History of development and modern structure of the hotel industry. All about hotels and hotel business Hotel development

The concept of hospitality appeared at the dawn of human civilization. Over the centuries, improving and acquiring new functions, the concept of hospitality has survived to this day, having turned into a strong and significant industry, generating significant income for both the owners and the state. Today, the hotel business not only contributes to the economic growth of individual countries, but also plays an important role in improving the lives of people who are becoming increasingly mobile in the context of globalization. Russia is no exception in this process. In the last decade, the domestic market for tourism services and, accordingly, the hospitality industry has been developing rapidly, especially in large industrial and financial centers of the country, however, it should be noted that the importance of this segment for the domestic economy as a whole is still significantly lower than what is the case in developed countries .

The very concept of “hotel” comes from the Latin equivalent of this word “hostel”, as well as the Anglo-Saxon “hospitality”, which means hospitality (from the Old French “hospice”, which means a strange and welcoming home).

Later, this name was modernized into the more familiar one, which has French roots - “hotel”.

So how did it all begin?

The appearance of the first prototypes of hotels, as well as the very profession of serving people staying overnight, has its roots in the distant past.

Guest houses were located in cities and on roads leading from one country to another. In addition to travelers, messengers, couriers, and government employees used the services of guest houses. Here people were provided with lodging, shelter, food, and horses were fed and changed there.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, inns began to be created at monasteries. The Church obliged to organize “hospices” for travelers, pilgrims, and priests traveling to holy places. Over time, they go from being free shelters to becoming income-generating businesses.

There were prototypes of hotels in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia. Merchants with caravans of goods traveled across deserts and foothills. They usually spent the night in tents, but sometimes stayed in caravanserais - unique hotel complexes that included a pen for camels and accommodation for people, surrounded by a fortress wall.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. With the growth of economic and political ties between states, the rapid development of the hotel industry begins, especially in European cities. The hotel industry is emerging as an important industry that generates large profits.

Development of hospitality enterprises in the 19th century. associated with the development of tourism. On the sea coasts, near mineral water springs, in picturesque places, the construction of large and small hotels is taking place. Their technical equipment is gradually being improved, comfortable conditions are created for guests, and the forms and methods of service are changing.

In this area of the economy, companies, joint-stock companies, corporations and syndicates arise. Such large associations began to manage the hotel industry in their countries, as well as build hotels in other countries. A hotel syndicate is being created in London, and a “Union of Hotel Owners” is being created in France. These organizations of private owners set prices for rooms, trained hotel workers, and contributed to the development of tourism. In 1906, the “International Union of Hotel Owners” was created, uniting the owners of 1,700 hotels in different countries of the world.

In large European cities, hotels are beginning to be used for other purposes. They host casinos, hold press conferences and receptions.

The rapid development of the hotel industry continued in the 20th century. This was facilitated by a sharp qualitative and quantitative increase in road, air and rail transport, and the revival of trade, cultural, scientific, technical and sports contacts between states.

Tourism and the hotel base, which is growing every year, have turned into a “service industry,” which, in combination with the “entertainment industry,” has become a source of large incomes and profits. The modern “hospitality industry” includes hotels, restaurants, bars, resorts, gambling houses, casinos, and health resorts.

In Rus', inns, the predecessors of the first hotels, appeared in the 12th and 13th centuries. They rested and changed horses there. These inns - “pits”, as they were called, were located one from the other at a distance of a horse ride.

In the 15th century Numerous postal stations are created, which are in charge of the Yamskaya Prikaz. At the behest of the Yamsky order, new stations were opened, and the coachmen also obeyed him. At the same time, numerous living rooms and inns were built. Not only did they trade in the Gostiny Dvors, they lived there and carried out commercial transactions.

