Hotels from ancient times to the present day. Trends in the development of the hotel industry History of the appearance of hotels in the world

HISTORY OF WORLD DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT STATE OF THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

References to the first hospitality industry enterprises, which provided both accommodation and food services, can be found in manuscripts that scholars date back to the era of ancient Greece and ancient Rome (see Table I of Appendix I).

In Ancient Greece in the 1st millennium BC. taverns were an important element of social and religious life. Although taverns had facilities to accommodate travelers, they were primarily intended to provide food services. The development of trade and the long travel associated with it required the organization of not only food, but also overnight accommodation. This circumstance predetermined the emergence of another type of enterprise - inns 1.

The most extensive network of inns was created on the territory of the Roman Empire. Inns, especially on the main roads, were built by the Romans with skill and were quite comfortable for their time. After the fall of the Roman Empire, a new, qualitatively new era in the development of the hospitality industry began.

Later, Marco Polo said about them that “it’s not a shame for a king to stop here.” They were located approximately 25 miles from each other, so that government officials and messengers would not be too

Cm.: Fundamentals of the hospitality industry: textbook, manual. M.: Dashkov and Co., 2009 // .

got tired on the road, resting in each of them. They could be used only by showing a special government document, which indicated the special status of their bearers, and therefore such official papers were often stolen and forged. By the time Marco Polo set off on his journey to the Far East, there were about ten thousand such inns in the country.

During the early Middle Ages, religious institutions began to provide hospitality services for ordinary people, and the emphasis in service became different. In England, for example, inns were no longer aimed so much at travelers as at drinkers. If people did travel in those years, their travels were usually connected either with the royal court or with the church. Most travelers were missionaries, priests and pilgrims traveling to holy places. In this regard, inns, where people stopped for the night, began to be built closer to churches and monasteries. Living conditions remained quite primitive, with inns run by slaves in the service of priests and temple rectors.

During the Middle Ages, people began to travel more, and the number of roadside inns increased accordingly. By modern standards they were still primitive. Guests often slept side by side on mattresses laid out on the floor of one large room. Everyone ate what he had with him, or bought something edible from the owner of the inn. They usually ate bread and meat (sometimes fish or chicken), washing it all down with beer. Some taverns were places of noisy drinking, and their regulars, especially if the tavern was located in the port area, were often forcibly enrolled as sailors.

In rural areas, one inn served all visitors, although wealthy people who traveled in their own carriage or on horseback rarely went there, and poor people who traveled on foot were not allowed in at all. In any case, clear social distinctions in the treatment of each resident were strictly observed. Wealthy people were served in the dining room or in their rooms. The poor usually ate with the innkeeper and his family in the kitchen. They were served simple food without the right to choose, but at a minimal price. The French called this service "table d'hote"(table d "og), i.e. "master's gol". Wealthy guests could order special dishes for themselves from the products available to the owner - "and Ia saiche"(a la carte) - and go into the kitchen to make sure everything is prepared as it should be. Trying to please the guest, the host usually offered some local dish for which the area was famous. Prices for dishes also varied, primarily depending on the region where the inn was located.

The Middle East, Asia, and Transcaucasia played a huge role in the emergence of hospitality enterprises. The largest trade routes passed through the territory of these regions, along which caravans moved in long streams. There was a need to organize overnight stays and rest for people and animals.

The ancient Persians were among the first to organize guest complexes - caravanserais (for people and camels). The entire complex was surrounded by a fortress wall, which provided protection from the elements and robbers. In Persia, all inns belonged to the Shah. People traveling on official business stayed in them. In the Ancient Persian state, inns for government officials were organized at a good level.

The level of development of the hotel business in Chaldea is evidenced by the ruins of an inn in the town of Ur (modern territory of Iran). It was a complex of several modest rooms, probably one-story, with various purposes - kitchens, bedrooms, stables for animals. All rooms were located around a courtyard, to which three entrances led into the wall on the street side.

The building of the caravanserai at the royal palace in Knossos with a complex layout reflected the high level of civilization of the Mycenaean period (1400 BC). The caravanserai was located on a slope, a road leading to the palace. The first floor, intended for service areas, had a hall with columns and beautiful frescoes on the walls. Next to the hall there was an entrance for travelers arriving on foot, with a special basin for washing feet. Boilers for heating water were located in the basement of the building.

