A Brief History on the Development of Lodging Industry

Historical Perspectives Being hospitable can be traced back to the civilizations of Sumeria, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Rome and Biblical Times.

Two possible explanations why people in ancient times felt required to be hospitable: They felt that providing hospitality to strangers were necessary to their religious well-being and; Having superstitious belief.

The more logical in our modern thinking explains that providing hospitality was a result of a “give and take” philosophy.

The need for a place to stay away from home is as old as the first nomadic traveler.

Trading between two cultures created the need for groups of people to travel often great distances.

Trading between two cultures created the need for groups of people to travel often great distances.

Along these trade routes, certain stopping points became favored out of necessity. These stopping points became known as junction points that grew into trading centers and eventually evolved into cities.

Journey segment is the maximum reasonable distance traveled in one day along trade and caravan routes. At these journey segments, lodging facilities became a need. They were called relay houses in China, khans in Persia, and tabernas in Rome.

At some point, innkeepers began to incorporate food and beverage service in their operations.

Another development was the Roman network of roads that crisscrossed Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. These roads provided fast and safe routes for travelers.

The concept of hospitality was changed in 1282 in Florence, Italy The concept of hospitality was changed in 1282 in Florence, Italy. The innkeepers created a guild or associations that formed hospitality into business.

The industrial revolution of the mid-1700s created new modes of transportation that further changed the way people traveled. The emergence of railroads and later the automobile played large roles in lodging’s history because both dramatically increased the lengths of journey segments for a traveler.

As the evolution of lodging continued, new facilities began to emerge as an option for travelers. The wealthy and landed aristocracy of the world began to view the many spare rooms in their castles and estates as sources of revenue.

The best example of this can be traced back to the English and colonial inns of the 1700s. The significant difference between the two was that colonial inns offered rooms to anyone who could afford to pay, whereas English inns were most often reserved for the aristocracy. Another difference between the two was that English inns rented out individual sleeping rooms, whereas colonial inns regularly offered large rooms with several beds inside. This meant that English inns could offer private guest rooms, whereas colonial inns were better suited for communal accommodations.

The word hotel is the Anglicized version of the French hotel garni, which translates into “large, furnished mansion”. The first lodging facility that can be directly considered a precursor of the modern hotel was the 73 rooms City Hotel built in New York in 1794. It is a significant milestones in the evolution of lodging because its sole purpose was to house guests. All the previous inns were homes first, and lodging facilities second.

In 1829, Tremont House was built in Boston In 1829, Tremont House was built in Boston. This property was another milestone in the early revolution of hotels.

It was considered as the first five-star hotel It was considered as the first five-star hotel. Highly trained staff, French Cuisine, and luxurious appointed rooms combined to give guests the finest hotel experience available ever to that point in time. Amenities offered by the Tremont House include in-room water pitchers and free soap, that was considered revolutionary.