Due to the growth of industrial production and the expansion of trade relations in the 18th -19th centuries. The population of cities is growing, new hotels are opening. In 1818, 7 hotels were operating in Moscow. In St. Petersburg in 1900 there were already 325 hotels. In 1910, there were 4,685 hotels in Russia, not counting inns and taverns with rooms. All of them belonged to private individuals and were purely commercial enterprises.

After the October Revolution, by decree of the Soviet government, all hotels were nationalized, and the hotel industry underwent a radical restructuring.

By 1940, hotels had been built in 669 cities. During the Great Patriotic War, enormous damage was caused to the entire national economy, including the hotel industry.

In the post-war years, extensive work was carried out on the restoration, reconstruction and construction of new hotels. Already by 1960, in 1364 cities of the Soviet Union, guests were served in 1476 hotels.

The further growth of the material and technical hotel base in the country was determined by the following factors: the development of existing cities and the emergence of new ones; the growth of industry, science, culture and art; increasing the material well-being of people. All this created the preconditions for the development of domestic tourism, the exchange of delegations, and an increase in the number of business travelers and vacationers.

In 1980, on the eve of the Moscow Olympics, the USSR hotel industry consisted of 7,000 hotels with a total capacity of 700 thousand beds. Many large, comfortable hotels were built.

Having reached certain heights and occupying one of the important roles in the economy and everyday life of people, the hotel business does not stand still. Every year new hotels are opened, old ones are being reconstructed, rooms are being updated, and service standards are being improved. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, at the end of 2008 there were 110 hotels in St. Petersburg, while in 2005 this figure was 72 hotels.

The number of mini-hotels at the end of 2007, according to the Center for the Development of Small Hotels, amounted to 500 objects, while in 2003 there were only 25. These figures speak quite eloquently that the hotel services market continues to develop, and quite actively at that. The global economic crisis has slightly slowed down the construction of many large network facilities in large Russian cities. But according to many hoteliers, this gives mini-hotels a chance to exploit their potential. Therefore, in the coming years, the growth of mini-hotels in Russian cities and the increasing role of this type of hotel enterprises in the hotel industry are predicted.

The English word "hospitality" comes from the Old French "hospice", which means "hospitable home". The appearance of the first prototypes of hotels, as well as the very profession of serving people staying overnight, has its roots in the distant past.

Guest houses were located in cities and on roads leading from one country to another. In addition to travelers, the services of these guest houses were used by messengers, couriers, and government officials. In guest houses, people were provided with lodging, shelter, food, and horses were fed and changed there.

The development of trade relations has led to significant growth in the hotel industry in Europe. For example, in Milan in the 14th century. there were already 150 hotels. However, the hotel industry of that period was extremely primitive: the hotels lacked amenities, and their sanitary level was extremely low.

In the history of the development of the hotel business, there are four stages:

Before the beginning of the 19th century - the prehistory of the hotel business;

The beginning of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century - the emergence of specialized enterprises for the production of hotel services;

The beginning of the 20th century - before the Second World War - the massive emergence of hotel and restaurant service enterprises;

After the end of the Second World War and until now - the massive development of the hotel industry, the formation of the hotel services industry as the basis of modern tourism and the social needs of modern society.

The first stage is the background of the hotel business.

In ancient times, the main motives for the movements of part of society were trade, educational purposes, pilgrimage, treatment, and the performance of state (authority) functions. There were also sports trips (Ancient Greece) to the site of the Olympic Games for participants and spectators who gathered from all over the country.

In the Middle Ages, the religious factor of the motive for visiting certain places intensified - the worship of the shrines of Christianity and Islam. The Renaissance and Enlightenment eras weakened the religious motives for the movements of part of society, but strengthened the individual nature and educational orientation of trips, and, accordingly, temporary stays in unfamiliar areas. It was common practice for young nobles to go on a kind of “grand tour” of Europe before entering the field of professional or political activity.

The second stage is the emergence of specialized enterprises for the production of hotel and related (additional) services.