Guest rooms were located on the second floor. The building had utility rooms, warehouses for goods, etc.

In the XII-XIII centuries. inns - the predecessors of the first hotels - appeared in Rus' (see Table 2 of Appendix 1). They provided shelter and food for all categories of travelers and were not particularly comfortable. It was also possible to place horses and vehicles of travelers here, i.e. so-called “stay-time” services were offered 1 .

In the 15th century inns were created at “pits” - postal stations located from each other at a distance of a horse ride. At this time, the Yamsk service was established in Rus', which was under the jurisdiction of the Yamsky order. The accommodation and food services provided at the inns in the Yamsk villages logically complemented the main services performed by the coachmen - keeping horses and transporting “by sovereign decree” everyone who had a special permit (“letter”) or paid money.

Inns along the roads existed for quite a long time, until the middle of the 19th century, and in some places even longer. Their development was abruptly stopped due to the advent and spread of railways. And only after a certain time, the development of road transport again made it necessary to return to traditional hotels along the roads, presenting them in a new guise - motels.

The United States plays a special role in the development of hospitality enterprises. According to historians, the first inn appeared here much later than in Europe, only in 1607. The first American hotel for which a building was specially built was the one that opened in 1794 on Broadway in New York City-Hotel. The hotel became the center of public life in the city and at that time was considered a “huge establishment” (it had 73 rooms). At the same time, similar establishments appeared in other American cities.

The first first-class hotel in the New World - Tremont House - was built in Boston in 1829, it is called the forefather of the modern hotel industry. This hotel was famous for its architecture, richness and luxury of decoration, as well as many novelties, such as an intercom, private single and double rooms and even free soap. It is believed that with the advent of this hotel, the best at that time not only in America but also in Europe, American hotel management took a leading position in the world 1 .

Hotels are introducing the so-called European payment plan for hotel services, according to which guests do not pay for the room plus meals, but only for the room, which allows them to order meals a la carte in the hotel restaurant themselves or eat somewhere else if they prefer.

In the twentieth century, the hospitality industry flourished. The leaders in this area remain the USA and Europe, where new forms of organizing the hotel industry are appearing everywhere, for example, association into hotel chains.

1 See: Lesnik A.L., Matsitskii I.P., Chernyshov A.V. Organization of hotel business management: textbook. M.: Intel Universal, 2000.

Corporations such as Four Seasons, Canadian Pacific, Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson Ramada and other high-end network structures began to actively spread in North America and beyond. Hotels are being built with more than four thousand rooms (see Table 3 of Appendix 1).

XIX century and the beginning of the 20th century. left a noticeable mark on the history of the development of the hotel business in Russia. During this period, famous hotel enterprises were built, some of which continue to operate successfully today. It should be noted that they basically corresponded to the European concept in terms of both architecture and interior design, as well as the services offered.

In Russia in 1911 - 1912. According to the project of the architect Lidval, the Astoria Hotel was built, which was considered at that time the best hotel in St. Petersburg. A restaurant with French cuisine was opened under her.

By the end of the 19th century. such popular hotels as “Dusso”, “Slavic Bazaar”, “Dresden”, “Paris”, “England”, “Germany”, “North”, “Loskutnaya”, “Grand Hotel”, “Europe” operated in Moscow , “Berlin”, etc. In the first years of the 20th century. In Moscow, hotels of the highest class were built: “Metropol” (built in 1899-1904 according to the design of the architect V. Walcott with the participation of L. Ke-kushev and A. Erichson), “Boyarsky Dvor” (1901, architect F. Shekhtel), “National” (1902, architect A. Ivanov).

After the revolution, most of the hotel stock was nationalized. Many hotels were repurposed (for example, the Astoria Hotel in St. Petersburg became the seat of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies, and the National Hotel in Moscow became the seat of the government). The ideology of the new government promoted the destruction of the market economy, so any profit was abandoned, and income from the hotel industry was directed to the development of heavy industry.

