People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging mainly for sleeping. Other purposes are safety, shelter from cold and rain, having a place to store luggage and being able to take a shower.

They do that in a hotel, hostel or hostal, a private home (commercially, i.e. a bed and breakfast or guest house place, or non-commercially, with members of hospitality services or in the home of friends), in a tent, caravan/camper (often on a campsite). In addition there are make-shift solutions.

Sleeping is typically done lying in a bed, or more generally on a soft surface, such as also an air mattress, a couch, etc. Some trains have sleeping cars.