The most important role in the construction of specialized hotel and restaurant service enterprises was played by revolutionary changes in the development of transport: the invention of the steamboat by Fulton (1807), the steam locomotive by Stephenson (1814), the improvement of postal communications and the expansion of the road network in Europe. All this becomes important economic factors in the mass movement of the population.

In the second half of the 19th century, the leisure industry expanded the scope of its production: the first travel bureaus, whose task included organizing tourist trips, were added to hotel enterprises of various comforts. Hotels everywhere, especially in resort areas, offered their clientele various excursions to local historical and cultural attractions.

The third stage is the beginning of the mass emergence of hotel and restaurant service enterprises.

The First World War, the economic depression of the 1930s and the Second World War had a negative impact on the development of the hotel industry. However, it was during the period between the two world wars that new hospitality businesses emerged.

The fourth stage is the massive development of the hotel industry.

The Second World War paralyzed tourism; the hotel industry, due to the lack of a sufficient number of clients, eked out a miserable existence. New facilities were not introduced, and old ones, especially in warring countries, were repurposed for the needs of the army, home front, etc. The hotel business received further development only in the post-war period. It was during this period that tourism truly became widespread. A powerful recreation industry is being formed with its own institutions, product, production cycle, methods of organizing and managing production. In Western European countries, the 50s and 60s were a period of massive construction of hotels, motels, and various types of entertainment establishments.

The modern “hospitality industry” includes hotels, restaurants, bars, resorts, gambling houses, casinos, and health resorts.

In Rus', inns, the predecessors of the first hotels, appeared in the 12th-13th centuries. In them the messengers rested and changed horses. These inns - “pits”, as they were called, were located one from the other at a distance of a horse ride.

At the same time, numerous living rooms and inns were built. Not only did they trade in the Gostiny Dvors, they lived there and carried out commercial transactions.

In 1910, there were 4,685 hotels in Russia, not counting inns and taverns with rooms. All of them belonged to private individuals and were purely commercial enterprises.

After the October Revolution, by decree of the Soviet government, all hotels were nationalized, and the hotel industry underwent a radical restructuring.

Along with the construction of large hotels, significant attention was also paid to the construction of small standard hotel projects. The first standard hotel projects for 50, 75, 100 and 150 beds were developed in 1931 by the Temporary Government Commission for the selection and publication of standard projects for civil structures by Tsekombank.

The hotels built during this period were not well equipped. The furniture was of poor quality and the rooms were poorly lit. Many rooms were not equipped with sanitary facilities.

There were no uniform tariffs for hotel services before. And only the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR “On the streamlining of the hotel industry and regulations”

“Updating tariffs for rooms and beds in hotels” No. 687 dated July 27, 1934 established a unified methodology for calculating tariffs for the entire republic.

In the same year, the order approved the standard charter of the local council hotel trust. The hotel trust was an independent economic unit and operated on the principles of economic accounting. He was entrusted with the economic management of the hotels and ancillary enterprises transferred to him, the development and implementation of measures to introduce cost accounting in the hotel industry and at trust enterprises, the implementation of measures to comprehensively improve the condition of hotels and services for citizens living in them, etc. By the same order NKKH approved the standard charter of a hotel directly subordinate to the local Council. According to the Charter, the hotel was an independent economic unit operating on the principles of economic accounting. The hotel enjoyed the rights of a legal entity and was liable for its obligations within the limits of the property that, according to current laws, could be foreclosed on.

The years of the second and third five-year plans are characterized by the development of construction in general and hotels in particular. The requirements for both the improvement of hotels and the artistic design of their interiors are increasing.

By 1940, hotels had been built in 669 cities. During the Great Patriotic War, enormous damage was caused to the entire national economy, including the hotel industry.

In the post-war years, extensive work was carried out on the restoration, reconstruction and construction of new hotels.

In cities and villages liberated from the Nazi invaders, without waiting for the end of the war, the hotel stock was restored. A number of hotels (Astoria in Leningrad, Primorskaya in Sochi, etc.) were converted into hospitals during the war.

