The development course of hotels

The emergence and development of hotels have a long history, which has a history of thousands of years. Modern hotels evolved from China's post station, caravan inn in the Middle East, shed in ancient Rome, roadside hotels in Europe and coach inn in the United States.

Development of world hotel industry

Modern hotels are developed on the basis of traditional catering and accommodation industry, and their development process can be roughly divided into four periods:

1. Ancient inn period (12nd century-18th century)

Inn is gradually developed with the development of commodity production and commodity exchange. The earliest inns can be traced back to the end of primitive society and the beginning of slave society, which were produced to meet the needs of diplomatic exchanges, religious and business trips and cruises of emperors and nobles in ancient countries.

In the west, the inn has existed for a long time as an accommodation facility, but it really became popular in15-18th century. At that time, although logging was quite common in many European countries such as France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, British inns were the most famous.

The characteristics of the inn are: generally small in scale, simple in construction, simple in equipment and low in price; Only provide simple accommodation, rest places or transportation such as horses and chariots; In terms of service, guests often sleep together in the inn and eat almost the same home cooking as the host. At that time, these residences were just a place to rest and there were no other services; In terms of management, there are mainly government-run shops and some privately-run shops: that is, the independent family business is a part of the family house, the family is the owner and operator of the inn, and no other personnel specialize in guest login management. Later, with the development of society and the increase of the types of tourism activities, the scale of the inn is also expanding day by day, and the types are also increasing.

In the later period, the British inn was greatly improved. By the15th century, some inns had 20 to 30 rooms. At that time, there were often wine cellars, tea rooms and kitchens, as well as rooms for shopkeepers and horse owners. Many ancient inns also have garden lawns, banquet halls and dance halls with fireplaces.

At this time, British inns are already places where people get together and exchange information with each other. In fact, in the18th century, inns in many parts of the world were not only places where passers-by stayed, but also centers of local social, political and commercial activities.

It can be said that these simple accommodation facilities are not hotels in the full sense, but the embryonic form of hotels.

2. Luxury Hotel Period (1end of 8th century-1middle of 9th century)

With the emergence and development of capitalist economy and tourism, tourism began to become an economic activity, and luxury hotels serving the upper ruling class came into being.

There are many accommodation facilities named "hotels" on the European continent. Whether it is luxurious architectural modeling or elegant interior decoration; Whether it is luxurious equipment, exquisite tableware, or various forms of service and catering, it is the result of the commercialization of the lifestyle of princes and nobles in the past. The purpose of the hotel is not so much to provide accommodation for tourists as to provide luxury enjoyment for tourists. So people call this period the luxury hotel period (also called the grand hotel period).

It is generally believed that the first accommodation facility in Europe that can really be called a hotel is the Badian country villa built in Baden, Germany. Subsequently, many European countries built large-scale buildings and rushed to build luxury hotels. At that time, there were quite a few representative hotels, including 1850 Paris Hotel, which was built in Paris. Caesar Hotel opens in Berlin1874; Frankfurt Hotel 1876 opened in Frankfurt, and Lunjiao Sava Hotel 1889 opened.

19 At the end of the 20th century, some luxury hotels appeared in the United States, among which the hotel run by Swiss hotel owner Cesar Ritz can be said to be the most representative hotel in the era of luxury hotels. The restaurant he built and operated and his own name became synonymous with the most luxurious, advanced and fashionable. Ritz's innovation and efforts in hotel service, hotel management rules and practical experience have been inherited and used for reference by top hotels all over the world, and its famous management motto "guests are never wrong" has been passed down from generation to generation by many hotel entrepreneurs.

The characteristics of luxury hotels are: large scale, luxurious building facilities and exquisite decoration; Supplying the most exquisite food and the most upscale furniture, many luxury hotels have become the treasures of contemporary and even world architectural art, with clear division of labor and cooperation within the hotel, strict requirements for service work and service personnel, and emphasis on service quality; The emergence of specialized management organizations in hotels has promoted the development of hotel management and its theory. Luxury hotels are the result of the new affluent lifestyle and the commercialization of social activities.

