Hotel

A typical hotel room with a bed, desk, and television

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat screen television, and en-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, business centre (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 usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&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. 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 tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.

The Peninsula Paris hotel

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 to 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 early 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century.

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 offers luxury amenities, full service accommodations, an on-site restaurant, and the highest level of personalized service, such as a concierge, room service, and clothes pressing staff. Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with a large number of full service accommodations, an on-site full service restaurant, 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 are run by 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 (e.g., food service), middle managers, administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. 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

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

The Tabard Inn, Southwark, London

Facilities offering hospitality to travellers have been a feature of the earliest civilizations. In Greco-Roman culture and ancient Persia, hospitals for recuperation and rest were built at thermal baths. Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705, was officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest hotel in the world. 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 travellers, including food and lodging, stabling and fodder for the traveller'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 travellers (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.

Tremont House in Boston, United States, a luxury hotel, the first to provide indoor plumbing

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.

Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, and luxury hotels, including the Savoy Hotel in the United Kingdom and the Ritz chain of hotels in London and Paris and Tremont House and Astor House in the United States, began to spring up in the later part of the century, catering to an extremely wealthy clientele.

International scale

Hotels cater to travelers from many countries and languages, since no one country dominates the travel industry.

Country	Hotel rooms in 2011-12	Average rooms per hotel	Overnight tourists traveling from each country, annual
United States	4,900,000	93	58,000,000
China	1,500,000	132	83,000,000
Japan	1,370,000	27	18,000,000
Italy	1,100,000	32	29,000,000
Germany	950,000	27	72,000,000
Spain	900,000	47	12,000,000
Mexico	660,000	37	16,000,000
United Kingdom	650,000	17	57,000,000
France	620,000	36	26,000,000
Thailand	530,000	NA	6,000,000
Indonesia	410,000	25	7,000,000
Greece	400,000	41	5,000,000
Brazil	400,000	40	8,000,000
Turkey	330,000	117	16,000,000
Austria	290,000	22	11,000,000
Russia	260,000	33	44,000,000
Global total	21,000,000	41	876,000,000

Types

Services related to the hotel, Radisson Blu hotel in Szczecin, Poland

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:

Luxury

A luxury hotel offers high quality amenities, full service accommodations, on-site full-service restaurants, and the highest level of personalized and professional service. Luxury hotels are normally classified with at least a Five Diamond rating by American Automobile Association or Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Examples include: InterContinental, Fairmont, Conrad, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, The Peninsula, Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton.

Boutique and lifestyle 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. These hotels are generally 100 rooms or fewer. Lifestyle hotels are branded properties that appeal to a guest with specific lifestyle or personal image. They are typically full-service and sometimes classified as luxury. A key characteristic of boutique and lifestyle hotels is their focus on providing a unique guest experience as opposed to simply providing lodging. Examples include W Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels, Sheraton, Andaz, Hoshino Resorts and Banyan Tree.

Full-service

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. Full-service hotels range in quality from mid-scale to luxury. This classification is based upon the quality of facilities and amenities offered by the hotel. Examples include: Holiday Inn, Kimpton Hotels, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt Regency brands.

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 include Hyatt Place, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton 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, 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 Ibis Budget, 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 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 include Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Residence Inn by Marriott, Element, and Extended Stay America.

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-oriente

Release Date :

12:00am on Friday 1st January 2010