Regulatory documents appeared, the purpose of which was to improve the performance of hotel enterprises and increase their profitability. Standard job descriptions were provided for duty administrators, receptionists, passport officers, floor attendants, maids, cleaners, etc.

Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 2263 dated September 2, 1945 provided for indicators for hotels of a higher type of service.

In the post-war period, many hotels were built in different cities of the country: Leningrad, Kyiv, Riga, Kursk, Orel, Voronezh, Volsk, etc.

In accordance with the general trend of the post-war years, hotel interiors were given palace splendor.

Hence, some abstraction of architects from consideration of issues related to the better organization of life of citizens living in hotels. The requirements for furniture, equipment, and lighting were not so much functional as aesthetic. This predetermined the use of expensive materials and products in interior decoration, which significantly increased the cost of hotel construction.

By 1960, in 1,364 cities of the Soviet Union, guests were served in 1,476 hotels.

The further growth of the material and technical hotel base in the country was determined by the following factors: the development of existing cities and the emergence of new ones; the growth of industry, science, culture and art; increasing the material well-being of people. This created the preconditions for the development of domestic tourism, the exchange of delegations, and an increase in the number of business travelers and vacationers.

With the development of the national economy and the successful implementation of five-year plans, the mobility of the population, domestic and foreign tourism grew, and economic and cultural ties with foreign countries expanded. At the same time, the need to increase the hotel stock in the USSR increased.

In the RSFSR during the tenth five-year plan, 158 hotel enterprises with 30 thousand beds were built. High-rise hotels equipped with modern technology and equipment were built in Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, each with 1000 beds.

Along with general hotels, intensive construction of departmental hotels, boarding houses, campsites, motels, tourist centers and camps was carried out in the country. Much work in this direction was carried out by such departments as the USSR State Committee for Foreign Tourism and Excursions of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, the Sputnik Bureau of International Youth Tourism, the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation, etc.

The hotel industry developed intensively from 1970 to 1980, which was partly caused by preparations for the XXII Olympic Games.

In 1980, on the eve of the Moscow Olympics, the USSR hotel industry consisted of 7,000 hotels with a total capacity of 700 thousand beds. Many large, comfortable hotels were built.

One of the largest hotels in Russia is the Izmailovo hotel complex, designed for 10 thousand beds.

Unfortunately, in the 1990s. Due to the economic and political situation in the country, there has been a significant decline in demand for hotel services. At the end of the 1990s, according to the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, Russia had 5,043 hotel-type enterprises with a total number of beds of 390,931.

In Russia as a whole, 60% of hotels are located in urban areas and 34% in rural areas.

The largest hotels in terms of room capacity are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg

The history of the hotel business in Moscow goes back to the Middle Ages, to the era when Moscow turned from the center of the Moscow Principality into Moscow, the Mother See, not only the capital, but also a major shopping center of Rus'. The predecessors of modern hotels were inns - establishments that provided travelers with simple housing and food. Pilgrims who arrived in the capital for pilgrimages and church holidays were usually accommodated in monastery farmsteads. In the 16th century, with the development of trade and the expansion of international relations, guest houses appeared in Moscow, designed specifically for merchants. The first Gostiny Dvors were created back in the 12th century in Veliky Novgorod, which conducted brisk trade with foreigners. Unlike inns, these establishments had shopping arcades and warehouses; here it was possible to make deals and trade. Guest courtyards were often divided along “national” lines: for example, there were German, English, Greek and Armenian courtyards. On Varvarka, 3, the building of Gostiny Dvor, built in 1574 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, has survived to this day. The building was rebuilt several times, and in 1995 it was completely reconstructed.

The activities of hotel establishments in Moscow, as throughout Rus', were regulated by a set of special rules. This vault, called “skra”, was originally compiled for guest courtyards. The provisions of the secret contained almost everything: rules of residence, payment, internal regulations, fire safety, and even rules of behavior at the table. Without exaggeration, Skru can be called a kind of predecessor of the currently existing “Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation.”