In the Soviet state there was completely no possibility of individual choice of accommodation facilities. Citizens of the USSR and foreigners were served according to different standards. The role of state planning was great, and prices for accommodation were reasonable.

The Great Patriotic War caused enormous damage to the USSR's hospitality industry, as areas with the largest number of hotels came under occupation. However, since 1950, large-scale construction of new hotels began.

The modern period of development of the hotel industry begins after the Second World War. Its features are associated with the mass nature of tourism, which becomes the object of interest of a significant part of the population in highly developed countries. The development of tourism and high business activity of the population determines the formation during the 50-70s. XX century powerful network of accommodation establishments.

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), in 1980 there were 8 million hotel rooms in the world, in 2003 their number increased to 15.4 million. Europe is the leader in the share of hotel rooms (38.5% of the total) and the USA (33.5%).

In the last decade of the 20th century. the largest increase in the number of rooms is observed in South Asia - from 111.1 thousand to 171.5 thousand. The second place is occupied by East Asia and the Pacific region, where there were 3.500 million rooms and the increase was 45.3%. During the period 1997-1998. the number of rooms in the Middle East region increased by 6.9%, while in Africa their number decreased by 0.4%. With the rapid overall increase in the number of hotel businesses, the modern global hospitality industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry across all market segments.

Among equal trends in modern development of the hospitality industry can be distinguished:

• 1) deepening specialization and diversification of hotel services;
• 2) the formation of significant corporate forms - hotel chains, which become transnational companies;
• 3) widespread use of management information systems, technological support, and marketing in the hospitality industry;
• 4) integration of the capital of hotel enterprises with the capital of financial, insurance, construction, transport and other sectors of the economy;
• 5) the use of scientific management in the organization and management of the hotel business;
• 6) development of a network of small hotel enterprises focused on a specific market segment.

The deepening of specialization in the field of hospitality today is associated with the active process of formation of corporate forms in the organization of hotel enterprises - international and national chains. Today, hotel chains cover 30% of the world's hotel market, more than 200 corporations, of which 25 are large and control 25% of the global core market.

Integrated hotel chains produce and sell a product that is consistent and homogeneous. They are operated, directly or indirectly, through a franchise system or under a management contract. All hotels in the chain have a name and a sign. The main integrated chains operate in the USA: Hospitality Franchise System, Holiday Inn Wardwide, etc. Large chains also include the French Accor group and the British Forte group.

The Accor Group occupies a leading position in France. It is also the largest operator in Belgium and Germany. Each concept of the Accor Group regarding housing, restaurants, tourism or leisure has been developed as a separate concept aimed at the specific tastes of the consumer. For example, the hotel concept combines the comfort and hospitality of a hotel with the care and medical services of older people. The atrium concept combines high-quality housing with a large business center located in the business center of the city. In this case, the hotel provides a conference room, modern offices, telecommunications, computerized information facilities, assistant secretaries, etc.

In the UK, major hotel chains make up approximately 25% of the hotel industry. The largest Forte group owns more than 350 hotels in the country, followed by the Mount Charlit Thistle Hotel and Queen Moat Houses. The UK's five main cities contain 40% of all hotel rooms in the country.

The largest hotel business leaders in the United States, such well-known hotel chains as Hilton Hotel Corp., Sheraton Corp., Marriott Corp., Ramada International, and Hyatt Hotel, are also widely represented on the European market.

Consulting company Two Tomorrows published the results of a study of the competitiveness of major hotel chains in the medium term Tomorrow's Value Rating.

As a result, the first place in the list of the most promising hotel companies was taken by the French hotel operator Accor. According to analysts, this company not only foresaw in its strategy the most important factors that will characterize tomorrow's development of the hospitality industry, but has already developed detailed approaches to business management to solve the problems of the near future.

Top ten The Tomorrow's Value Rating as follows:

• 1) Accor;
• 2) InterContinental Hotels Group;
• 3) Marriott;
• 4) Global Hyatt;
• 5) Choice;
• 6) Carlson;
• 7) Hilton;
• 8) Wyndham;
• 9) Starwood;
• 10) Best Western.

