Hotel Design, Planning and Development

Register lamented:

Along with new hotel types and almost infinite combinations 

and varieties, it is increasingly difficult for guests to select a 

hotel when labels are inadequate or misleading. Downtown 

hotels have as many tennis courts, pools and saunas as resorts. 

Resorts have as many convention or conference guests as 

downtown convention hotels or airport meeting centers. Motor 

inns are not necessarily superior to motels. And “inns” are 

not necessarily old. “Lodge,” “spa,” “guest ranch” also are 

unclear labels. Price is no indicator—expensive hotels may 

have small rooms, while budget hotels have larger, better 

appointed rooms. Buying on the basis of ingredients looks 

like the new wave.

Our late coauthor, Walter A. Rutes, FAIA, at the turn of the century 

wrote:

It is likely that today’s oxymoron marketing mantra of “mass 

customization” is increasing in the hotel field, after bringing 

gold to industries ranging from clothing to personalized 

vitamins. It responds to the consumer’s desire for individual 

treatment in an increasingly impersonal world. If the typical 

guest buys designer clothes and made-to-order music CDs 

from a long questionnaire, why not a virtual Ritz at Times 

Square?

(Rutes, Penner, and Adams, 2001, p. 6)

Therefore, in this book guest perceptions are emphasized as 

much as the actual differences among types of hotels. In other words, 

what’s “in” at the inn is even as important as what’s in it.

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5

Planning and Design Considerations

Since each type of hotel seeks different kinds of guests, its planning 

requirements will vary by its location, quality level, size, image, space 

standards, circulation, and other characteristics. For example, convention 

hotels and conference centers require closeness to airports, while 

vacation villages and ski lodges do not. Airport hotels and roadside 

motels need high visibility and good highway signage, while conference 

centers, country inns, vacation villages, and ecotourist retreats seek 

seclusion. And while super-luxury hotels must be small to create an 

intimate atmosphere, upscale hotels must be large enough to justify the 

greater number of restaurants, lounges, and banquet rooms required 

by first-class or five-star international standards.

Design considerations also vary by hotel type. For example, 

resorts require larger rooms and more closet and drawer space 

than downtown hotels due to the longer stays of their guests and 

Biblical times

Boarding houses existed

500 

BC

First resorts at mineral and hot springs in Greece

Mansiones built along Roman roads to lodge government-sanctioned travelers; some inns existed for others

Romans spread spa resorts to England, Switzerland, and the Middle East; introduced campona (inns) in England. Riviera popular with 

Phoenician and Greek traders

Caravansaries, cloistered courtyard caravan stops, provided by government along roads in the Middle East

Khans, small inns, established in Middle East towns

Middle Ages

Manorial lords, abbeys, and monasteries sheltered some travelers

Monastic inns run by religious orders. Hospices built as hospitals and shelters for travelers

Some inns developed in larger towns (no meals)

Rooming houses used as relay stations for mail, government transport, rest stops, changing horses

Hospitalers created shelters for Crusaders and pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land

1100s

Travel became safe in Europe. Inns prospered with freedom and right to travel, declined in times of lawlessness

The European inn gradually developed

The Three Kings Inn opened in Basel, Switzerland—earliest inn still operating

1200s

Guest houses, courier mail stations opened in China and Mongolia

Rooming and relay stations for mail, government transportation, rest stops

Cour St. Georges Inn opened in Ghent, Belgium

Angel Inn opened in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England

1300s

The English country inn developed; some inns in London

Castle Inn founded in Taunton, Somerset, England

French law required innkeepers to replace stolen property plus pay victims three times as much in damages

1400s

French law required hotel register

English law established regulations for inns

The Krone Inn in Solothurn, Switzerland, is earliest adaptive reuse—converted from residence

1500s

European spas revived in Carlsbad, Marienbad

Stagecoaches developed, using Roman road system; teams changed, carriages checked, and travelers rested at posting houses

English innkeepers set pattern for Europe and America to follow; 6,000 inns in England