The era of Peter the Great and post-Petrine reforms was marked by rapid growth in trade with foreign countries and, as a consequence, the development of the hotel industry. Although St. Petersburg had already become the capital of Russia at that time, Moscow still remained a major trading center of the country. In the middle of the 18th century, the first European-style hotels opened in Moscow, and at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th century, 11 paired two-story hotels were built on the Boulevard Ring, near the Prechistinsky, Nikitsky, Sretensky and Pokrovsky Gates. One of these buildings of the same type - on Pokrovka - has survived to this day. The author of the project for these hotels was the then famous architect V. Stasov, who built many public buildings in different cities, primarily in St. Petersburg.

In the 19th century, the number of hotels in Moscow increased significantly. The monastery farmsteads located in the city center were converted into hotels. Some hotels built in the second half of the 19th century were also called farmsteads (“Kokorevskoye Compound”, “Chizhovskoye Compound”, “Trinity Compound”, “Starovavarinsky Compound”). If at the very beginning of the century there were only 7 hotels in Moscow, then by the middle of the century there were already several dozen. In the second half of the 19th century, furnished rooms appeared in Moscow - inexpensive hotels with board or half board, intended for people with average or low income.

In 1910, there were 228 hotels operating in the city, not counting 77 inns. The largest hotels in Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century were the Grand Hotel (demolished in 1976 during the construction of the 2nd stage of the Moscow Hotel), Boyarsky Dvor (the building has survived to this day, it houses the Presidential Administration), Novomoskovskaya (today - “Baltschug Kempinski”), “Europe” (the building has not survived), “Slavic Bazaar” (closed after 1917), “Leipzig” (today there are offices in the hotel building). The National, Metropol, and Savoy hotels were very popular among visitors. Many hotels in Moscow (Slavic Bazaar, Alpine Rose) were famous throughout the capital for their restaurants.

After the October Revolution, all hotels in Moscow were nationalized, and many were closed. Some large hotels were turned into the so-called Houses of Soviets and Houses of Unions - a kind of hostels for representatives of the new government. For example, the National Hotel housed the Soviet government, and Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya lived in room 107 of this hotel. In the 20s and 30s, construction of the first Soviet hotels began in the capital. Construction was carried out simultaneously with a large-scale reconstruction of the center of Moscow, during which the appearance of the ancient Kitay-Gorod dramatically changed. In 1930, Okhotny Ryad with its shopping arcades, small hotels, taverns and churches was demolished, and on the site of the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Church, the Moscow Hotel was built, which for a long time remained the largest hotel in the capital. In the 50s, the ranks of Moscow hotels were replenished by such hotels as “Altai”, “Vostok”, “Zarya”, “Golden Ear”, “Ostankino”, “Tourist”, “Yaroslavskaya”, as well as hotels “Ukraine” and “ Leningradskaya", whose high-rise buildings have become new landmarks of the capital. In subsequent years, new hotels in Moscow were built mainly outside the Boulevard Ring - on Leninsky Prospekt (Yuzhnaya, Salyut), on Leningradsky Prospekt (Aeroflot), in Izmailovo (Izmailovo hotel complex). The reason was simple: the reconstruction of the center of Moscow had largely ended by that time, and, as a rule, there was nowhere to build on a large scale.

Hotels in Soviet Moscow, as well as throughout the USSR, became famous for one property: they never had empty rooms. This feature of hotels invariably provided food for satire. A special atmosphere surrounded Intourist and other hotels where foreigners stayed. Both black marketeers and state security agencies showed increased attention to these hotels in Moscow.

