Week 2: The Hotel Industry: Historical Perspective & Leaders

The Hotel Industry: Historical Perspective & Leaders

The hotel industry is the sector that has to do with providing overnight accommodations in exchange for a fee. The accommodations and services vary from location to location. This is a very old industry going back to ancient Greek and Roman times when people traveled to thermal baths. As people traveled, they required places to stay. Monasteries and abbeys were some of the first establishments to offer an evening meal to travelers, and because of this, more people could afford to travel.

According to Hipmunk (Staff, 2015), some of the first hotels were l’Auberge Cour Saint Georges in Ghent and Angel Inn in Lincolnshire, England.

l’Auberge Cour Saint Georges in Ghent; Source Wikipedia Commons

Angel Inn in Lincolnshire, England; Source Wikipedia Commons

In the 15^th century, France enacted laws requiring hotel managers to maintain registers of guests’ names, and then England enacted similar laws (Staff, 2015). In the 16^th century, guidebooks were produced rating the hotels.

With the Industrial Revolution and train travel, the hotel business became an industry. The Tremont House in Boston had indoor toilets, free soap, and an a la carte menu, New York’s Holt Hotel had a luggage lift, and Le Grand Hôtel Paris opened in 1862 with electricity and indoor lighting (Staff, 2015). These hotels provided the conveniences that we expect today, although not all hotels are as elegant as these three.

Tremont House in Boston; Source Wikipedia Commons

Holt Hotel in Manhattan; Source Wikipedia Commons

Le Grand Hôtel in Paris; Source The J. Paul Getty Museum

The hotel industry has changed over the years, and some of the newest twists are ice hotels, underwater lodging, tree houses, or glass igloos. Online rating sites such as Trip Advisor and Yelp make comparisons between accommodations much easier. Numerous applications for computers or smart phones make booking accommodations very simple. Bidroom foresees an increase of artificial intelligence within hotels as some are already being cleaned by robots (Olga, 2017).

Types of Hotels

While hotel is the generic word for housing accommodations, there are many types of hotels. According to Revfine (Revfine, 2019), there are these definitions:

• Hotels: Offer overnight accommodations along with food, in-suite bathrooms, and other services. Hotels are tailored towards travelers and tourists.
• Motels: Offer overnight accommodations for motorists, and they generally offer free parking. Hotels often provide fewer amenities and services than hotels.
• Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs): Offer private rooms for overnight stays, and breakfast is included. Many B&Bs are converted homes, and oftentimes the owners live on site. There are low-cost and luxury B&Bs.
• Botels: Offer overnight accommodations on a boat or ship. A botel may be moored to a dock or capable of traveling. Botels are quite popular in Europe.
• Inns: Offer overnight accommodations, and they may be smaller than hotels; although some are quite large. Inns offer private rooms; however, bathrooms may be shared, especially in European cities.
• Resorts: Offer lodging, restaurant services, bars, recreation, meeting space, shopping, and other amenities. Resorts are designed to meet quests needs so they stay on the site.
• Apartments: Offer overnight accommodations for the business traveler. Services include room service, laundry service, and housekeeping. Apartments are usually larger than hotel and motel rooms.
• Hostels: Offer sharing sleeping rooms, and they are aimed for low-budget travelers. Those staying at a hostel pay for a bed, and guests share kitchen and bathroom space. Hostels are popular throughout Europe and with college students.
• Apartment Hotels: Offer hotel services but with apartments instead of rooms. Apartment hotels are popular in cities with a great deal of extended-stay business travel. Many apartment hotels provide housekeeping services.
• Boutique Hotels: Offer high-end accommodations, and many of them are theme-based. Boutique hotels are located in urban areas.
• Condo Hotels: Are similar to apartment hotels, except they are condos rather than apartments. Condo hotels are popular in the United States and larger cities.
• Eco Hotels: Provide environmentally friendly products and services such as local products, recycled materials, sustainable linens and towels, and energy efficient rooms.
• Guest Houses: Are private houses that are converted into short-term accommodations. The owner likely lives in another area, and the guests are on their own to clean and prepare meals.
• Holiday Cottages: Are, just as the name implies, a small house that is loaned for the holiday season. Holiday cottages offer guests freedom from staying with relatives or in other lodging facilities.
• Pensions: Are similar to guest houses or B&Bs; however, pensions provide meals during the day. Guests may select their food meal options from either a full day or only specific meals.
• Pop-up Hotels: Are for short periods. Generally pop-up hotels are created for outdoor events, but they can be created for holidays or summer.
• Roadhouses: Are small and near highly travelled roadways. Roadhouses they may be a part of a restaurant or bar, and they generally have few rooms.
• Airbnbs: Are any type of accommodations that are rented out through an online application. Airbnb connects hosts with travelers throughout the world. Travelers are given access to the accommodations and are responsible for their own meals; cleaning services are provided at the end of the stay.

