Establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis
This article is about lodging establishments. For shared-room lodging, seeHostel. For hotels designed for motorists, seeMotel. For other uses, seeHotel (disambiguation).
"Hotel room" redirects here. For the 1993 HBO television series, seeHotel Room.
Ahotel is an establishment that provides paidlodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to largesuites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, arefrigerator, and other kitchen facilities,upholstered chairs, a television, anden-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts,gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usuallynumbered (or named in some smaller hotels andB&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. InJapan,capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
The precursor to the modern hotel was theinn ofmedieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century,coaching inns served as a place for lodging forcoach travelers. Inns began to cater to wealthier clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened inExeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughoutWestern Europe andNorth America in the early 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century, particularly in the United States.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, complexity, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-service hotel facility offersluxury amenities, full-service accommodations, an on-siterestaurant, and the highest level of personalized service, such as aconcierge,room service, andclothes-ironing staff.Full-service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with many full-service accommodations, an on-site full-servicerestaurant, and a variety of on-siteamenities.Boutique hotels are smaller independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments offer a limited amount of on-site amenities. Economy hotels are small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic accommodations with little to no services.Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel.
Timeshare anddestination clubs are a form of property ownership involving ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. Amotel is a small-sized low-rise lodging with direct access to individual rooms from the car parking area.Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels and motels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture. Some hotels are built specifically as destinations in themselves, for examplecasinos and holidayresorts.
Most hotel establishments are run by ageneral manager who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the "hotel manager"), overseeing the entire operation and ensuring all departments function cohesively, department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel (e.g., food service),middle managers,administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. Each department head manages their specific area, trains staff, handles departmental budgets, and ensures their team delivers quality service that aligns with the hotel’s standards. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function and class, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies.
Etymology
A typical hotel room with a bed, desk, and television
The wordhotel is derived from theFrenchhôtel (coming from the same origin ashospital), which referred to a French version of a building seeing frequent visitors, and providing care, rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage,hôtel now has the same meaning as the English term, andhôtel particulier is used for the old meaning, as well as "hôtel" in some place names such asHôtel-Dieu (in Paris), which has been a hospital since theMiddle Ages. The French spelling, with thecircumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlierhostel spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take thedefinite article – hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria".
The precursor to the modern hotel was theinn ofmedieval Europe, possibly dating back to the rule ofAncient Rome. These would provide for the needs of travellers, including food[2] and lodging,stabling andfodder for the traveller's horses and fresh horses formail coaches. Famous London examples of inns include theGeorge and theTabard. A typical layout of an inn featured an inner court with bedrooms on the two sides, with thekitchen andparlour at the front and the stables at the back.[3]
For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century,coaching inns served as a place for lodging forcoach travellers (in other words, aroadhouse). Coaching inns stabled teams ofhorses forstagecoaches andmail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams. Traditionally they were seven miles apart, but this depended very much on the terrain.
Tremont House inBoston, United States, a luxury hotel, the first to provide indoor plumbingThe Boody House Hotel in Toledo, Ohio
SomeEnglish towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them became intense, not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue from the food and drink supplied to the wealthy passengers. By the end of the century, coaching inns were being run more professionally, with a regular timetable being followed and fixed menus for food.[4]
Inns began to cater to richer clients in the mid-18th century, and consequently grew in grandeur and in the level of service provided. Sudhir Andrews traces "the birth of an organised hotel industry" to Europe'schalets and small hotels which catered primarily to aristocrats.[5]One of the first hotels in a modern sense, theRoyal Clarence, opened inExeter in 1768, although the idea only really caught on in the early-19th century. In 1812 Mivart's Hotel opened its doors inLondon, later changing its name toClaridge's.[6]
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is part of a United States law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation.[8] Hotels are included as types of public accommodation in the Act.[9]
International scale
Hotels cater to travelers from many countries and languages, since no one country dominates the travel industry.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies that operate hotels have set widely accepted industry standards to classify hotel types. General categories include the following:
Lifestyle luxuryresorts are branded hotels that appeal to a guest with lifestyle or personal image in specific locations. They are typically full-service and classified as luxury. A key characteristic of lifestyle resorts is focus on providing a unique guest experience as opposed to simply providing lodging. Lifestyle luxury resorts are classified with a Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Example brands include:Waldorf Astoria,St. Regis,Wynn Resorts,MGM,Shangri-La,Oberoi,Belmond,Jumeirah,Aman,Taj Hotels,Hoshino,Raffles,Fairmont,Banyan Tree,Regent andPark Hyatt.