The overall conclusion of the study is that most leading hotel companies have a very superficial approach to global issues of sustainable development. Thus, only in the three mentioned structures is sustainable development management included among the management priorities of companies.

The remaining major hotel operators have issues of global climate change, the well-being of local communities, proper waste management, etc. Although recognized by top management as an important problem, very few practical steps are taken to solve them. Very little attention is paid to such important factors as the integration of international hotel operators into the local cultural environment, the implementation of sustainable development policies by hotel franchisors, and the impact of tourism on climate change.

In table 1 Appendix 2 provides an analysis of the state of the hotel industry in Europe and Russia.

In conclusion, it should be said that in world practice there are four models of hospitality.

European model seems to be “high-flying” hospitality and high reputation. In addition, the European hotel market is the most widespread and developed. Distinctive features of European hospitality include:

* the desire of European hotels to reduce room capacity, which enhances the individualization of service

clients;

• the main advantage of hotels is not luxury, but refined and stylish interiors, high reputation and fame, high-quality service;
• the most expensive hotels are located in unique places and buildings, in historical city centers;
• traditionalism and demandingness of expensive hotels in relation to guests;
• automation of European hotels does not replace personal relationships with guests;
• in Europe, hotel segregation is more pronounced than anywhere else, which leads to the fact that a guest of an expensive hotel will never encounter a guest of a different social status in the lobby;
• At the same time, the European hotel market is distinguished by a diversified offer - from cheap roadside hotels to extremely expensive luxury hotels.

Asian model hospitality is the opposite of European, which is reflected in the Asians’ love for luxury, ostentatious wealth, and gigantism. It is in Asia that the tallest (Shanghai), most spacious (Bangkok) and most luxurious (Dubai) hotels in the world are located. If in Europe the category of a hotel is inversely proportional to its capacity, then in Asia it is the opposite. The distinctive features of Asian luxury hotels are:

• the most favorable location;
• large area of ​​rooms and public spaces;
• large capacity;
• luxury and richness of interiors, and especially hotel exteriors;
• low (compared to Europe) cost and availability of services;
• the ability to use a variety of infrastructure and additional services;
• widespread service systems All inclusive And Ultra all inclusive.

American model hospitality has features of both the European and Asian models. Thus, in the centers of the largest American cities, luxury hotels are common, meeting the requirements of typical European hotels (style, small size, individual service). On the other hand, the main resorts and tourist centers of the country are built with hotels that externally and internally resemble Asian ones (large capacity, luxury, huge developed infrastructure).

Eastern European model hospitality industry stands out separately from the European one due to the presence of a large share of post-Soviet enterprises in the hotel industry, as well as (as in the American model) the proximity of hotels typical of both the European and Asian models. On the other hand, the current stage of development of the hotel market in the post-Soviet space of Europe is characterized by the construction of new accommodation facilities, typical of both Europe and Asia.

• Cm.: Romanov V.V., Elkanova D.I., Sorokina E.V., Osipov D.A. Decree. op.
• Right there. Cm.: Kabushkin N.I., Bondarenko G.A. Management of hotels and restaurants. Mn.: New knowledge, 2002.
• Romanov V.V., Elkanova D.I., Sorokina E.V., Osipov D.A. Decree. op.
• Cm.: Malskaya M.P., Paidyak I.G. Hotel business: theory and practice. K.: Center for Educational Literature, 2009.
• Current state and development of the hospitality industry // .
• See: Hotel operators: who will be first tomorrow? // .
• Cm.: Romanov V.V., Tikhonova D.I., Sorokina E.V., Osipov D.A. Decree. op.

The history of the first hotel dates back to the ancient period of antiquity. Such countries - the owners, in those days, like Greece and Rome - made the most important and greatest contribution to the development of their states. Under their possession were vast lands that captured the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coast, the countries of the Middle East and others. The traditional atmosphere of antiquity, discipline, uniform legislation, a large trade route and great traditions reigned throughout this territory.

Hospitalists (people who received guests) received merchants, merchants and simply foreign visitors in their home. Such establishments—the first hotels—were called “taverns.” But, according to the code of King Hammurabi, the owners of such taverns had to report to the authorities all dubious conversations of visitors about government officials. Therefore, such establishments were not in demand. Later, the Romans created several houses for visitors to their state, they were built along the roads and were free.

