
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid
lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large
suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a
refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities,
upholstered chairs, a television, and
en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts,
gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually
numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and
B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
The precursor to the modern hotel was the
inn of
medieval Europe
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century,
coaching inns served as a place for lodging for
coach travelers. Inns began to cater to wealthier clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
in the early 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century, particularly in the United States.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, complexity, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-service hotel facility offers
luxury amenities, full-service accommodations, an on-site
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
, and the highest level of personalized service, such as a
concierge,
room service, and
clothes-ironing staff.
Full-service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with many full-service accommodations, an on-site full-service
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
, and a variety of on-site
amenities.
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
s are smaller independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments offer a limited amount of on-site amenities. Economy hotels are small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic accommodations with little to no services.
Extended stay hotel
An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "che ...
s are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel.
Timeshare
A timeshare (sometimes called a vacation ownership or vacation club) is a Real property, property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort Condominium (living space), condominium units, in which mul ...
and
destination clubs
In the leisure industry, a destination club (also vacation club or travel club) is a form of timeshare system where members pay a membership deposit and annual dues to access the club's properties.
The concept was introduced in 1998, when Rob M ...
are a form of property ownership involving ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. A
motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
is a small-sized low-rise lodging with direct access to individual rooms from the car parking area.
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
s are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels and motels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture. Some hotels are built specifically as destinations in themselves, for example
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s and holiday
resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
s.
Most hotel establishments are run by a
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the "
hotel manager"), overseeing the entire operation and ensuring all departments function cohesively, department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel (e.g., food service),
middle managers,
administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. Each department head manages their specific area, trains staff, handles departmental budgets, and ensures their team delivers quality service that aligns with the hotel’s standards. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function and class, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies.
Etymology

The word ''hotel'' is derived from the
French ''hôtel'' (coming from the same origin as ''
hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
''), which referred to a French version of a building seeing frequent visitors, and providing care, rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage, ''hôtel'' now has the same meaning as the English term, and ''
hôtel particulier'' is used for the old meaning, as well as "hôtel" in some place names such as
Hôtel-Dieu (in Paris), which has been a hospital since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The French spelling, with the
circumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier ''
hostel'' spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take the
definite article
In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" ...
– hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria".
History

Facilities offering hospitality to travellers featured in early civilizations. In
Greco-Roman culture and in
ancient Persia, hospitals for recuperation and rest were built at
thermal baths.
Guinness World Records officially recognised Japan's
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705, as the oldest hotel in the world. During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, various religious orders at
monasteries and
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
s would offer accommodation for travellers on the road.
The precursor to the modern hotel was the
inn of
medieval Europe
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
, possibly dating back to the rule of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
. These would provide for the needs of travellers, including food and lodging,
stabling and
fodder for the traveller's horses and fresh horses for
mail coaches. Famous London examples of inns include the
George and the
Tabard. A typical layout of an inn featured an inner court with bedrooms on the two sides, with the
kitchen and
parlour at the front and the stables at the back.
For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century,
coaching inns served as a place for lodging for
coach travellers (in other words, a
roadhouse). Coaching inns stabled teams of
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s for
stagecoaches and
mail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams. Traditionally they were seven miles apart, but this depended very much on the terrain.

Some
English towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them became intense, not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue from the food and drink supplied to the wealthy passengers. By the end of the century, coaching inns were being run more professionally, with a regular timetable being followed and fixed menus for food.
Inns began to cater to richer clients in the mid-18th century, and consequently grew in grandeur and in the level of service provided. Sudhir Andrews traces "the birth of an organised hotel industry" to Europe's
chalets and small hotels which catered primarily to aristocrats.
One of the first hotels in a modern sense, the
Royal Clarence, opened in
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
in 1768, although the idea only really caught on in the early-19th century. In 1812 Mivart's Hotel opened its doors in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, later changing its name to
Claridge's.