Upscale full-service
Upscale full-service hotels often provide a wide array of guest services and on-site facilities. Commonly found amenities may include: on-site food and beverage (room service and restaurants), meeting and conference services and facilities, fitness center, and business center. Upscale full-service hotels range in quality from upscale to luxury. This classification is based upon the quality of facilities and amenities offered by the hotel.[12] Examples include:W Hotels,Sheraton,Langham,Kempinski,Pullman,Kimpton Hotels,Hilton,Swissôtel,Lotte,Renaissance,Marriott andHyatt Regency brands.
Boutique
Boutique hotels are smaller independent non-branded hotels that often contain mid-scale to upscale facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full-service accommodations. These hotels are generally 100 rooms or fewer.[13]
Focused or select service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a limited number of on-site amenities that only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as the single business traveler. Most focused or select service hotels may still offer full-service accommodations but may lack leisure amenities such as an on-site restaurant or a swimming pool. Examples includeHyatt Place,Holiday Inn,Courtyard by Marriott andHilton Garden Inn.
Economy and limited service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a very limited number of on-site amenities and often only offer basic accommodations with little to no services, catering to the budget-minded traveler seeking a "no frills" accommodation. Limited service hotels often lack an on-site restaurant but in return may offer a limited complimentary food and beverage amenity such as on-site continental breakfast service. Examples includeIbis Budget,Hampton Inn,Aloft,Holiday Inn Express,Fairfield Inn, andFour Points by Sheraton.
Extended stay
Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel. Extended stay hotels may offer non-traditional pricing methods such as a weekly rate that caters towards travelers in need of short-term accommodations for an extended period of time. Similar to limited and select service hotels, on-site amenities are normally limited and most extended stay hotels lack an on-site restaurant. Examples includeStaybridge Suites,Candlewood Suites,Homewood Suites by Hilton,Home2 Suites by Hilton,Residence Inn by Marriott,Element, andExtended Stay America.
Timeshare and destination clubs
Timeshare anddestination clubs are a form of property ownership also referred to as a vacation ownership involving the purchase and ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage during a specified period of time. Timeshare resorts often offer amenities similar that of a full-service hotel with on-site restaurants, swimming pools, recreation grounds, and other leisure-oriented amenities. Destination clubs on the other hand may offer more exclusive private accommodations such as private houses in a neighborhood-style setting. Examples of timeshare brands includeHilton Grand Vacations,Marriott Vacation Club International,Westgate Resorts,Disney Vacation Club, andHoliday Inn Club Vacations.
Motel
Amotel, an abbreviation for "motor hotel", is a small-sized low-rise lodging establishment similar to a limited service, lower-cost hotel, but typically with direct access to individual rooms from the car park. Motels were built to serve road travellers, including travellers on road trip vacations and workers who drive for their job (travelling salespeople, truck drivers, etc.). Common during the 1950s and 1960s, motels were often located adjacent to a major highway, where they were built on inexpensive land at the edge of towns or along stretches of freeway.
New motel construction is rare in the 2000s as hotel chains have been building economy-priced, limited-service franchised properties at freeway exits which compete for largely the same clientele, largely saturating the market by the 1990s. Motels are still useful in less populated areas for driving travelers, but the more populated an area becomes, the more hotels move in to meet the demand for accommodation. While many motels are unbranded and independent, many of the other motels which remain in operation joined national franchise chains, often rebranding themselves as hotels, inns or lodges. Some examples of chains with motels includeEconoLodge,Motel 6,Super 8, andTravelodge.
Motels in some parts of the world are more often regarded as places for romantic assignations where rooms are often rented by the hour. This is fairly common in parts ofLatin America.
