The word "hotel" originated from the French word "hotel", taken from the word hote - meaning host. The term originally referred to any building in which visitors frequently visit. Today the hotel is an institution that provides accommodation, food and other services for travelers for a fee.
The earliest record of any mention of paid housing would be in biblical times. According to the Bible, Mary and Joseph could not get housing, because "there was no room in the hotel."
During the time of the Roman Empire, hotels began to grow. They were created to encourage visitors to the empire.
According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is Hoshi Ryokan, located in the Avazu Onsen area in Komatsu in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It was founded and continues to be operated by the same family for 1,292 years. The hotel has been with the family for forty-six generations since 718. The hotel was built near a source of hot water, which is believed to have wonderful healing properties. Locals still claim that this is real to this day. The hotel has 100 rooms. It can accommodate up to 450 guests.
In America, the first hotel was registered in 1607. In 1792 a city hotel opened in New York, the first public hotel. Tremont opened in Boston in 1809. It was the first modern hotel in America. Buffalo Statler, the first business hotel in America, began operations in 1908.
Over the years, individual tastes have changed, and it is inevitable that hotels have changed in accordance with what customers wanted. These days, customers can choose from a larger selection.
Customers can choose to stay in a luxury hotel or budget hotel, depending on their budget or available funds. Hotels can also be classified by type of service:
- Full service
- Full range of services
- Select Service
- Limited Service
- Long stay
- time sharing
- Target club
For people who want adventure, they can try some unusual hotels, such as the Hotel Null Stern in Teufen, Appenzellerland, Switzerland, which used to be a nuclear bunker that was turned into a hotel. There are also cave hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey and Spain. There are Treehouse hotels in Costa Rica, and in Japan there are capsule hotels where people sleep over each other in rectangular containers. Since it is cold in Canada, Finland and Sweden for most of the year, there are hotels in these countries that are made of ice and snow. There are also underwater hotels in Sweden and Florida, USA.
The largest hotel according to the Guinness Book of Records is the first peaceful hotel located in Genting Highlands, Malaysia. It has 6118 rooms. The highest hotel is the Rose Tower, which is located in Dubai. It is 333 meters high.