Inn plan took form of enclosed courtyard with arched entrance, rooms along two sides, kitchen and public rooms at front side, stable and 

storage at rear

First travelers’ guide rating inns in France

1600s

Hotel industry developed in Europe with well-placed and reliable cuisine “at sign of insignia on a metal plaque, grating its rugged 

hinges in every wind”

Seaport inns developed in American cities: for example, the Blue Anchor in Philadelphia

Village inns developed as required by Massachusetts law in all towns: for example, the Old Yarmouth Inn at Yarmouthport

First scheduled coach service established in England

the higher number of occupants per room. Some roadside inns 

may require larger restaurants than other hotels for peak periods 

such as breakfast, yet offer no room service. Casino hotels require a 

glittering design, while conference center décor needs to be more 

understated. Also, similar design concepts are expressed differently 

in each type of hotel. For example, the social pastime of people-

watching in the downtown or suburban hotel is accommodated in 

its lobby or atrium space. The same purpose is served by the pool 

deck at the resort, the sun deck at the ski lodge, the commons area 

at the conference center, the outdoor bar at the vacation village’s 

piazza, the tea lounge of the luxury hotel, or the high-fashion lobby 

of the boutique hotel.

While the specific facilities, area programs, and technical 

requirements are discussed in Part 2, Design Guide, this first section 

summarizes the main variations in planning and design for each 

distinct type of hotel.

Table 1.1 Hotel milestones

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6

1700s

Clubhouses similar to British clubs and Masonic lodges developed in America

Spa resorts developed in Yellow Springs, Pennsylvania, and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Boodles and Coventry clubhouses opened in London

Market Square Taverne founded in Williamsburg, Virginia

Place Vendôme in Paris is first mixed-use complex

1780s

Dessien’s in Calais, France, was early large inn

Covent Garden Inn in London was early large inn

1790s

Industrial revolution stimulated hotels in England, Europe, and America; resorts developed

Corre’s Hotel and City Hotel in New York were first downtown hotels

Saratoga Springs, New York, developed as spa resort 

1800s

White Hart Hotel opened in Salisbury, England

Royal Hotel founded in Plymouth, England

Luxury “swagger hotels” established in major cities

Early resorts built along French and Italian Riviera

Imposing clubhouses built

Fulton’s steamship Clermont launched on Hudson River

Exchange Coffee House in Boston was first atrium hotel

1810s

Ryokan guest houses developed in Japan

Dak bungalows, 24-hour guest stops, run by government of India

1820s

Catskill Mountain House in New York State was early major resort

City Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, was first with partial gaslight

B&O Railroad began passenger service

Tremont House in Boston was first luxury downtown hotel with indoor toilets, locks on guestroom doors, and à la carte menu

1830s

Saratoga Springs Hotel opened in New York State

American Hotel in New York City was first with gaslight throughout

Astor House opened in New York City

St. Charles and St. Louis Hotels established in New Orleans, Louisiana

Holt’s Hotel, opened in New York City, was first with an elevator for baggage

Reform Club in London had courtyard roofed in to become an early atrium

Euston Station Hotel, opened in London, was early example of railroad hotel

1840s

Railroads replaced coaches; coach-route inns declined

Shepheard’s Hotel, opened in Cairo, was early major adaptive reuse

Hotel des Trois Couronnes founded in Vevey, Switzerland

Bar au Lac Hotel opened in Zurich, Switzerland

New York Hotel in New York City was first with private baths

Planter’s House Hotel founded in St. Louis, Missouri

The Homestead established in Hot Springs, Virginia

Resorts developed in Coney Island, New York

1850s

Spa resorts reached height of popularity

Resorts developed in Niagara Falls, New York, and New Jersey shore

Mills House opened in Charleston, South Carolina (rebuilt in 1970)

Parker House established in Boston (rebuilt in 1927)

Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City was first with passenger elevators

1860s

Railroad terminal hotels such as Charing Cross in London were main type of hotels developed 1860s through 1920s

Mohonk Mountain House established in the Catskills in New York State

Central and Union Pacific Railroads were joined

1870s

Coney Island in New York was themed seaside resort with Queen Anne and Oriental-style hotels and amusement park with roller-coaster 