The huge trade route, which went through the countries of the Middle East, Asia and Transcaucasia, provided for the construction of buildings for the temporary accommodation of traders with all the amenities they needed. The buildings included rooms for the guests themselves, as well as separate pens for animals (camels and horses were the main guides of trade caravans). These first hotels played an important role in the development of hospitality.

Soon, religion made a great contribution to the history of hotels. In the Middle Ages there was a “boom” of pilgrimage, so many believers traveled all over the world and needed temporary rest and accommodation. Of course, all this was provided to them in separately constructed buildings at churches and monasteries. These were special shelters where pilgrims could be accommodated for the night and fed for free. But at the end of the 1950s. free services were removed by the British king Henry VIII, churches became private property and began to receive and accommodate pilgrims for a fee.

Pits are the name of the inns that appeared on the territory of Rus' in the 12th-13th centuries. They improved and multiplied after the development of transport routes and postal services in Europe. Since postal trips were made on horseback, yards were built along the road where carriers could rest, as well as feed and change their horses. It looked more like a postal station. But soon, after they were combined with inns, the first prototypes of modern motels appeared.

The very concept of “hotel” appeared in a country with the highest level of service and hospitality - in France. There were multi-storey buildings on the territory of the country - the first hotels, which had several apartments and could be rented out to visitors for any length of time (from one day to a whole month). The French hotel became the standard of hospitality and, soon, the taverns of America were renamed in the French way. True, all technologies, services, the concept of service and its development, the emergence of the first hotel and the rules for settling in it belong to the USA. Here, the first “City Hotel” was opened, which was located on Broadway and contained 70 (seventy) rooms. A more similar to the modern type of hotel (with a reception, corridors, distribution of rooms and the presence of bath cosmetics) appeared in Boston in 1829.

The largest, most significant and first contribution to the hotel business was made by Caesar Ritz (Switzerland) and Statler (America). The Swiss became a seminal figure in the development of hotels around the world, he developed many new details to make the stay of tourists in hotels even more comfortable. The Ritz diversified restaurant and hotel meals with orchestras playing. Due to this, visitors could not only enjoy food, but also classical music for the soul.

Statler, in turn, became the pioneer of the appearance of mirrors in rooms, telephones, additional lighting above the beds and at the door of the room, the presence of stationery and, most importantly, became the creator of uniforms for staff. An American fan of the hotel business, he knew a lot about service and therefore repeatedly exclaimed the phrase that is still famous today: “The customer is always right.”

Thus, the FIRST hotels went from a “tavern” to a FIRST-CLASS world-class hotel.

Pilgrims and wanderers. How has the hotel business developed?

With the emergence of people's desire to travel, the first hotels appeared. The era of the hotel business began with inns, taverns and taverns. In every era, they met their main requirements - providing guests with the opportunity to stay overnight.

Hotels from ancient times to the present day

The first hotels appeared about two thousand years ago, and, like many things that we now use, they originated in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

The taverns and hospiceums that appeared here were the predecessors of modern hotels. Merchants, traveling artists and minstrels, and pilgrims stopped in such places. Most of them were wandering people.

For a long time hotels looked something like this: a two-story building with a place where horses and other animals could be left. On the first floor there was most often a spacious room where people could relax and communicate; on the second floor there were living rooms for those who stayed at the hotel.

Hotels of that time served as a kind of center of cultural life, here you could socialize, learn about current events, and have a drink. In establishments such as the tavern, cockfighting originated and darts were played here.

In the Middle Ages, hotels were most often built next to churches. Thus, the church ministers tried to shelter the pilgrims. But in 1530, the king prohibited the accommodation of all travelers at the church, then the need arose to revive private hotels. It is worth noting that in England there were the following requirements for hotels - friendliness, plentiful food, comfort of guests, and a pleasant atmosphere.

But hotels acquired their modern appearance not in the lands of Eurasia, but in the USA. Researchers believe that this happened around the middle of the 19th century, when they began to rent out not just rooms, but full-fledged rooms with amenities such as a separate toilet.