The global changes that perestroika brought to the former USSR also affected the hotel business. Hotels, which for many years were part of the planned socialist economy, have again become a profitable business. Foreign hotel chains have appeared on the Moscow market - Radisson, Marriott, Swissotel and others. Soon they were competing with Russian hotel brands - Heliopark, Katerina City. Five-star hotels in Moscow - Baltschug Kempinski, Ararat Park Hyatt, President Hotel - have become new symbols of comfort and luxury, confidently displacing the representatives of the past era familiar to every Muscovite - National, Metropol, Savoy. Recently, a large number of mini-hotels have been opening in Moscow, but three-star hotels are still the most popular, attracting tourists due to the ratio of service level to cost of living.

Being the administrative center of Russia, Moscow regularly becomes the venue for all types of business events - conferences, seminars, presentations, exhibitions. Based on this, a growing share of the range of hotel services is made up of various business services. Many Moscow hotels (Mezhdunarodnaya, Iris Congress, Cosmos) specialize in organizing business events, providing multifunctional conference rooms, modern equipment and a full range of related services.

New hotels appear in Moscow every year. In 2005 there were 170 of them, by mid-2006 -180, and by mid-2007 - 203. These numbers would look impressive if not for the data from 1910 cited above. In addition, new hotels are mainly expensive hotels and mini-hotels, but there are still not enough inexpensive and affordable tourist-class hotels in Moscow. According to the results of a study conducted by Business Travel International (BTI), the cost of living in Moscow hotels is an order of magnitude higher than in hotels in London, New York or Paris. Another study conducted by the international company Tri Hospitality Consulting found that Moscow ranks first in terms of profit per hotel room among the 10 largest tourist centers in Europe. These disappointing statistics have long been a source of concern for the Moscow government. In April 2007, the “General Scheme for Hotel Accommodation in Moscow” was adopted. According to this scheme, at least 248 new hotels will appear in the capital by 2010. It is planned that these will be mainly three-star hotels. If the good intentions of the Moscow government are destined to come true, then by 2010 Moscow hotels will be able to accommodate up to 180-200 thousand visitors per day.

The Arbat Hotel is conveniently located in the historical center of Moscow, on Plotnikov Lane, a short walk from the Old and New Arbat streets, to which it owes its name. The six-story hotel building is surrounded by ancient mansions, museums, and various foreign embassies.

The Baltschug Kempinski Hotel is located in the historical Zamoskvorechye, or rather, in that part of it called Baltschug. This ancient area between the Moscow River and the Vodootvodny Canal has been known since the 14th century. Its name comes from the Tatar word “balchekh” - mud, swamp. Once upon a time there were public baths here, then a tavern for...

The Zarya Hotel is located in the north-east of the capital, next to the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC, formerly VDNKh). This proximity is not accidental: Zarya was initially built specifically for business travelers and rural workers who came to VDNKh to exchange experiences. Two five-story buildings of the Zarya Hotel, erected in 1956...

In 1980, Moscow was to host the XXII Olympic Games. On the eve of this important event, active construction of various facilities, including Olympic ones, began. The Izmailovo Hotel began its history with the Moscow Olympics.

The Korston Hotel (formerly the Orlyonok Hotel) is located in the South-Western District of Moscow, in a picturesque location on the Sparrow Hills. The twenty-story building of the Orlyonok Hotel was erected in 1976. Like many Moscow hotels, the Orlyonok Hotel was built on the eve of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow...

The Cosmos Hotel is located in the north-east of Moscow, opposite the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC, formerly VDNH). The hotel owes its name to the fact that next to it there is the Alley of Cosmonauts and the monument to the “Conquerors of Space”. The space theme is widely used in hotel interior design.

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 we now use, they arose in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The taverns and hospitums that appeared here were the predecessors of modern hotels. Merchants, traveling artists and minstrels, and pilgrims stopped in such places. Most of them were traveling 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 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, 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 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 places. 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.

Star categories
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 those hotels that are slightly larger in size and that 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.

based on information from the website www.prohotel.ru

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 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 right 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, first of all, 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.

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