Hotels proliferated throughout
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
in the 19th century. Luxury hotels, including the 1829
Tremont House in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, the 1836
Astor House in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the 1889
Savoy Hotel in London, and the
Ritz chain of hotels in London and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in the late 1890s, catered to an ever more-wealthy clientele.
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is part of a United States law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation. Hotels are included as types of public accommodation in the Act.
International scale
Hotels cater to travelers from many countries and languages, since no one country dominates the travel industry.
Types
Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies that operate hotels have set widely accepted industry standards to classify hotel types. General categories include the following:
International luxury

International luxury hotels offer high-quality amenities, full-service accommodations, on-site full-service restaurants, and the highest level of personalized and professional service in
major or
capital cities. International luxury hotels are classified with at least a
Five Diamond rating or
Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Example brands include:
Grand Hyatt,
Conrad,
InterContinental,
Sofitel,
Mandarin Oriental,
Four Seasons,
The Peninsula,
Rosewood,
JW Marriott and
The Ritz-Carlton.
Lifestyle luxury resorts
Lifestyle luxury
resorts are branded hotels that appeal to a guest with lifestyle or personal image in specific locations. They are typically full-service and classified as luxury. A key characteristic of lifestyle resorts is focus on providing a unique guest experience as opposed to simply providing lodging. Lifestyle luxury resorts are classified with a Five Star hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Example brands include:
Waldorf Astoria,
St. Regis,
Wynn Resorts
Wynn Resorts, Limited is an American publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada, that is a developer and operator of high-end hotels and casinos. It was founded in 2002 by former Mirage Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn and is now r ...
,
MGM,
Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
,
Oberoi,
Belmond,
Jumeirah,
Aman,
Taj Hotels,
Hoshino,
Raffles,
Capella,
Fairmont,
Banyan Tree,
Regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
and
Park Hyatt.
Upscale full-service
Upscale full-service hotels often provide a wide array of guest services and on-site facilities. Commonly found amenities may include: on-site food and beverage (room service and restaurants), meeting and conference services and facilities, fitness center, and business center. Upscale full-service hotels range in quality from upscale to luxury. This classification is based upon the quality of facilities and amenities offered by the hotel. Examples include:
W Hotels,
Sheraton,
Langham,
Kempinski,
Pullman,
Kimpton Hotels,
Hilton,
Swissôtel
Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, commonly known as Swissôtel, is a Swiss chain of luxury hotels owned by Accor, which acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2015.
The corporate offices for Swissôtel are located in the Prioria Business Centre on the pro ...
,
Lotte,
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
,
Marriott and
Hyatt Regency brands.
Boutique
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
s are smaller independent non-branded hotels that often contain mid-scale to upscale facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full-service accommodations. These hotels are generally 100 rooms or fewer.
Focused or select service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a limited number of on-site amenities that only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as the single business traveler. Most focused or select service hotels may still offer full-service accommodations but may lack leisure amenities such as an on-site restaurant or a swimming pool. Examples include
Hyatt Place,
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
,
Courtyard by Marriott and
Hilton Garden Inn.
Economy and limited service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a very limited number of on-site amenities and often only offer basic accommodations with little to no services, catering to the budget-minded traveler seeking a "no frills" accommodation. Limited service hotels often lack an on-site restaurant but in return may offer a limited complimentary food and beverage amenity such as on-site continental breakfast service. Examples include
Ibis Budget,
Hampton by Hilton,
Aloft,
Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express by IHG is an American-based mid-priced hotel chain within the IHG Hotels & Resorts family of brands. Originally founded as an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering Hotel#Economy_and_limited_service, limited services at ...
,
Fairfield by Mariott, and
Four Points by Sheraton.
Extended stay
Extended stay hotel
An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "che ...
s are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full-service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel. Extended stay hotels may offer non-traditional pricing methods such as a weekly rate that caters towards travelers in need of short-term accommodations for an extended period of time. Similar to limited and select service hotels, on-site amenities are normally limited and most extended stay hotels lack an on-site restaurant. Examples include
Staybridge Suites,
Candlewood Suites,
Homewood Suites by Hilton,
Home2 Suites by Hilton,
Residence Inn by Marriott,
Element, and
Extended Stay America.
