A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis.
Facilities provided may range from a basic bed and storage for clothing, to luxury features like en-suite bathrooms. Larger hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre, childcare, conference facilities and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers. Inns began to cater for richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the century.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-service hotel facility offers luxury amenities, full service accommodations, on-site full service restaurant(s), and the highest level of personalized service. Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with a large volume of full service accommodations, on-site full service restaurant(s), and a variety of on-site amenities. 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 and Destination clubs are a form of property ownership involving ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. A motel is a small-sized low-rise lodging with direct access to individual rooms from the car park. Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London. Some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself, for example at casinos and holiday resorts.
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.
Etymology
The word hotel is derived from the French hôtel (coming from the same origin as hospital), 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, and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning, as well as "hôtel" in some place names such as Hôtel-Dieu (in Paris), which has been a hospital since the Middle Ages. The French spelling, with the circumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take the definite article – hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria."
History
Facilities offering hospitality to travellers have been a feature of the earliest civilizations. In Greco-Roman culture hospitals for recuperation and rest were built at thermal baths. During the Middle Ages various religious orders at monasteries and abbeys would offer accommodation for travellers on the road.
The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe, possibly dating back to the rule of Ancient Rome. These would provide for the needs of travelers, including food and lodging, stabling and fodder for the traveler's horse(s) and fresh horses for the mail coach. Famous London examples of inns include the George and the Tabard. A typical layout of an inn had an inner court with bedrooms on the two sides, with the kitchen and parlour at the front and the stables at the back.
For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers (in other words, a roadhouse). Coaching inns stabled teams of horses for stagecoaches and mail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams. Traditionally they were seven miles apart but this depended very much on the terrain.
Some English towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them was intense, not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue for 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.
Inns began to cater for richer clients in the mid-18th century, and consequently grew in grandeur and the level of service provided. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768, although the idea only really caught on in the early 19th century. In 1812 Mivart's Hotel opened its doors in London, later changing its name to Claridge's.
Types
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:
Upscale luxury
An upscale full service hotel facility that offers luxury amenities, full service accommodations, on-site full service restaurant(s), and the highest level of personalized and professional service. Luxury hotels are normally classified with at least a Four Diamond or Five Diamond status or a Four or Five Star rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Examples may include: InterContinental, Waldorf Astoria, Four Seasons, Conrad, Fairmont, and The Ritz-Carlton.
Full service
Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with a large volume of full service accommodations, on-site full service restaurant(s), and a variety of on-site amenities such as swimming pools, a health club, children's activities, ballrooms, on-site conference facilities, and other amenities. Examples include: Starwood – Westin, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt hotels.
Historic inns and boutique hotels
Boutique hotels are smaller independent non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full service accommodations. Boutique hotels are generally 100 rooms or less. Some historic inns and boutique hotels may be classified as luxury hotels. Examples include Hotel Indigo and Kimpton Hotels.
Focused or select service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a limited amount 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 include Crowne Plaza, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn.
Economy and limited service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a very limited amount of on-site amenities and often only offer basic accommodations with little to no services, these facilities normally only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as 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 include Hampton Inn, Aloft, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Four Points by Sheraton, and Days Inn.
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 cater 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 include Staybridge Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Residence Inn by Marriott, Element, and Extended Stay Hotels.
Timeshare and destination clubs
Timeshare and Destination 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 restaurant(s), 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 include Hilton Grand Vacations, Marriott Vacation Club International, Westgate Resorts, Starwood Vacation Ownership, and Disney Vacation Club.
Motel
A motel is a small-sized low-rise lodging establishment similar to that of a limited service hotel, but with direct access to individual rooms from the car park. Common during the 1950s and 1960s, motels were often located adjacent to a major road, where they were built on inexpensive land at the edge of towns or along stretches of highways .
New motel construction is rare as hotel chains have been building economy limited service franchised properties at freeway exits which compete for largely the same clientele, largely saturating the market by the 1990s. They are still useful in less populated areas for driving travelers, but the more populated an area becomes the more hotels fill the need. Many of the motels which remain in operation have joined national franchise chains, rebranding themselves as hotels, inns or lodges.
Management
Hotel management is a globally accepted professional career field and academic field of study. Degree programs such as hospitality management studies, a business 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.