Hotels may offer rooms formicrostays,[14] a type of booking for less than 24 hours where the customer chooses the check in time and the length of the stay. This allows the hotel increased revenue by reselling the same room several times a day.[15] They first gained popularity in Europe but are now common in major global tourist centers.[16]
Hotel management is a globally accepted professional career field and academic field of study. Degree programs such ashospitality management studies, abusiness degree, and/or certification programs formally prepare hotel managers for industry practice.
Most hotel establishments consist of a general manager who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the "hotel manager"), department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel,middle managers,administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies.
Some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself to create a captive trade, example atcasinos,amusement parks and holidayresorts. Though hotels have always been built in popular destinations, the defining characteristic of aresort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners.
On theLas Vegas Strip there is a tradition ofone-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant hotels in a concentrated area. This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world's highest: nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms.[19]
The Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after theauthor) inGuadix, Spain, as well as several hotels inCappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave formations, some with rooms underground. The Desert Cave Hotel inCoober Pedy, South Australia, is built into the remains of anopal mine.
Cliff hotels
On top of the cliff, the Riosol Hotel in Mogán
Located on the coast but high above sea level, these hotels offer unobstructed panoramic views and a great sense of privacy without the feeling of total isolation. Some examples from around the globe are the Riosol Hotel in Gran Canaria, Caruso Belvedere Hotel in Amalfi Coast (Italy), Aman Resorts Amankila in Bali, Birkenhead House in Hermanus (South Africa), The Caves in Jamaica and Caesar Augustus in Capri.[21]
Capsule hotels are a type of economical hotel first introduced in Japan, where people sleep in stacks of rectangular containers. In the sleeping capsules, beside the bed, the customer can watch TV, put their valuables in the mini safes, and the customers also can use the wireless internet.[22]
Day room hotels
Some hotels fill daytime occupancy withday rooms, for example,Rodeway Inn and Suites nearPort Everglades inFort Lauderdale, Florida.[23] Day rooms are booked in a block of hours typically between 8 am and 5 pm,[24] before the typical night shift. These are similar to transit hotels in that they appeal to travelers, however, unlike transit hotels, they do not eliminate the need to go through Customs.
The Ice Hotel inJukkasjärvi,Sweden, was the first ice hotel in the world; first built in 1990, it is built each winter and melts every spring. The Hotel de Glace in Duschenay,Canada, opened in 2001 and it is North America's only ice hotel. It is redesigned and rebuilt in its entirety every year. Ice hotels can also be included within larger ice complexes; for example, the Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within the walls of theKemi snow castle; and the Lainio Snow Hotel is part of a snow village nearYlläs, Finland. There is an arctic snowhotel inRovaniemi inLapland, Finland, along with glass igloos.[25] The first glass igloos were built in 1999 inFinland, they became the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort with 65 buildings, 53 small ones for two people and 12 large ones for four people. Glass igloos, with their roof made of thermal glass, allow guests to admireauroras comfortably from their beds.[26]
A love hotel (also 'love motel', especially in Taiwan) is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world, operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy forsexual activities, typically for one to three hours, but with overnight as an option. Styles of premises vary from extremely low-end to extravagantly appointed. In Japan, love hotels have a history of over 400 years.[27]
Portable modular hotels
In 2021 a New York-based company introduced newmodular and movable hotel rooms which allow landowners andhospitality groups to create and easilyscale hotel accommodations. Theportable units can be built in three to five months and can be stacked to create multi-floor units.[28]
A referral hotel is a hotel chain that offers branding to independently operated hotels; the chain itself is founded by or owned by the member hotels as a group. Many former referral chains have been converted to franchises; the largest surviving member-owned chain isBest Western.
The Maya Guesthouse in Nax Mont-Noble in the Swiss Alps, is the first hotel in Europe built entirely with straw bales. Due to the insulation values of the walls it needs no conventional heating or air conditioning system, although the Maya Guesthouse is built at an altitude of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the Alps.[32]
Transit hotels are short stay hotels typically used at international airports where passengers can stay while waiting to change airplanes. The hotels are typically on theairside and do not require a visa for a stay or re-admission through security checkpoints.
Aresort island is an island or an archipelago that contains resorts, hotels, overwater bungalows, restaurants, tourist attractions and its amenities.Maldives has the most overwater bungalows resorts.