Timeshare and destination clubs
Timeshare
A timeshare (sometimes called a vacation ownership or vacation club) is a Real property, property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort Condominium (living space), condominium units, in which mul ...
and
destination clubs
In the leisure industry, a destination club (also vacation club or travel club) is a form of timeshare system where members pay a membership deposit and annual dues to access the club's properties.
The concept was introduced in 1998, when Rob M ...
are a form of property ownership also referred to as a vacation ownership involving the purchase and ownership of an individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage during a specified period of time. Timeshare resorts often offer amenities similar that of a full-service hotel with on-site restaurants, swimming pools, recreation grounds, and other leisure-oriented amenities. Destination clubs on the other hand may offer more exclusive private accommodations such as private houses in a neighborhood-style setting. Examples of timeshare brands include
Hilton Grand Vacations,
Marriott Vacation Club International,
Westgate Resorts,
Disney Vacation Club, and
Holiday Inn Club Vacations.
Motel
A
motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
, an abbreviation for "motor hotel", is a small-sized low-rise lodging establishment similar to a limited service, lower-cost hotel, but typically with direct access to individual rooms from the car park. Motels were built to serve road travellers, including travellers on road trip vacations and workers who drive for their job (travelling salespeople, truck drivers, etc.). Common during the 1950s and 1960s, motels were often located adjacent to a major highway, where they were built on inexpensive land at the edge of towns or along stretches of freeway.
New motel construction is rare in the 2000s as hotel chains have been building economy-priced, limited-service franchised properties at freeway exits which compete for largely the same clientele, largely saturating the market by the 1990s. Motels are still useful in less populated areas for driving travelers, but the more populated an area becomes, the more hotels move in to meet the demand for accommodation. While many motels are unbranded and independent, many of the other motels which remain in operation joined national franchise chains, often rebranding themselves as hotels, inns or lodges. Some examples of chains with motels include
EconoLodge,
Motel 6,
Super 8, and
Travelodge.
Motels in some parts of the world are more often regarded as places for romantic assignations where rooms are often rented by the hour. This is fairly common in parts of
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
.
In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, motels have a reputation for criminal activity such as
prostitution and
drug dealing.
Microstay
Hotels may offer rooms for
microstays, a type of booking for less than 24 hours where the customer chooses the check in time and the length of the stay. This allows the hotel increased revenue by reselling the same room several times a day. They first gained popularity in Europe but are now common in major global tourist centers.
Management
Hotel management is a globally accepted professional career field and academic field of study. Degree programs such as
hospitality management studies, a
business degree, and/or certification programs formally prepare hotel managers for industry practice.
Most hotel establishments consist of a general manager who serves as the head executive (often referred to as the "hotel manager"), department heads who oversee various departments within a hotel,
middle managers,
administrative staff, and line-level supervisors. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies.
Unique and specialty hotels
Historic inns and boutique hotels
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
s are typically hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting.
Some hotels have gained their renown through tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss
Cecilienhof in
Potsdam, Germany, which derives its fame from the
Potsdam Conference of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
allies
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
Harry Truman and
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
in 1945. The
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
is one of India's most famous and historic hotels because of its association with the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
. Some establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the
Waldorf Astoria in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, United States where the
Waldorf Salad
A Waldorf salad is a fruit and nut salad generally made of celery, fresh apples, walnuts, and grapes, dressed in mayonnaise, and traditionally served on a bed of lettuce as an appetizer or a light meal. The apples, celery, and grapes ...
was first created or the
Hotel Sacher in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Austria, home of the
Sachertorte. Others have achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as the
Hotel de Paris where the
crêpe Suzette was invented or the
Raffles Hotel in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, where the
Singapore Sling cocktail was devised.

A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the
Ritz Hotel in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, through its association with
Irving Berlin's song, "
Puttin' on the Ritz". The
Algonquin Hotel in New York City is famed as the meeting place of the literary group, the
Algonquin Round Table, and
Hotel Chelsea, also in New York City, has been the subject of a number of songs and the scene of the stabbing of
Nancy Spungen (allegedly by her boyfriend
Sid Vicious).
