The most innovative hotels in history

Currently it is almost unthinkable to imagine a hotel without an elevator or without a bathroom in the room. But there is always a first time, a first hotel that introduces a novelty that lasts until today. Do you know which was the first hotel that had a key in the rooms? Or the first to have a phone in every room? If you want to know the answers, we recommend that you keep reading! We reveal to you some of the most innovative hotels in the history of the hotel industry.

What were the most innovative hotels in the history of hospitality?

Have you ever wondered when and why for example, it was decided to give to the hotel guests a key to their room? We reveal the secret behind some of the questions related to hotel innovations. Get ready to discover some secrets of the most innovative hotels in history.

What was the first hotel with a lift?

Can you imagine arriving at a hotel with more than 10 floors and not having an elevator to carry your luggage? Unthinkable, right?

But, do you know which was the first hotel that installed an elevator in its facilities? It was in 1859 in the city of New York (USA). And the pioneer was the Fifth Avenue Hotel , specifically designed to incorporate a passenger elevator into its facilities.

Since then, the invention became popular in large urban hotels in London and Paris and its use later spread to office buildings and the like.

With the elevator also came the rise of skyscrapers and living on the upper floors of a building went from being relegated to workers to being a prestigious space sought after by the upper classes of society.

The novelty of having a private bathroom in the hotel room

We go back to the early 20th century, again, to New York City. There was a new type of traveler for whom the large hotels were too expensive and the inns, unsanitary. So to accommodate this new guest profile, commercial hotels emerged.

The first was the Statler Hotel, designed by Ellsworth Statler and opened in 1908 in the city of Buffalo, New York, and it was a pioneer in incorporating the private bathroom in the rooms. His motto “a room and a bathroom for $ 1 and a half” was very popular with the new traveler profile and his model laid the foundation for future hotels, motels and resorts.

More innovative hotels: Lockable rooms

The types of key for hotel room have changed: from key rings with the hotel chain insignia that served as souvenirs for travelers, to coarser and heavier keys to deposit at the reception, stamped cards, magnetic cards or, as most recent, applications to open and close the door of the room with the mobile phone.

But who was the pioneer hotel in offering lockable rooms?

The Tremont House hotel in Boston (USA), built in 1829. Not only was the first hotel to have lockable rooms, it was also a pioneer in employing full-time staff. Tremont House paved the way for many later hotel establishments that have followed its model to the present day.

The first hotel with electricity and telephone in the rooms

What would have happened to hotel guests if they hadn’t been able to pick up the phone to order breakfast in their room? This is one of the thousand examples of use that has allowed the installation of the telephone and electricity in hotel rooms.

It all started in the year 1880 and at the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George in New York: this hotel was a pioneer in having electricity in all rooms. And it was also in New York, specifically, the Netherlands Hotel, the first to have a telephone in each room.

If we cross the Atlantic Ocean, in Europe, the one who led the novelty of having telephone and electricity in all rooms was the Hotel Ritz in Paris, founded in 1875.

When were the first suite hotels created?

For those of you wondering what a hotel suite is: these are more luxurious rooms with more space that have a separate room from the bedroom. Currently there are different types of suites depending on the hotels and the needs of the clients.

But let’s get to the point: when and where were they born?

The so-called suite hotels were born between 1988 and 1990 mainly in the United States. Some examples from this era are Embassy Suites, Residence Inn, Marriott Suites, Hilton Suites, Sheraton Suites, Hyatt Suites.

What was the first international hotel chain?

We continue to reveal more secrets of pioneering hotels in establishing novelties that have lasted until today. In fact, hearing about chains or hotel groups is today one of the most normal. Surely you would know how to start a list with at least two or three names of international hotel chains.

Who was, therefore, the pioneer? In other words, what was the first hotel chain with an international scope?

It is the Hilton Hotels company, created by Conrad Hilton in Texas (USA) in 1919 and which would soon become the first international hotel chain. Today Hilton has 18 hotel brands, it’s present in 119 countries and has more than 6,500 hotels around the world.

The first hotel in space

If the forecasts don’t fail, the first hotel in space will be a reality in 2027. And if so, it will be a new milestone in the history of hospitality.

It will be called Voyager Station and it will consist of a five-star hotel in space, a project promoted and led by the California-based Orbital Assembly Corporation. The hotel will have suites, restaurants and rooms dedicated to leisure and will be able to accommodate about 400 people, including staff and guests. According to the promoters of the project, artificial gravity will allow the rooms and common spaces of the Voyager Station to have the same features as a conventional hotel.

We will see if, as in the previous cases, this novelty will come to stay and to inspire the hotel establishment models of the future.