.
Based on the early settlers' country-of-birth, accommodations for travelers on the American East Coast were in the form of inns, following the English and Dutch examples.
During the colonial days lodging was available in all seaports. There were the bars which allowed sailors to fasten their hammocks on hooks in the backroom and the more costly accommodations offered bunks. Luxurious inns of those days usually had rooms with a number of beds, big enough that more than one person could sleep in it.
Newly established inns along the way of settlers pushing West were a combination of trading post, tavern or saloon. There lodging according to the traveler's ability to pay went the whole gamut from with the horses in the stable to full service upstairs which often included more than a hot bath and a bed.
In America the owners of inns were enterprising and willing to try everything to make their business a success. At the same time, back in Europe innkeepers were very conservative.
By the time of The American Revolution, Inns in America were destined to become a prime example of the finest service available to any traveler able to pay the price.
.
The American innkeeper
.
The American innkeeper did away with the old ideas, the ones which had ruled Europe. Title and background were less important than the ability to produce and pay for goods or services received. The capitalistic system was born out of the freedom, that who wants to work can get rich, and who is rich may enjoy all the benefits of being rich.
In America everybody from the start was allowed worldly luxuries, one didn't have to be a noble man. Nevertheless it was a better life if one was male and of white race.
The American innkeeper provided every luxury available to anyone who could pay the price. And as the demand for inns grew, homes changed into inns and additional rooms were added.
Americans have traveled all the time and sooner or later they had to have a good meal, a hot bath and a night in a bed. This typical American habit hasn't changed much and still now it keeps the hotel rooms filled.
American innkeepers were offering affordable room-rates and with this came that a good number of people decided to live permanently in inns or hotels.
From the start, many new ideas were introduced in America by the settlers. True the American innkeeper had fewer restrictions than his European counterpart. Yet the innovative and creative ideas of the pioneer spirit have led to what is now known as American style all over the world.
With this I may as well credit the influx of a great variety of free people and free ideas with the actual creation of the modern day hospitality industry and the modern American innkeeper.
.
1794 City Hotel New York and others
.
In 1794 the City Hotel opened in New York City. It is said that it was the first building in America specially built for the purpose of being a hotel. With 73 rooms it was considered a very large property. New York was at the time a booming town of approx 30,000. The City Hotel beside accommodation offered meeting rooms and with such became the social center of the city as it opened its doors.
Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia followed suit by opening similar establishments.
These hotels became quickly a fashionable meeting place. America's highly mobile society finally had found the needed setting for gatherings.
New York's first skyscraper was the six stories Adelphi Hotel.
.
The first Five Star Hotel 1829
.
The first Five Star Hotel, by standards of 1829, was the Tremont House in Boston, often referred to as the beginning of First Class Service.
It had 170 rooms and featured such incredible innovations as private single and double rooms for those who valued privacy. These rooms even had locks. Part of the first class set up was the water pitches in each room as well as a bowl for washing yourself. Free soap was included in the price.
The owners are said to have trained their staff to high standards which included the idea of treating all customers with dignity and respect. French Cuisine was offered and it was the Tremont which had the first Bellboy as well as the position of announciator such being the forerunner to room-telephone.
.
The Boston Exchange opened 1830
.
1830 to 1875 The Palace in SF
Between 1830 and 1875 many great hotels had been built not only on the American East Coast. To name just a few; Chicago had the Grand Pacific, The Palmer House and The Sherman House. St Louis had The Planters and Omaha had the Paxton.
Out West, during the gold rush days, in San Francisco The Palace was built at a price of an incredible 5 million dollars as one of the most ornate and expensive hotels of its days. The Palace opened in 1875, had 800 rooms and covered 2.5 acres in the heart of the City.
With the building of fancier and more and more expensive hotels the prices for rooms went up too. Lodging which once was affordable for every one now divided guests into classes; the rich people's hotels and regular lodging.
.
Statler 1908
.
The father of the modern commercial hotel is said to have been E. Statler.