Historic Inns and boutique hotels
Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. Some hotels have gained their renown through tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany, which derives its fame from the Potsdam Conference of the World War II allies Winston Churchill, Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin in 1945. The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai is one of India's most famous and historic hotels because of its association with the Indian independence movement. Some establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, United States where the Waldorf Salad was first created or the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, Austria, home of the Sachertorte. Others have achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as the Hotel de Paris where the crêpe Suzette was invented or the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the Singapore Sling cocktail was devised.
A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London, through its association with Irving Berlin's song, 'Puttin' on the Ritz'. The Algonquin Hotel in New York City is famed as the meeting place of the literary group, the Algonquin Round Table, and Hotel Chelsea, also in New York City, has been the subject of a number of songs and the scene of the stabbing of Nancy Spungen (allegedly by her boyfriend Sid Vicious).
Resort hotels
Some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself to create a captive trade, example at casinos and holiday resorts. Though of course hotels have always been built in popular destinations, the defining characteristic of a resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners. On the Las Vegas Strip there is a tradition of one-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.
In Europe Center Parcs might be considered a chain of resort hotels, since the sites are largely man-made (though set in natural surroundings such as country parks) with captive trade, whereas holiday camps such as Butlins and Pontin's are probably not considered as resort hotels, since they are set at traditional holiday destinations which existed before the camps.
Other speciality hotels
The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, built on an artificial island, is structured in the shape of a boat's sail.
The Library Hotel in New York City, is unique in that each of its ten floors is assigned one category from the Dewey Decimal System.
The Jailhotel Löwengraben in Lucerne, Switzerland is a converted prison now used as a hotel.
The Luxor, a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States is unusual due to its pyramidal structure.
The Liberty Hotel in Boston, used to be the Charles Street Jail.Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland, a collection of glass igloos in Lapland that allow you to watch the Northern Lights Built in Scotland and completed in 1936, The former ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, United States uses its first-class staterooms as a hotel, after retiring in 1967 from Transatlantic service.
The Wigwam Motels used patented novelty architecture in which each motel room was a free-standing concrete wigwam or teepee.Various Caboose Motel or Red Caboose Inn properties are built from decommissioned rail cars.Throughout the world there are several hotels built from converted airliners.
Largest hotels in the world
First World Hotel
The Venetian and The Palazzo
MGM Grand Las Vegas
Disney's All-Star Resort Complex: Disney's All-Star Music Resort + Disney's All-Star Sports Resort + Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
| Izmailovo Hotel |
| Wynn Las Vegas + Encore Las Vegas |
| Mandalay Bay + Delano (formerly THEhotel) + Four Seasons |
| Luxor Las Vegas |
| Ambassador City Jomtien |
| Excalibur Hotel and Casino |
| Aria Resort & Casino |
| Caesars Palace |
| Bellagio Las Vegas |
| Sheraton Macao |
| Circus Circus Las Vegas |
| Shinagawa Prince Hotel |
| Flamingo Las Vegas |
| Hilton Hawaiian Village |
| Atlantis Paradise Island |
| Disney´s Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter |
| The Mirage |
| Monte Carlo Resort and Casino |
| The Venetian Macao |
| Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas |
| Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino (formerly the LVH and Las Vegas Hilton) |
| Paris Las Vegas |
| Treasure Island Hotel and Casino |
| Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center |
| Disney's Pop Century Resort |
| Bally's Las Vegas |
| Borgata |
| The Linq |
| Oasis Beach Hotel |
| Harrah's Atlantic City |
| Harrah's Las Vegas |
| Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino |
| Marina Bay Sands |
| Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino |
| Moon Palace Golf & Spa |
| Stratosphere Las Vegas |
| Golden Nugget Las Vegas |
| Walt Disney World Dolphin & Walt Disney World Swan Resort |
| Trump Taj Mahal |
| Galaxy Macau |
| City of Dreams |
