When visiting a hotel, you like to know that you have booked a safe heaven for the night when away from home, to enjoy a luxury stay at a prestigious hotel, or have fun at a thrilling resort but how did hotels come to be such a big business and why are there so many different amazing and whacky hotels out there? Some of these funny hotel facts have come about by accident, and some were the brainchildren of innovative people around the world.
The First Hotels
While a place to stay for weary travellers has been available for a long time, dating back many thousands of years, inns in medieval Europe became popular for coach travellers across the continent. The popularity of these places of overnight stay coupled with the local tavern for a place to eat and drink proved so great that the first modern sense of a hotel was opened in Exeter in the UK in 1768.
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| Image Source: The Wookpack Hotel |
The need spread to much of Western Europe and hotels were opening across Europe and North America during the 17 and 18th century. Governor Phillip licensed 10 of the first hotels in Australia in 1796 and one of these, The Woolpack Hotel in Sydney still remains.
What Drives People to Stay in Hotels?
The majority of people who stay in hotels do so for accommodation during their vacations, and intend to use a hotel for a base of operations whilst travelling the local area. Many people choose hotels based on their location to a particular site in town, offering them easy access to all of the local places of interest.
Another big factor of hotels is the hotel resort factor, when hotels aren’t simply just a place to sleep overnight at a given location, they have turned into exciting places that offer their own services, making people want to visit a particular hotel specifically for what they have to offer. One of the best instances of this is the popularity of spa hotel and resorts.
What Drove the Popularity of Hotels?
Ever since the first introduction of the idea of hotels started to gain notice amongst the general public, they proved popular for holiday makers and business clients.
Early on in the 18th century when train travel and the idea of being able to cover large distances in a single day meant that people liked the idea of spending a few days at a new location.
The boom in popularity of hotels continued quickly on and has never looked back.
With so many hotels around the world offering unique and amazing locations and experiences, this trend will surely continue thanks to the worldwide travel at lower costs now possible.
The range of hotels now available is astounding. You can stay at the base camp of Everest, stay in a luxury 5 star hotel to enjoy all of the comforts you’d expect the queen to have, as well as fun new concept hotels where the walls are made of art work.