The Buffalo Statler opened January 1908. Statler incorporated all the modern ideas of the time into this hotel. Many services which are taken for granted nowadays were first introduced at the Statler. There were keyholes above the doorknob, light-switches next to the door, private baths, ice water, as well as a morning news paper for each guest.
The Statler set standards for cleanliness, guest comfort and affordability. For many years to come, hotels were built to specifications matching the standards of the Statler.
In the roaring twenties a hotel building boom tried to keep up with the growing demand. During these years many of the great name hotels were built such as the Waldorf Astoria, New York's Hotel Pennsylvania and the Stevens in Chicago which is now the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
.
Motels 1910 - 1950
.
With the arrival of the automobile roadside cabins changed into motels. The early motels were family run, often mom and pop roadside places with a handful of cabin-like-rooms.
By the 1950s the sizes and operations changed, more cars more traffic, more travelers demanded more service, bigger rooms and comfort.
Motels offered what the traveling public wanted. Clean rooms, parking next to it. Conveniently located for the family on vacation, ideal for the traveling salesman to get a good night's rest without leaving the major roads, as well as the lovers in need of a discrete meeting place.
Soon added to the definition motor court and motel was the new word motor hotel which some people say was nothing but a hotel built around or above parking spaces.
From 1939 to 1960 over 35,000 motels were built in the U.S.
.
Resorts 1766 to 1900
.
Spas for the Roman upper class and summer mansions were part of the luxuries for the noble born back in old Europe since ancient times.
Following the example of the aristocrats of the Old World the American innkeepers catered to the demand of the traveling public.
The American South developed Luxury Resort such included the Homestead at Hot Springs 1766 in Virginia and The Greenbrier at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia 1780.
After the Civil War many more summer and winter resorts sprung up. Much of this seasonal business eventually turned into year round resort business.
The building of the railroad created instantly new resorts along its track. Carmel in California was once a cluster of cabins a week-end-getaway for city people, just past the end of the track. The Del Monte Hotel in Monterey was the end of the rail road track coming south from San Francisco, and it depended on the visitors arriving by train. Back then Pebble Beach could be visited by coach from the Del Monte Hotel 1880 and the trip to and from was 17 miles.
The Grand Hotel on Michigan's Mackinac Island 1887 was once just a summer resort.
.
Convention business
.
Conventions have been a blessing for many areas by bringing business when its most needed by the bus, train or plane load.
In 1999, more than 25,000 professional organizations provided big business for America's hospitality each year by booking rooms and space for conventions.
Beside the benefits conventions booked at the wrong time may cause the loss of regular return customers and can have the same effect on a resort hotel as bus-tourists have on fine dining.
Conventions, often seen as a modern way to increase business in downtown renewal areas as well as in far away resorts, have been around for quite some time.
During the Jackson era hotels were the place for political conventions. Almost all of the Jackson for President Campaign was run out of inns and hotels.
.
International hotels and resorts
.
International hotels are now a common sight.
Prior to 1968, the development of wide bodied aircraft certain limitations applied as to where to travel and be back in time after the yearly vacation.
Today it doesn't matter if you want to visit South Africa, Australia, Europe or America. Any world destination is as close as the next international airport.
By today's standards (year 2000) most hotel groups are represented in many countries and continents.
The following links are some selected sites featuring international hotel chains...
.
Best Western at
http://www.bestwestern.com/
.
Hilton Hotels at
http://www.hilton.com/
.
Sheraton Hotels at
http://www.sheraton.com/main.taf
.
Top Hotels at
http://www.top-hotels.de/html/e-home.html
.
Pullman Hotels at
http://www.all-hotels.com/
.
Hyatt Hotels at
http://www.hyatt.com/index.shtml
.
Independent hotel operators and chains
.
In the early days hotels used to owned and operated by individual hoteliers.
Since the days of franchises and lodging chains, many independent owned hotels faced the problem of not getting their fair share in the market place.
Understandable chains with worldwide referral systems have much more advertising power and may pull guests from the independent hotels with special offers.