| South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa |
| Hotel Moon Palace Cancún |
| Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City |
| Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort |
| Riviera (hotel and casino) |
| New York-New York Hotel & Casino |
| Hyatt Regency Chicago |
| Orlando Marriott World Center |
| Dacheng International |
| Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center |
| Disney's All-Star Music Resort |
| Zhangjiajie Dacheng Shanshui Tanxia International |
| Grand Sierra Resort |
| Hilton New York |
| Disney's Coronado Springs Resort |
| New York Marriott Marquis |
| Disney's All-Star Movies Resort |
| Hilton San Francisco Union Square |
| Aquarius Casino Resort |
| The Orleans Hotel and Casino |
| Tropicana Las Vegas |
| Sheraton Dallas Hotel |
| Cabana Bay Beach Resort |
| Cosmos Hotel |
| Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana |
| Bally's Atlantic City |
| Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers |
| Anjum Hotel Makkah |
| Beau Rivage (Mississippi) |
| Silver Legacy Reno |
| Hotel Pennsylvania |
| Adlerkurort |
| Atlanta Marriott Marquis |
| Hilton New Orleans Riverside |
| Palmer House |
| Hyatt Regency Orlando |
| Sheraton Waikiki Hotel |
| Shinjuku Washington Hotel |
| Royal National Hotel |
| Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel |
| Hilton Anatole |
| JW Marriott Marquis Dubai |
| Crown Casino |
| John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort |
| Chelsea Hotel |
| JW Marriott/Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes |
| Anaheim Hilton |
| Circus Circus Reno |
| Hilton Chicago |
| Atlantis, The Palm |
| Xianglu Grand |
| Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center |
| Fontainebleau Miami Beach |
| Marriott Marquis |
| Vdara |
| Swissotel Makkah |
| Rin Grand Hotel |
| Philadelphia Marriott Downtown |
| Peppermill Reno |
| Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center |
| Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino |
| Revel Atlantic City |
| Sheraton Centre Hotel |
| Fairmont Royal York Hotel |
| Westin Bonaventure Hotel |
| Rosen Centre Hotel |
| New Orleans Marriott |
| Showboat Atlantic City |
| Marriott Marquis & Marina |
| Marriott Wardman Park |
| Hotel Pullman Zamzam Makkah |
| Grand Hyatt |
| Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Villas |
| ROW NYC |
| Makkah Clock Royal Tower (Fairmont) |
| Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center |
| Galt House Hotel |
| Hilton LAX Airport |
| Swissôtel The Stamford |
| Best Western Premier Havana Nha Trang |
| Queen's Park |
| Waldorf-Astoria Hotel |
| Buffalo Bill's |
| Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort |
| Sunway Resort |
| Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel |
| Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa |
| Sheraton |
| Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts |
| Sheraton |
| Madinah Anwar Al Madinah (Mövenpick) |
| Makkah Hajar Tower (Mövenpick) |
| Park Inn Pribaltiskaya Hotel |
| Hilton Americas |
| Gothia Towers |
| Chicago Marriott Downtown |
| Westin St. Francis |
| Hyatt Regency New Orleans |
| Hilton San Diego Bayfront |
| Regal Airport Hotel |
| Colorado Belle |
| Caesars Atlantic City |
| Sheraton Princess Kai'ulani |
| Yalta Hotel Complex |
| Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort |
| Estrel Hotel |
| Lotte Hotel Seoul |
| Hyatt Regency Dallas |
| Sheraton New Orleans |
| Sultan Hotel |
| Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center |
| Hyatt Regency O'Hare |
| Disney's Newport Bay Club |
| Cairo Marriott Hotel |
| Azimut Hotel St. Petersburg |
| Renaissance Grand |
| Washington Hilton |
| Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center |
| Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel |
| Hilton London Metropole |
| Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina |
| Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk |
| Meritus Mandarin Singapore |
| Boca Raton Resort and Club |
| Trident Mumbai India II 1048 rooms II two towers |
| Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel |
| Plaza Hotel & Casino |
| Anaheim Marriott |
| Palace Station |
| Le Meridien Etoile |
| Parc 55 - a Hilton Hotel |
| Grand Hyatt Incheon |
| Park Plaza Westminster Bridge |
| Roosevelt Hotel |
| New Yorker |
| JW Marriott |
| Park Inn Alexanderplatz |
| Disney's Sequoia Lodge |
| Los Angeles Airport Marriott |
| Gloria Hotel |
| Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers |
| Mulia Hotel |
| JW Marriott Indianapolis |
| Shin Yokohama Prince |
| JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa |
| APA Hotel and Resort |
| Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort |
| JW Marriott & Ritz Carlton |
| Omni Dallas Hotel |
| Atlantis Casino Resort |
| Disney's Hotel Cheyenne |
| Disney's Hotel Santa Fe |
| Fallsview Hilton |
| Ramada Hotel and Suites Boao |
| River Palms |
| Sheraton Phoenix Downtown |
| Yanggakdo International Hotel |