Hotel Leaders

Hoteliers are those people who own or manage a hotel. According to Mir Niaz Morshed (Morshed, 2016), there are 10 hoteliers who are legendary:

Cesar Ritz

Cesar Ritz; Source Wikipedia Commons

Cesar Ritz was born in Switzerland and worked his way up in the hotel industry. In 1898 he opened the Hôtel Ritz in Paris, France, and in 1906, he opened the Ritz Hotel in London, England.

Conrad Hilton

Conrad Hilton; Source Legacy.com

In his youth, Conrad Hilton worked in his father’s general store. His first hotel was the Mobley Hotel in Texas, and he purchased that in 1919. He ran into financial difficulties during the great depression, and he sold several of his hotels. Then as the economy improved, he bought them back and formed Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946.

Bill Marriott Jr.

Bill Marriott Jr.; Source LodgingMagazine.com

Bill Marriott Jr.’s father was in the hotel business, but it was Bill who made the Marriott chain a giant in the industry. For over 50 years, Bill Mariott, Jr. led the company to expand globally into 67 countries.

Kemmons Wilson

Kemmons Wilson; Source KWilson.com

Kemmons Wilson is the person responsible for creating the Holiday Inn hotel chain. His motivation was to provide quality roadside accommodations after having a poor experience. He opened his first hotel in 1952 in Memphis, and the name is in reference to the Bing Crosby movie.

Barry Sternlicht

Barry Sternlicht; Source By Cmichel67 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47606341

After getting his MBA at Harvard, Barry Sternlicht went into real estate. Through an offer to back him with $20 to start his own investment company, he bought up properties during the savings and loan crises of the early 1990s. After selling those properties, Sternlicht invested in hotels by purchasing Westin Hotels & Resorts Ince and ITT Sheraton Corp and creating Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Sternlicht also started a preferred guest program in 1999.

Paul Dubrule & Gerard Pellisson

Paul Dubrule & Gerard Pellisson; Source https://niaz2015.wordpress.com Links to an external site.

Paul Dubrule & Gerard Pellisson are two Frenchmen who came to the US and started Société d’investissement et d’exploitation hôteliers (SIEH). When they returned to France, they created American-style hotels by opening Ibis Bordeaux. They have expanded by purchasing other French hotels.

Jay Pritzker

Jay Pritzker; Source Forbes.com

The Pritzker family founded Hyatt hotels. Jay Pritzker was inspired because he knew that having quality hotels located near major airports would be a draw to business travelers. After that, he started the trend of atrium hotels with the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. 

Prithvi Raj Singh "Biki" Oberoi

Biki Oberoi; Source http://curiouscase.weebly.com/biki-oberoi/biki-oberoi Links to an external site.

Prithvi Raj Singh "Biki" Oberoi is the chairmain of The Oberoi Group that has developed hotels and resorts in India. One of the most famous is Raj Villas with its gardens, tents, and villas.

Ian Schrager

Ian Schrager; Source https://www.dezeen.com Links to an external site.

After some problems with the IRS, Ian Schrager purchased several hotels and changed the design for hotels by having a unique look. Schrager’s hotels were often referred to as “boutique-styled.” His hotels were smaller with 3 to 50 guest rooms, and each hotel was theme-based.

For More Information

• Airbnb Links to an external site.
• Historic Hotels Links to an external site.
• Trip Advisor Links to an external site.
• Yelp Links to an external site.

References

Morshed, M. N. (2016, March 8). LinkedIn. Retrieved from Top 10 Legendary Hoteliers: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-10-legendary-hoteliers-mir-niaz-morshed

Olga. (2017, November 6). blogroom: the office blog of Bidroom. Retrieved from A Brief History of Hotels: https://www.blog.bidroom.com/brief-history-hotels/

Revfine. (2019, September 21). Retrieved from Hotel Industry: Everything You Need to Know About Hotels!: https://www.revfine.com/hotel-industry/#types-accommodation-hotel-industry

Staff, H. (2015, July 27). History of the Hotel: How the Modern Day Hotel Came to Be. Retrieved from https://www.hipmunk.com/tailwind/history-of-the-hotel-how-the-modern-day-hotel-came-to-be/

Source: Velda Arnaud, Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, Oregon