In the 1960s and 70s independent hotel owners found help by using referral organizations. Several of the largest referral associations in America were Quality Courts, Best Western, Master Host and Best Eastern. Most of these have evolved into full service membership associations which are undistinguishable from franchise companies.
Looking at the power of the internet for hotel reservations one may expect many changes as to the need, price and usefulness of some of the hotel associations.
But not only have the American hotels joined associations it's the same all around the globe.
.
Franchised or Managed hotel property
.
Franchised
A hotel owner-operator makes a franchise deal in which he enters into an agreement with a hotel company (Franchisor) and receives the many benefits of belonging to a hotel company. The benefits include being part of the reputation of the Franchisor, access to the chain reservation system, easier financing, sales and marketing expertise of the Franchisor, technical assistance in purchasing, interior design and architectural planning. The hotel owner operator still runs his own hotel but pays a fee to the Franchisor.
Managed Property
The owner turns his property over to a hotel company. This company may it be Trust House Forte or Moevenpick or one of many other reputable hotel company runs the operation on behalf of the owner to established standards and conditions.
.
Hotel classifications
.
American hotel classifications
.
Commercial Hotels cater mainly to business clients and usually offers room service, coffee-shop, dining room, cocktail lounge, laundry and valet service as well as access to computers and fax services.
.
Airport Hotels are located near airports and are a conveniently located to provide any level of service from just a clean room, to room service, they provide bus or limousine service to the air lines.
.
Conference Centers are designed to specifically provide meeting space for groups, they provide all services and equipment necessary to handle conventions.
.
Economy Hotels provide a limited service, are known for clean rooms at low prices meeting just the basic needs of travelers.
.
Suite or All-Suite Hotels are hotels which offer spacious layout and design. Business people like the setting, which provides space to work and entertain separate from the bedroom.
.
Residential Hotels seem to be in the decline. They used to be very popular. The typical residential hotel offers long term accommodations.
.
Casino Hotels are often quite luxurious. Their main purpose is in support of the gambling operation. Casino Hotels often offer top name entertainment and excellent restaurants.
.
Resort Hotels is the planned destination of guests, usually vacationers. This is because resorts are located at the ocean or in the mountains away from inner cities. Resort hotels may offer any form of entertainment to keep their guest happy and busy.
.
Use of technology in 2000
.
Technology has caught up with every business.
Hotels use computerized reservation systems. Franchise hotels may use the Franchisor's reservation system. Many big hotels are using multiple sources for reservations and databanks to keep track of who made a reservation for when.
Sizeable properties would need an incredible number of people to keep track of reservations without today's computing power.
.
Examples
NewYork-NewYork in Las Vegas,
Bellagio in Las Vegas,
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas,
.
For the big hotels it would be impossible to operate without computerized guest accounting and more and more small hotels find the convenience of computer systems very helpful.
.
Computerized accounting systems have been around for a while, payroll nowadays even in smaller hotels seldom done by hand.
.
The bigger hotels which need to control heat and air conditioning use computerized energy management systems
.
Automated checkout has become the norm for many hotels
.
Electronic key cards have replaced the regular door keys in an attempt to provide better security for hotel guests and their belongings.
.
Very few shops, bars, restaurants are operated without a point of sale terminal. Such too has become very common and the actual investment often pays off within a relatively short time due to better cost and inventory controls.
.
What hasn't changed over time?
.
People used to say "The only three businesses which will never go out of style over the centuries are..."
"....food (people have to eat!)"
"...lodging (people want a safe place to sleep!)"
"...beverage (people like their beverages!)"
.
The hospitality business used to be a life time working place, you trained in it and you stayed in it.
.
We all know travel and tourism are growing quickly. The fact that many people have more free time is part of it. The other reason is that most people see in travel a most attractive activity.
People have always needed food, lodging and beverages. What has changed since ancient times is that with the higher spendable income people want their dream vacations to be dream vacations. .
Advertisement is promising so much and often it's hard for the properties to live up to the pretty pictures which hooked and reeled the visitor aboard a certain hotel.