What was it like in Rus'?

The origin of the hotel business in Russia is considered to be the 11th-13th centuries. It was at this time that inns began to appear, which, by the way, were popular among messengers. A little later, in the 15th century, postal stations appeared; here one could stop, wait out the bad weather, and replace horses.

Only in the 18th century did the rapid construction of guest courtyards begin, which, by the way, were built on a national basis. In Moscow, gostiny dvors are “Aglitsky”, “Sveisky”, “Greek”, “Armenian”, in Nizhny Novgorod - “German”, “Dutch”. Gostiny Dvors in Russia are not just hotels, but also places of vibrant trade, shops, and all kinds of warehouses. Such guest courtyards had walls, towers, gates, in general, they were very different from the hotels that we see now.

The construction boom began in the 20th century; by the way, by the beginning there were 4,500 hotels, not counting taverns and other recreational facilities.

In the USSR, the impetus for the development of the hotel business was the ongoing socio-political events, meetings of heads of state and others. But the service became truly European only after 1993, when Russia began to strive for Western standards.

The hotel business has developed rapidly; now there are dozens of hotel chains, which, admittedly, can be considered enterprises of the highest level. Hotels such as Marriott, Hilton, Best Western top the list of the largest hotels.

The way hotels are divided into categories is another very interesting piece of information. Thus, the division into categories that arose in Britain became a kind of standard.

A one-star hotel is a hotel with a small range of services, most often they are located somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Two stars go to hotels that are slightly larger and have their own bars and restaurants.

Three-star hotels already meet the main service requirements, the number of services is expanding, but the fact that such a hotel must have a bar and restaurant remains unchanged.

Four-star hotels are considered first-class hotels; here guests are simply obliged to provide comfort and service of the highest quality. Such hotels most often already have restaurants serving cuisines of different nations.

Five-star hotels are those that have not only restaurants and bars, but also spa centers and sports centers. Accommodation in such hotels is very expensive, but the range of services is significantly different from those that have earned fewer stars. Depending on the hotel, guests can be offered a wide variety of services, including a golden toilet and a personal butler.

The first mention of the hotel was found in ancient manuscripts - in the famous code of laws of the king of Babylonia - Hammurabi (1700 BC). It talked about taverns whose reputation was rather dubious. The Code of Hammurabi obliged tavern owners to report visitors who were talking about the authorities. The composition of the visitors was quite diverse and specific.

Hotels where one could find shelter for money were not known at that time. Foreigners could always find hospitable shelter in private homes.
The word “hospitality” itself, according to one version, comes from the Old French - “ospis” - a hospitable house, and according to another - from the Latin “hospitalis”, which means hospitality. In antiquity, hospitable people were called people together with their family who received guests in their home. With the hosts, the foreign state entered into an alliance of mutual assistance, friendship and protection.

The bulk of the Roman population lived in rural tribes. In the early era these were atrium-type houses. Mostly one-story. The name comes from the word atrium, derived from the adjective ater (black). The main room - the room - was not named by chance. There was a fireplace in the room (which stained the walls with its soot and soot while cooking). The stove was located in the back of the room, and in the foreground stood the master's wedding bed. In the center of the atrium there was a pool into which rainwater flowed through a hole in the roof. There were few windows, and all were located upstairs. On both sides of the doors along the walls, rooms were separated from each other by boards, the entrance to which was separated from the atrium by curtains. So they served as bedrooms for other family members or for guests. The house was not cluttered with furniture: a table, benches, a chest for clothes, wall cabinets and shelves - that’s all the simple furnishings of the hotel.

The development of trade and changes in the social life of society predetermined the emergence of a new type of enterprise - inns (hotels).

The most extensive network of inns was created on the territory of the Roman Empire. Inns began to be located along the main roads at a distance of 25 miles from each other (40.2 km). The length of roads in its heyday was about 85 thousand sq. km. The state participated in the construction of these inns and in the control of their activities.

Modest village inns were called kumpons, and richer ones, with stables, etc., were called stabulas. However, as economic relations developed, the demands of travelers increased, and many landscaped courtyards arose. Appropriate conditions were created for the aristocracy, buildings were built according to all the rules of architectural art, a wide range of services were offered (plumbing, servants, etc.)