Resort hotels

Some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself to create a captive trade, example at
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s,
amusement parks and holiday
resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
s. Though hotels have always been built in popular destinations, the defining characteristic of a
resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same owners.
On the
Las Vegas Strip there is a tradition of
one-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant hotels in a concentrated area. This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world's highest: nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms.
Bunker hotels
The
Null Stern Hotel in
Teufen,
Appenzellerland, Switzerland, and the Concrete Mushrooms in
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
are former nuclear
bunkers transformed into hotels.
Cave hotels
The Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after the
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
) in
Guadix, Spain, as well as several hotels in
Cappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave formations, some with rooms underground. The Desert Cave Hotel in
Coober Pedy, South Australia, is built into the remains of an
opal
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...
mine.
Cliff hotels

Located on the coast but high above sea level, these hotels offer unobstructed panoramic views and a great sense of privacy without the feeling of total isolation. Some examples from around the globe are the Riosol Hotel in Gran Canaria, Caruso Belvedere Hotel in Amalfi Coast (Italy), Aman Resorts Amankila in Bali, Birkenhead House in Hermanus (South Africa), The Caves in Jamaica and Caesar Augustus in Capri.
Capsule hotels
Capsule hotels are a type of economical hotel first introduced in Japan, where people sleep in stacks of rectangular containers. In the sleeping capsules, beside the bed, the customer can watch TV, put their valuables in the mini safes, and the customers also can use the wireless internet.
Day room hotels
Some hotels fill daytime occupancy with
day rooms, for example,
Rodeway Inn and Suites near
Port Everglades in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Day rooms are booked in a block of hours typically between 8 am and 5 pm,
before the typical night shift. These are similar to transit hotels in that they appeal to travelers, however, unlike transit hotels, they do not eliminate the need to go through Customs.
Garden hotels
Garden hotels often originate as famous buildings with gardens before becoming luxury hotels. In Britain, the conversion into a hotel commonly results from the need to improve the finances of estates. These include
Gravetye Manor, the home of garden designer
William Robinson, and
Cliveden, designed by
Charles Barry with a rose garden by
Geoffrey Jellicoe. Other prominent examples include the
Abbasi Hotel in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, and
Hostal dos Reis Católicos in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
Ice, snow and igloo hotels

The Ice Hotel in
Jukkasjärvi,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, was the first ice hotel in the world; first built in 1990, it is built each winter and melts every spring. The Hotel de Glace in Duschenay,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, opened in 2001 and it is North America's only ice hotel. It is redesigned and rebuilt in its entirety every year.
Ice hotels can also be included within larger ice complexes; for example, the Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within the walls of the
Kemi snow castle; and the Lainio Snow Hotel is part of a snow village near
Ylläs, Finland. There is an arctic snowhotel in
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...
in
Lapland, Finland, along with glass igloos. The first glass igloos were built in 1999 in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, they became the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort with 65 buildings, 53 small ones for two people and 12 large ones for four people. Glass igloos, with their roof made of thermal glass, allow guests to admire
auroras comfortably from their beds.
Love hotels
A love hotel (also 'love motel', especially in Taiwan) is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world, operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for
sexual activities, typically for one to three hours, but with overnight as an option. Styles of premises vary from extremely low-end to extravagantly appointed. In Japan, love hotels have a history of over 400 years.
Portable modular hotels
In 2021 a New York-based company introduced new
modular and movable hotel rooms which allow landowners and
hospitality groups to create and easily
scale hotel accommodations. The
portable units can be built in three to five months and can be stacked to create multi-floor units.
Referral hotel
A referral hotel is a hotel chain that offers branding to independently operated hotels; the chain itself is founded by or owned by the member hotels as a group. Many former referral chains have been converted to franchises; the largest surviving member-owned chain is
Best Western.
Railway hotels
The first recorded purpose-built railway hotel was the
Great Western Hotel, which opened adjacent to
Reading railway station in 1844, shortly after the
Great Western Railway opened its line from London. The building still exists, and although it has been used for other purposes over the years, it is now again a hotel and a member of the
Malmaison hotel chain.
Frequently, expanding railway companies built grand hotels at their termini, such as the
Midland Hotel, Manchester next to
the former Manchester Central Station, and in London the ones above
St Pancras railway station and
Charing Cross railway station. London also has the Chiltern Court Hotel above
Baker Street tube station, there are also
Canada's grand railway hotels. They are or were mostly, but not exclusively, used by those traveling by rail.
Straw bale hotels
The Maya Guesthouse in Nax Mont-Noble in the Swiss Alps, is the first hotel in Europe built entirely with straw bales. Due to the insulation values of the walls it needs no conventional heating or air conditioning system, although the Maya Guesthouse is built at an altitude of in the Alps.
Transit hotels
Transit hotels are short stay hotels typically used at international airports where passengers can stay while waiting to change airplanes. The hotels are typically on the
airside and do not require a visa for a stay or re-admission through security checkpoints.
Treehouse hotels
Some hotels are built with living trees as structural elements, for example the Treehotel near
Piteå, Sweden, the Costa Rica Tree House near the
Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
; the
Treetops Hotel in
Aberdare National Park,
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
; the
Ariau Towers near
Manaus, Brazil, on the
Rio Negro in the
Amazon; and Bayram's Tree Houses in
Olympos, Turkey.
Underwater hotels

Some hotels have accommodation underwater, such as
Utter Inn in
Lake Mälaren, Sweden.
Hydropolis, project in
Dubai, would have had suites on the bottom of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
, and Jules' Undersea Lodge in
Key Largo,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, requires
scuba diving to access its rooms.
Overwater hotels
A
resort island is an island or an archipelago that contains resorts, hotels, overwater bungalows, restaurants, tourist attractions and its amenities.
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
has the most overwater bungalows resorts.
Yurt hotels
Yurts are circular, self-supporting structures with long
rafters coalescing toward a central
dome. During the day, the dome allows
sunlight
Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...
to illuminate the entire yurt interior, while
moonlight and
starlight shine through the dome at night.
Other specialty hotels
* The
Burj al-Arab hotel in
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, built on an artificial island, is structured in the shape of a boat's sail.
*The
Library Hotel in New York City, is unique in that each of its ten floors is assigned one category from the
Dewey Decimal System.
* The Jailhotel Löwengraben in
Lucerne, Switzerland, the Malmaison in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, and Bodmin Jail Hotel in
Bodmin, are in converted prisons now used as a hotels.
* The
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...
, a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in
Paradise, Nevada, United States is unusual due to its pyramidal structure.
*The Ritz-Carlton opened the highest hotel in the world in 2011,
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong on floors 102-118 of the
International Commerce Centre in
Tsim Sha Tsui on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong.
The lobby is above the ground.
* The
Liberty Hotel in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
used to be the
Charles Street Jail.
* Hotel Kakslauttanen in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, a collection of glass igloos in Lapland that allow you to watch the Northern Lights
* Built in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and completed in 1936, The former
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, United States uses its first-class staterooms as a hotel, after retiring in 1967 from Transatlantic service.
* The
Wigwam Motels used patented
novelty architecture in which each motel room was a free-standing concrete wigwam or teepee.
*
The Bus Collective in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
was built from 20 retired public buses, and opened in 2023.
* Various
Caboose Motel or Red Caboose Inn properties are built from decommissioned rail cars.
*Throughout the world there are several hotels built from converted airliners.
Records
Largest
In 2006, ''
Guinness World Records'' listed the
First World Hotel in
Genting Highlands,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, as the world's largest hotel with a total of 6,118 rooms (and which has now expanded to 7,351 rooms). The
Izmailovo Hotel in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
has the most beds, with 7,500, followed by
The Venetian and
The Palazzo complex in Las Vegas (7,117 rooms) and
MGM Grand Las Vegas complex (6,852 rooms).
