the commercial argument itself.<\/p>\n<p>An important note: older figures such as <strong>inns (estalagens) and motels have disappeared from the legal framework<\/strong> \u2014 anyone finding those designations on properties for sale should treat them as history, not as a licence.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"archidex-blog-details-quote\">\n<p>The RJET \u2014 approved by DL 39\/2008 and deeply revised in 2014 \u2014 reduced the hotel typologies to hotels, aparthotels and pousadas, with minimum requirements per category.<\/p>\n<p><cite class=\"trc-art-cite\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/diariodarepublica.pt\/dr\/legislacao-consolidada\/decreto-lei\/2008-34526990\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RJET \u2014 DL n.\u00ba 39\/2008, current wording \u2014 Di\u00e1rio da Rep\u00fablica<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>2. What opening requires<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"list\">\n<li>Tourist use admitted in the PDM for the location;<\/li>\n<li>Municipal permitting with an opinion from Turismo de Portugal;<\/li>\n<li>Compliance with safety, accessibility and minimum-area requirements per category;<\/li>\n<li>Inspection and classification before opening to the public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>3. Where architecture decides the business<\/h2>\n<p>Meeting requirements opens doors; what fills rooms is something else: service circuits that never cross guests, rooms designed for light and silence, common areas that produce revenue and an identity that outlives the photographs. In rehabilitation \u2014 pousadas and boutique hotels \u2014 add the dialogue with heritage, from the <a href=\"\/rgeu-revogado-o-que-muda-nos-projectos\/\">new technical references<\/a> to permitting in protection zones.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\u201cA hotel is a building that works in shifts: what the guest sees is half of the design; the other half is what makes the operation run unseen.\u201d<\/h2>\n<h3>Tiago R. Correia<\/h3>\n<p>Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"trc-art-faq\"><span class=\"trc-art-label\">Frequently asked questions<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What is the minimum size of a hotel?<\/h3>\n<p>The RJET sets minimum requirements per category \u2014 including the dimensions of the accommodation units, which grow with the stars. The exact programme is settled by the applicable classification regulation.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I turn a residential building into a hotel?<\/h3>\n<p>Often yes, with a change of use and PDM compliance \u2014 one of the most common operations in urban rehabilitation. See <a href=\"\/en\/building-permitting-portugal-2026-guide\/\">how permitting works in 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Hotel or rural tourism?<\/h3>\n<p>It depends on the asset and the capital: in rural settings, <a href=\"\/en\/rural-tourism-portugal-modalities-rules\/\">TER<\/a> requires less investment and has an identity of its own; a hotel brings scale and institutional liquidity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"trc-art-cta\"><span class=\"trc-art-cta-title\">Thinking about a hotel or pousada?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>From the programme to the classification, we design hotel establishments that work for the guest and for the operation.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"trc-art-btn\" href=\"\/en\/contact\/\">Talk to the studio<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tourism3 min readUpdated June 2026 \u00abHotel establishment\u00bb is a precise legal category \u2014 and choosing it well defines the construction requirements, the classification and the viability of the investment. Since 2014, the RJET recognises three types: hotels, aparthotels and pousadas. Here is what each demands and when it makes sense. 1. The three current typologies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislation-permitting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5253,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5191\/revisions\/5253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}