Even representatives of the highest nobility – kings and members of their families – had no shame in staying at Roman inns (hotels). The houses had separate kitchens, guest rooms, several bedrooms, rooms for restrooms, servants, clothes, baths, cosmetic (massage, haircut) rooms, laundries, clothing repair and shoe shine rooms, stables, blacksmith services, etc.

Already in the 3rd century. BC. The builders of Rome erected tall apartment buildings - insula - to accommodate both the city's growing population and visitors. These were three-, four-, and sometimes five-story buildings with a wooden frame. In Rome, the insulae were inhabited by both the poor and the middle class of townspeople; Rich people lived in mansions. In such a multi-storey building, individual rooms or entire floors were rented out.

The Middle East, Asia, and Transcaucasia played a huge role in the emergence of hospitality enterprises. The largest trade routes passed through the territory of these regions, along which caravans moved in long streams. There was a need to organize overnight stays and rest for people and animals.

The ancient Persians were among the first to organize guest complexes (hotels): caravanserais (for people and camels). The entire complex was surrounded by a fortress wall, which provided protection from the elements and robbers. In Persia, all inns belonged to the Shah. People traveling on official business stayed in them. In the Ancient Persian state, inns for government officials were organized at a good level.

The level of development of the hotel business in Chaldea is evidenced by the ruins of an inn in the town of Ur (modern territory of Iran). It was a hotel complex of several modest rooms, probably one-story, with various purposes - kitchens, bedrooms, stables for animals. All rooms were located around a courtyard, to which three entrances led into the wall on the street side.

The first hotels in Medieval Europe were often characterized by poor service and general maintenance of living rooms:

• the roofs of many hotels were leaking;
• Naturally, there was no security service (so staying in such places was unsafe and even dangerous; one could well expect an attack by robbers or theft in general);
• owners of inns were often accused of deceit and fraud, and women running such shelters were even accused of witchcraft.

But, nevertheless, if a person did not have relatives or friends in the city where he was visiting, he had to use just such shelters.

In medieval Europe, monasteries also served as hotels, where Christian travelers were offered shelter and two-day free boarding. Interestingly, at the same time in the East in caravanserais this period was three days. Moreover, in caravanserais, low-income guests, regardless of nationality and religion, were given a free pair of shoes.

By and large, the hotel business as such began to develop only during the era of the Crusades, when not only crusader warriors, but also numerous pilgrims set out on the road. At this time, the first inns appeared in Northern Italy, which became the prototypes of modern hotels.

Later, with the development of hotel services, so-called state inns appeared, which were distinguished by the fact that the owner of the establishment was responsible for the guest’s belongings, this became a guarantee of a safe overnight stay. This gave rise to a qualitative difference between inns! The taverns where the common people stayed sometimes did not even have beds and people sat in them directly on the straw. On the contrary, representatives of the aristocracy and government officials stayed in hotels that were built according to all the rules of architectural art and had a wider range of services.

Hotels began to acquire a more or less modern appearance in the 18th century, when the first large houses appeared, each of the apartments in which was rented out for a certain period of time. In Europe, such houses were called hotels, which the ubiquitous Americans immediately adopted, converting their taverns into hotels. According to tavern owners, the new name was supposed to give the establishment respectability and attract guests.

A real hotel boom around the world was observed in the second half of the 19th century, when the fashion for travel spread among the wealthy. It was then, thanks to the efforts of Sutler (in America) and Ritz (in Europe), that hotels acquired the gloss, style and charm that the whole world strives to imitate. This is the time of the emergence of luxury five-star hotels.

The 21st century has introduced a fashion for exotic hotels, although ordinary (familiar to our understanding) hotels remain just as popular.

Modern hotels are primarily about comfort for the guest and quality of service. Now it’s enough just to fill out the online application form and book a suitable hotel room. Internet, breakfast, taxi call, alarm clock service - this is a small list of services provided by modern hotels.