The danger of making the dream vacation into the visitor’s greatest nightmare has never been bigger. Much of the good impressions left on the visitor depend on the individual hotel employee. .
However concerns about corporate profit and overly tight run departments often create unnecessary stress on their key employees. And as a result a steady stream of good people leaves the hospitality world only to be replaced by lesser trained new faces.
.
Want to be in hospitality?
.
Let's look at hospitality industry as a career.
The product sold by the multi-billion-dollar hospitality industry is service.
The main tool to achieve such always was and still is the human factor.
Careers in the hospitality field one way or the other do require an understanding of direct contact with the guest.
The accounting and the back of the house department will see less of a contact to guests than the front desk or sales, however in order for a hospitality business to run smooth all involved have to understand the importance of a good guest relations policy.
Hospitality is a truly international field of work.
.
Typical jobs in the hospitality industry
.
Typical jobs in the hospitality industry may include...
.
Entry level
Front Office
Bellperson
Bell captain
Front office manager
Telephone operator
Porter
Housekeeping
Maid
Supply person
Floor supervisor
Prep person
Kitchen helper
Dishwasher
Engineering
Maintenance person
Painter-helper
Electricians-helper
Carpenter
Clerk - Marketing Dept.
Clerical
Typist
File clerk
Food & Beverage
Busperson
Food server
Counter server
Runner
File Clerk - Food Service Office
File clerk - Accounting
Security guard trainee
Clerk - Human Resources
.
Skilled Level
.
Front Office
Bell Captain
Telephone Operator
Front Desk Agent
Reservations Agent
Housekeeping
Assistant housekeeping
Floor Supervisor
Food
Baker
Garde Manger
Saucier
Fry Cook
Roast Cook
Vegetable Cook
Breakfast Cook
Engeneering
Plumber
Electrician
Carpenter
Painter
Sales Representative (Sales Rep.)
Secretary
Food Server
Beverage Server
Host / Hostess
Bartender
Waiter
Bookeeper
Controller
.
Managerial Level
.
Font Office Manager
Housekeeper
Executive Chef
Chief Engineer
Sales and Marketing Manager
F & B Manager (Food and Beverage Manager)
Catering Manager
Banquet Manager
Accountant
Auditor
Human Resources Manager
Resident Manager
Night Manager
General Manager
Regional Director
Vice President
CEO
.
American and European hotel structures
.
So now what's the difference between American and European hotel management structures?
The table below gives a general idea about the differences. However don't forget it's up to the owner to decide how he might want to structure his management organization .
.
American hotels
.
Owner or General Manager
Room division
Reservations
Uniformed Services
Housekeeping
Food and Beverage Division
Marketing and Sales
Accounting
Human Resources
Security
.
European Hotels
.
Owner or General Manager
Front Office Manager (Chef de reception)
Food & Beverage Director (Maitre d'hotel)
Chef de cuisine
.
Head of departments
(each department has a head of department reporting back to one of the four se above)
.
Training
.
Once upon a time the whip and the voice of the owner was the law for hotels and inns. In modern times corporations use a different approach to motivate their workers...
...called "Training..."
...which is necessary to keep up with the constant changes in policies and standards...
.
Good run hotel properties take pride in their employees. On going training as shown below is part of the success...
Train all New Employees
Retrain Experienced Employees
Create training plan from the job list
Identify training needs
Develop lesson plans from job breakdowns
Develop lesson plans from job breakdowns
Train according to required standards
Train according to performance requirements
Evaluate performance according to the company standards and do more training as needed...
.
A New Theme
.
300 years ago accommodations for travelers on the American East Coast were in the form of inns.
During the colonial days lodging was available in all seaports. There were the bars which allowed sailors to fasten their hammocks on hooks in the backroom and the more costly accommodations offered bunks. Luxurious inns of those days usually had rooms with a number of beds, big enough that more than one person could sleep in it.
In the year 2000 we look at a wide variety of hotels. To attract visitors more and more theme hotels are being built.
Much of what used to be luxury 50 years ago is today part of the tourists' standard expectation.
Postagens
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário