Did you know..?
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). Hotels where you could find shelter for money were not known at that time. Foreigners could always find a 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, together with their families, who received guests in their homes. With the hospitals, a 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 single 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 hearth in the room (which painted the walls with its soot and soot during cooking). The stove was located in the back of the room, and in the foreground was the master’s marriage bed. In the center of the atrium was a pool where rainwater flowed through a hole in the roof. There were few windows, and everything was located at the top. On both sides of the doors along the walls, rooms were fenced off from each other with boards, the entrance to which was separated from the atrium by curtains. Here 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 furniture of the hotel.
On both sides of the doors along the walls, rooms were fenced off from each other with boards, the entrance to which was separated from the atrium by curtains. Here 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 furniture 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 the heyday was about 85 thousand square kilometers. The state participated in the construction of these inns and in the control of their activities.
The modest village inns were called kumpons, and the richer ones, with stables, etc., were called stabulas. However, as economic relations developed, the demands of travelers increased, and many well-maintained courtyards arose. Appropriate conditions were created for the aristocracy, buildings were built according to all the rules of architectural art, and a wide range of services was offered (“water supply”, servants, etc.) In Roman inns (hotels) it was not shameful to stay even for representatives of the highest nobility – kings, and members of their families.
The houses had separate kitchens, guest rooms, several bedrooms, rooms for latrines, servants, things, baths, cosmetic (massage, haircut) rooms, laundries, rooms for repairing clothes and cleaning shoes, and stables, blacksmith services, etc. Already in the III century. BC. the builders of Rome erected tall apartment buildings – insulae – to accommodate the growing population of the city and guests. These were three-, four-, and sometimes five-story buildings with a wooden frame.
In medieval Europe, monasteries also played the role of hotels, where Christian travelers were offered shelter and a two-day freeboard. Interestingly, at the same time in the East in the caravanserai, this period was three days. Moreover, in the caravanserai, poor guests, regardless of nationality and religion, were given a pair of shoes for free.
By and large, the hotel business as such began to develop only in the era of the Crusades, when not only crusader warriors but also numerous pilgrims set off on their journey. At this time, the first inns appeared in Northern Italy, which became the prototypes of modern hotels.
[13/05, 09:41] Elena: 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 lodging for the night, and rest for people and animals. The ancient Persians were among the first to organize guest complexes (hotels): caravanserais (for people and camels). The whole complex was surrounded by a fortress wall, which was a protection from the elements and robbers. In Persia, all the inns belonged to the Shah. They were used by people traveling on official business.
In the ancient Persian state, inns for state 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 premises, probably one-story, with various purposes – for kitchens, bedrooms, stables for animals. All rooms were located around the inner courtyard, which led to three entrances made in the wall from the side of the street.
Later, with the development of hotel service, the so-called state inns appeared, which differed in that the owner of the establishment was responsible for the things of the guest, this became a guarantee of a safe overnight stay. This gave rise to a qualitative difference in inns! The taverns in which the common people stayed sometimes could not even have beds, and people settled down in the right on the straw. On the contrary, representatives of the aristocracy and government officials were located in hotels, which were built according to all the rules of architectural art and had a wider range of services.
A more or less modern look of the hotel began to acquire in the XVIII century, when the first large houses appeared, each of the apartments which were rented out for a certain time. In Europe, such houses were called hotels, which were immediately adopted by the ubiquitous Americans, who converted their taverns into hotels. According to the owners of taverns, the new name was supposed to give the institution respectability and attract guests.
A real hotel boom around the world is observed in the second half of the 19th century when the fashion for travel spreads among the wealthy segments of the population. It was then, thanks to the efforts of Sutler (in America) and the Ritz (in Europe) that hotels acquire gloss, style, and charm, which the whole world seeks to imitate. This is the time of the appearance of luxurious five-star hotels. The 21st century has introduced a fashion for exotic unusual hotels with an extraordinary thematic design and interior, although ordinary (accustomed to our understanding) hotels are still popular.
Modern hotels are, first of all, comfortable for the guest and quality of service. Now it is enough to simply fill out the online application form and book the right hotel room. Internet, breakfast, taxi call, wake-up service – this is a small list of services provided by modern hotels.