Yurt hotels
Yurts are circular, self-supporting structures with longrafters coalescing toward a centraldome. During the day, the dome allowssunlight to illuminate the entire yurt interior, whilemoonlight andstarlight shine through the dome at night.[33]
The Jailhotel Löwengraben inLucerne, Switzerland, the Malmaison inOxford, and Bodmin Jail Hotel inBodmin, are in converted prisons now used as a hotels.
TheLuxor, a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip inParadise, Nevada, United States is unusual due to its pyramidal structure.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel in operation is theNisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi, Japan. The hotel, first opened in AD 707, has been operated by the same family for forty-six generations. The title was held until 2011 by theHoshi Ryokan, in the Awazu Onsen area ofKomatsu, Japan, which opened in the year 718, as the history of the Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan was virtually unknown.[39]
A number of public figures have notably chosen to take up semi-permanent or permanent residence in hotels.
Fashion designerCoco Chanel lived in theHôtel Ritz, Paris, on and off for more than 30 years.
InventorNikola Tesla lived the last ten years of his life at theNew Yorker Hotel until he died in his room in 1943.
Larry Fine (ofThe Three Stooges) and his family lived in hotels, due to his extravagant spending habits and his wife's dislike for housekeeping. They first lived in the President Hotel inAtlantic City, New Jersey, where his daughter Phyllis was raised, then the Knickerbocker Hotel inHollywood. Not until the late 1940s did Fine buy a home in theLos Feliz area of Los Angeles.
TheWaldorf-Astoria Hotel and its affiliated Waldorf Towers has been the home of many famous persons over the years including former PresidentHerbert Hoover who lived there from the end of his presidency in 1933 until his death in 1964. GeneralDouglas MacArthur lived his last 14 years in the penthouse of the Waldorf Towers. ComposerCole Porter spent the last 25 years of his life in an apartment at the Waldorf Towers.
ActorRichard Harris lived at the Savoy Hotel while in London. Hotel archivist Susan Scott recounts an anecdote that, when he was being taken out of the building on a stretcher shortly before his death in 2002, he raised his hand and told the diners "it was the food."[43]
American actressEthel Merman lived in theBerkshire Hotel in Manhattan for many years[44] but was evicted in 1978 by new ownership who did not want permanent residents.[45]
Uruguayan-Argentinian tango composerHoracio Ferrer lived almost 40 years, from 1976 until his death in 2014, in an apartment inside theAlvear Palace Hotel, in Buenos Aires, one of the most exclusive hotels in the city.[47]
^"Oldest hotel". Guinness World Records.Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved4 April 2015.
^Compare:"Hotels: A Brief History".Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved2 January 2021.In the Middle Ages, monasteries and abbeys were the first establishments to offer refuge to travellers on a regular basis. Religious orders built inns, hospices and hospitals to cater for those on the move. [...] Inns multiplied, but they did not yet offer meals.
^"Hotels: A Brief History".Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved17 December 2012.During this epoch [early-15th century], more than 600 inns were registered in England. Their architecture often consisted of a paved interior court with access through an arched porch. The bedrooms were situated on the two sides of the courtyard, the kitchen and the public rooms at the front, and the stables and storehouses at the back.
^Coaching Era, The:Stage and Mail Coach Travel in and Around Bath, Bristol and Somerset, Roy Gallop, Fiducia (2003),ISBN1-85026-019-2
^Andrews, Sudhir (June 2007). "History of Hotels and Motels".Introduction To Tourism And Hospitality Industry (reprint ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education (published 2007). p. 46.ISBN9780070660212. Retrieved2 January 2021.It was in Europe that the birth of an organised hotel industry took place in the shape of chalets and small hotels, which provided a variety of services and were mainly patronized by the aristocrats of the day.
^ab"Tourism Factbook". UN World Tourism Organization. 2014. pp. 3.2, 4.13, 4.14.Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved22 April 2014.
^Balekjian, Cristina (September 2011)."Boutique Hotels Segment"(PDF).HVS.Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved22 October 2015.
^Esomba, Steve (17 June 2012)."1.4".GLOBAL TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT: THE NECESSITIES FOR CLEAN ENERGY AND CLEAN TRANSPORTATION USAGES.Lulu.com. p. 41.ISBN9781471749681. Retrieved22 October 2015.[self-published source]
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