3. Commercial Hotel Period (19-late 1950s)

The period of commercial hotels is the most active period of hotels in the world. It is an important stage in the development of the hotel industry, which finally makes the hotel industry a service industry for ordinary people and lays the foundation for the modern hotel industry in all aspects.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the world's largest hotel owner appeared in the United States, and he was ellsworth Milton statler. 1908, statler built the first statler hotel in Bafaro, USA, which was designed by himself and named after him. The hotel is specially designed for travelers, which adapts to the market demand and creates a new hotel. The price conditions are affordable for ordinary people, but it does provide the best service in the world and opens a new era for the development of the hotel industry.

Statler has many innovations and initiatives in hotel management: he manages his own hotels according to unified standards. Whether you go to Boston, Cleveland, new york or Buffalo, as long as you stay in a hotel in statler, standardized service can be guaranteed; His hotel has all-night laundry, automatic ice water supply, toilet seat disinfection, newspaper delivery and other services; Pay attention to management art, improve service level, and personally formulate (statler Service Manual), which is a precedent for modern hotels. Statler's hotel management thought and scientific, reasonable, concise and appropriate management methods such as "location first, location second and location third" still inspire the hotel industry and have an important influence on modern hotel management.

The basic characteristics of commercial hotels are as follows: first, the service object of commercial hotels is ordinary people, mainly for receiving business guests, with large scale, complete facilities and services, stressing comfort, neatness, safety and practicality, and not pursuing luxury and luxury. Second, implement a low-price policy to make customers feel that the charges are reasonable and the money is well spent; Thirdly, hotel operators and owners are gradually separated, and hotel business activities are completely commercialized, paying attention to economic benefits and taking profit as the goal; Fourthly, hotel management should gradually move towards scientific and efficient, pay attention to market research and market target selection, train employees and improve work efficiency.

4. Modern new hotel period (after 1950s)

After World War II, with the worldwide economic recovery and prosperity and the rapid population growth, international mass tourism appeared in the world. The progress of science and technology has greatly improved the traffic conditions and created conditions for travel. With the improvement of labor productivity and people's disposable income, the demand for traveling abroad and enjoying hotel services has expanded rapidly, which has accelerated the popularization of tourism activities and the frequent political, economic and cultural exchanges among countries around the world. This change in social demand has prompted the hotel industry to enter the modern hotel period.

In the 1960s, large-scale motels began to appear in various places, and gradually developed into cities. The buildings were getting higher and higher, so it was difficult to distinguish motels from ordinary hotels, and their luxury was much higher than that of similar hotels. Bright and dazzling interior decoration is used to attract customers. Tile bathroom, carpet, air conditioner, swimming pool, etc. They are all necessary standard facilities in every hotel. By the mid-1960s, the joint venture and franchise of motels had developed rapidly, and the quality of a hotel's operation largely depended on the mutual recommendation of customers among hotels in the joint venture network.

During the period of modern new hotels, the developed areas of hotels are not limited to Europe and America, but all over the world. The hotel industry in Asia has developed since 1960s, and its scale, grade, service level and management level are not inferior to those in Europe and America. In the authoritative selection of the top ten best hotels in the world organized by American (institutional investor) magazine every year, Asian hotels often account for more than half, ranking among the best. Oriental Hotel Bangkok, Thailand, managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Hong Kong, has topped the list of the top ten best hotels in the world for more than ten years in a row. In the Asian hotel industry, large hotel groups have emerged, such as Okura Hotel Group in Japan, Shindagu Hotel Group in Japan, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Hong Kong, Regent Hotel Group in Hong Kong, Shangri-La Hotel Group in Singapore and Mandarin Hotel Group in Singapore. These hotel groups not only invest or manage hotels in Asia, but also expand to Europe and America.

The main characteristics of modern hotels are: the diversification of tourism market structure promotes the diversification of hotel types (such as holiday hotels, sightseeing hotels, business hotels and member club hotels); The diversification of market demand leads to the constant change of hotel facilities and more flexible management methods; The high profit of hotel industry intensifies the market competition, which makes hotels unite with other industries or move towards chain operation and group operation; The revolution of modern science and technology and the development of scientific management theory make modern hotel management more scientific and modern.