The History of the Lodging Industry

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: 1.They felt that providing hospitality to strangers were necessary to their religious well-being and; 2.Having superstitious belief.

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

The Sumerians The recorded history of the hospitality industry begins with the Sumerians, a group of people who inhabited an area known as Mesopotamia, near the Persian Gulf, by about 4000 BC. Much of this area, covering part of the modern state of Iraq, was particularly fertile, allowing many of the Sumerians to become skilled farmers and cattle breeders.

The Sumerians’ skill at farming enabled them to raise and harvest sufficient grain to support artisans and craftsmen who could devote their time and talent to other activities. The Sumerian farmers were eventually able to produce so much grain that they had a surplus available to trade.

Sumerians are often credited with inventing money and writing, both critical elements in the evolution of business. In addition to growing and trading grain, the Sumerians became skilled at converting it to alcoholic beverages, primarily beer. The Sumerian grain beverages were probably safer to drink than their water.

Local Sumerian taverns were probably among the first hospitality business. These were drinking establishments that catered to people who lived in the immediate neighborhood. The taverns served various beers and provided a gathering place for local residents to discuss the issues of the day.

The lodging industry developed because of the need to provide accommodations for travelers. 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. Old Spice Trade Route

Journey segment is the maximum reasonable distance traveled in one day along trade and caravan routes without junction points. At these journey segments, lodging facilities became a need. They were called relay houses in China, khans in Persia, and tabernas in Rome.

In early days in the Near East, caravans crossing vast desserts, stopped at caravansaries. These were accommodations that surrounded large courtyards. These were simple structures consisting of four walls that provided protection against marauding enemies who attacked under cover of darkness. Within the walls, platforms were constructed upon which the traveler’s slept.

The high point of this era in terms of hospitality was the development of the post houses along caravan routes. In his writings, Marco Polo described post houses known as yams as apartments suitable for a king

Classic Greek and Roman In ancient Greece, hospitality was provided by certain elements of religion: missionaries, priests and pilgrims formed a very large part of the traveling public. The accommodations were meager, providing only shelter and the barest of sustenance. In the earliest times, they were operated by slaves who belonged to the temples or holy places. Gradually, freemen replaced the slaves, but even they were considered to be of low social prestige.

In ancient Rome, the inns were large mansions. Owners of these inns would not allow guests to stay unless they carried a “letter of eviction.” Which was permission to travel from government officials. Inns and taverns were well established throughout the empire. Their taverns were called “tabernas,” and the attached inn was called a “caponas.” but the general quality of the taverns and inns available to the public was poor.

In the last years of the Roman Empire, taverns and inns provided shelter for traveling merchants, actors, and scholars. Accommodations were still primitive. There were rooms for people but no stables for the horses, more often there were stables but no rooms.

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 history of the hotel in its present form goes back to the Middle Ages. In the 13 th and 14 th centuries, German and English literature made frequent reference to the “inn”. The development of the inn in the late medieval period was due to the improvements in security in many European societies.

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 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.

Industrial Revolution During the height of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700’s and early 1500’s there was a great demand for accommodation as people migrated to the cities to work. The emerging middle class could afford accommodations when traveling away from home.

The Industrial Revolution and the development of spas helped the growth of the hotel industry. By 1750, Brighton, Blackpool, Southern and other English seaside resorts were attracting bathers.

America’s first hotels were seaport inns. An example of an American inn is Manhattan’s Fraunces Tavern.

By the middle of the 17 th century the public stage coach system had appeared. Coach service was established by innkeepers to attract business.

Public coach service was put into effect around The coaches ran between major cities and stopped wherever passengers wanted, similar to the way bus lines operate today. Coach inns were built along the routes primarily at points where teams of horses were changed. The British use the term ordinary to describe such inns.

The United States Postal Service, established in 1710, called its primary routes between major towns along the Atlantic Coast Post roads. With the establishment of these post roads, entrepreneurial farmers converted their farm houses into inns. Passengers from the coaches slept in the hostel’s long room with their feet towards the fire.

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. 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.

With the rapid development of the railways in the 1820’s and 1830’s a different kind of hotel developed. In Europe, large hotels were built next to or across the downtown railroad station. In the United States, hotels were constructed along the railroad network.

The introduction and development of the automobile industry led to the establishment of the roadside hotel. With the construction of highways and expressways the lodging industry responded to the needs of the motorist. Thus, the motor hotel or motel emerged.

The automobile led the hotel industry into a booming business in the 1920s. The term motel, coined from “motor hotel.” goes back to the time when a farmer owning land along the major routes would build wooded 10 foot by 10 foot cabins along the road in front of his property.

A car would pulled right of the cabin, where a traveler could spend the evening. The owners of these motels soon expanded to perhaps, 15 cabins. These were called tourist courts. These businesses proved profitable during the free economy of the 1920s.

At the end of World War II, a new mode of transportation had matured. Air travel was now available to the masses, and business was booming. Conventions and conferences became an integral part of successful commerce. Companies opened regional and branch offices. Thus business travelers, in their vast numbers, became the most important lodging guests.

The advent of air travel prompted resort hotels to spring up around the world. Many resorts offered package plans, some in conjunction with the airlines where one price pays for airfare and accommodations.

The End