Oldest
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel in operation is the
Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi, Japan. The hotel, first opened in AD 707, has been operated by the same family for forty-six generations. The title was held until 2011 by the
Hoshi Ryokan, in the Awazu Onsen area of
Komatsu, Japan, which opened in the year 718, as the history of the Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan was virtually unknown.
Highest
The
Rosewood Guangzhou located on the top floors of the 108-story
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre in
Tianhe District,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, China. Soaring to 530-meters at its highest point, earns the singular status as the world's highest hotel.
Most expensive purchase
In October 2014, the
Anbang Insurance Group, based in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, purchased the
Waldorf Astoria New York in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
for US$1.95 billion, making it the world's most expensive hotel ever sold.
Long term residence
A number of public figures have notably chosen to take up semi-permanent or permanent residence in hotels.
*Fashion designer
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
lived in the
Hôtel Ritz, Paris, on and off for more than 30 years.
*Inventor
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla (;["Tesla"](_blank)
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
lived the last ten years of his life at the
New Yorker Hotel until he died in his room in 1943.
*
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...
(of
The Three Stooges) and his family lived in hotels, due to his extravagant spending habits and his wife's dislike for housekeeping. They first lived in the President Hotel in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...
, where his daughter Phyllis was raised, then the Knickerbocker Hotel in
Hollywood. Not until the late 1940s did Fine buy a home in the
Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.
*The
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and its affiliated Waldorf Towers has been the home of many famous persons over the years including former President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
who lived there from the end of his presidency in 1933 until his death in 1964. General
Douglas MacArthur lived his last 14 years in the penthouse of the Waldorf Towers. Composer
Cole Porter spent the last 25 years of his life in an apartment at the Waldorf Towers.
*Billionaire
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...
lived in hotels during the last ten years of his life (1966–76), primarily in Las Vegas, as well as
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
,
Beverly Hills,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Freeport,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Managua
Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
,
Nassau,
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, and others.
*
Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Vera lived in the
Montreux Palace Hotel in
Montreux, Switzerland, from 1961 until his death in 1977.
*Actor
Richard Harris lived at the Savoy Hotel while in London. Hotel archivist Susan Scott recounts an anecdote that, when he was being taken out of the building on a stretcher shortly before his death in 2002, he raised his hand and told the diners "it was the food."
*Egyptian actor
Ahmed Zaki lived his last 15 years in Ramses
Hilton Hotel –
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
.
*British
entrepreneur Jack Lyons lived in the Hotel Mirador Kempinski in Switzerland for several years until his death in 2008.
*American actress
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...
lived in the
Berkshire Hotel in Manhattan for many years but was evicted in 1978 by new ownership who did not want permanent residents.
*American actress
Elaine Stritch lived in the
Savoy Hotel in London for over a decade.
*Uruguayan-Argentinian tango composer
Horacio Ferrer lived almost 40 years, from 1976 until his death in 2014, in an apartment inside the
Alvear Palace Hotel, in Buenos Aires, one of the most exclusive hotels in the city.
See also
*
Lists of hotels
*
List of chained-brand hotels
*
List of defunct hotel chains
*
Casino hotel
**
List of casino hotels
*
Niche tourism markets
*
Resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
**
Resort hotel
Industry and careers
*
Bellhop
*
Concierge
*
Front desk clerk, a type of
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...
*
General manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
*
GOPPAR,
RevPAR,
TRevPAR – hotel profitability equations.
*
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and beverage services, event planning, theme parks, travel agency, tourism, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and bars.
Sector ...
*
Hotel rating
*
Innkeeper
*
Night auditor
*
Property caretaker
*
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
Human habitation types
*
Apartment hotel
An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "check ...
*
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...
*
Caravanserai
*
Cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
*
Dharamshala
*
Dak bungalow
*
Eco hotel
*
Guest house
*
Glamping
*
Homestay
*
Hostal
*
Human habitats
*
Inn
*
Serviced apartment
*
Vacation rental
*
Pop-up hotel
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures by type
Tourist accommodations