About how ancient history of hotel business, can be seen from a short quotation from the Gospel: “The time has come for her to give birth; and she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger; there was no room for them in the inn.” It was then, more than 2000 years ago, in the East, in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece that there already existed guest houses, in which envoys, government officials, traders and other travelers could receive free shelter and food during their trips.

From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

In the Middle Ages, this tradition was picked up by monasteries, which were obliged by church regulations to provide free shelter and food to countless pilgrims traveling to holy places. And only in 1530, after the decree of the English king Henry VIII on the transfer of church property to secular property, the true history of the hotel business began. independent hospitality industry receiving money for services provided. During the Renaissance, the history of the development of the hotel business experienced rapid rise. At this time, regular horse-drawn postal services appeared between major European cities and shopping centers - the prototype of public transport. At the intersections of the main routes and along postal routes, active construction of inns began, in which, in addition to traditional shelter, dinner and changing horses, warehouses, shops, shopping arcades and offices where traveling salesmen could conclude their deals appeared. In the 18th century in the history of the hotel business, for the first time the term "hotel" appeared. This is how in Paris they called houses with several floors, consisting of small separate apartments, which not only travelers, but also city residents could rent for any period of time. The idea and name appealed to American owners of inns and roadside taverns. Using the French word “Hotel”, enterprising Americans sought to emphasize the elitism of their establishment.

History of the hotel business in modern times

During the same period, the United States, thanks to the flows of emigrants rushing into the country, played a leading role in the history of the development of the hotel business, laying the foundation creation of large hotel corporations. In New York, at the turn of the century, the first City Hotel opened its doors to guests; in 1830, a luxurious luxury hotel, the Tremont, opened in Boston. Since then, prim Europe has been swept by the fashion for fashionable hotels, equipped with the most modern amenities for their time and being masterpieces of architecture. The rapid development of industry, maritime and railway transport has changed and appearance of hotel guests. Newly-minted millionaires and aristocrats flocked to travel around the world and to luxury resorts; the hospitality industry created the highest class comfort for their holidays. Managers from Switzerland and the New World, Caesar Ritz and Elsword Statler, made a huge contribution to the history of the development of the hotel business in Europe and the world. For the first time, expensive crystal chandeliers, telephones in the rooms, huge mirrors, sconces at the head of the beds appeared in their hotels, and live music began to play in restaurants. It was Statler who said the phrase “ The customer is always right", which became the main slogan of the service sector. It was only after World War II that the first, but still thriving, chain of luxury hotels, Hilton, appeared.

Hotel business in Russia

In Russia, the first inns appeared in the 12th-13th centuries, and in the 15th century, under the direction of the Yamsky Prikaz, postal pit stations began to be built, from which the domestic history of the hotel business began. As in Europe, Yamsky living rooms and inns They not only provided guests with overnight accommodation and a hearty dinner, but also served as a kind of shopping centers with warehouses, shopping arcades and premises for concluding commercial transactions. The rapid industrial 19th century and the expansion of trade relations with other countries, the growth of the population of large cities inspired a fresh stream of development Russian hospitality industry. If at the beginning of the 19th century there were only 7 hotels in capital Moscow, then in St. Petersburg in 1900 about 230 hotels received guests, and in 1910 there were about 4,700 hotels owned by private owners in the industrial, port and resort cities of the Russian Empire. This number does not include many inns, lodging houses and taverns with rooms. After 1917 all hotels and hotels were nationalized, new ones were built in different cities, but then most of them were destroyed during the war. In 1960, only 1,480 hotels operated in all cities of the USSR; by the 1980 Olympic year, the country's hotel industry amounted to 7,000 hotels and inns accommodating up to 700 thousand guests. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian history of the development of the hotel business entered a completely new orbit. The Iron Curtain collapsed and tourists, businessmen, students from near and far countries flocked to our country, and our fellow citizens also learned the beauty of travel. The domestic hospitality industry is now is developing in several directions: these are large chain facilities, original private hotels, apart-hotels in new modern residential complexes, apartments, and affordable hostels for young people and students. Hoteliers are confident that the crisis, which has slowed down the development of chains of large hotel complexes, is an excellent chance to replenish the Russian hotel industry with small and cozy mini-hotels and hostels, so popular in developed countries.