Fashionable Vendome Hotel built in Boston

Palmer House opened in Chicago was largest of time and first built with a fireproof structure (rebuilt in 1925)

Palace Hotel opened in San Francisco was earliest hotel with a large atrium

Sherman House founded in Chicago

Grand Hotel built in Point Clear, Alabama

Continental opened in Paris (restored in 1970 by InterContinental)

Table 1.1 continued

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7

1880s

Hotel Del Monte established in Monterey, California

Hotel Everett in New York City was first with partial electric lights

Sagamore Hotel at Lake George in New York State was first with electricity in all rooms

Chelsea Hotel in New York City was first large residential hotel

Mountainview House established in Whitefield, New Hampshire

Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, was first built of concrete

Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan, had largest veranda

Victoria Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, was first with baths in all rooms

Hotel Del Coronado, opened in San Diego, California, was largest resort of its time

Whiteface Inn and Golf Club founded in Lake Placid, New York

The Savoy in London was first hotel with theater, chapel, print shop, laundry

1890s

The Broadmoor opened in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Brown Palace in Denver, Colorado, was earliest hotel atrium still operating

Copley Square Hotel opened in Boston

Ecole Hotelière in Lausanne, Switzerland, was first hotel school

Hotel Netherland in New York City was first with phones in all rooms

The Breakers opened in Palm Beach, Florida (rebuilt in 1906, again in 1926)

Lake Placid Club established in Lake Placid, New York

Original Waldorf=Astoria built in New York City, tallest of its time, at 17 stories (later site of 102-story Empire State Building)

Wentworth-by-the-Sea opened in New Castle, New Hampshire

Claridge’s, Berkeley, Connaught all opened in London

1900s

The Ritz founded in London

The Willard opened in Washington, DC

The Plaza, St. Regis, and Astor built in New York City

Taj Mahal Hotel opened in Bombay (restored in 1972 by InterContinental)

Statler in Buffalo, New York, established main principles of modern multi-story hotel and circulation flow

First cross-country U.S. auto trip

1910s

Grand Central Terminal in New York City was early mixed-use complex

Boarding-house resorts developed in Catskills in New York State

Bellevue Stratford opened in Philadelphia

Copley Plaza built in Boston

Beverly Hills Hotel established in California

The Greenbrier opened in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Asilomar near Carmel, California, was first non-profit conference center

Kahler Hotel in Rochester, Minnesota, was first medical hotel

First trans-Atlantic flight and first scheduled airline

Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City, at 2,200 rooms, was largest of its time

1920s

Hotel boom #1 generated by economic prosperity

Grand Central District in New York City was example of further developed hotel complex connecting five hotels

Miami Beach developed with Mediterranean-style architecture; for example, Flamingo, Pancoast, and Roney Plaza hotels

School of Hotel Administration established at Cornell University

First non-stop cross-U.S. plane flight

Baker and Adolphus hotels opened in Dallas, Texas

Royal Hawaiian established in Honolulu

Prohibition caused decline of hotel/restaurant business

The Ritz-Carlton opened on the Boston Public Gardens

The Statler in Boston was first mixed-use hotel/office building

Ahwahnee Hotel built in Yosemite National Park in California

Biltmore founded in Santa Barbara, California

Stevens Hotel in Chicago had 2,700 rooms—largest of time

The Cloister opened in Sea Island, Georgia

Arizona Biltmore built in Phoenix

1930s

Depression forced many U.S. hotels into receivership

The new Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, largest of its time, built during Depression

1940s

Statler in Washington, DC, was one of few hotels built during World War II

Flamingo in Las Vegas was first casino hotel

Statler Hotels in Los Angeles, California, Hartford, Connecticut, and Dallas, Texas, first post-war hotels

San Souci in Miami was first new post-war resort

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1950s

Hotel boom #2 generated by expanded education and mass travel

Resorts developed in Caribbean

Vacation village concept developed by Club Med

Holiday Inns was first motel chain with large rooms

Casino hotels developed in Las Vegas, Nevada

Fontainbleau opened in Miami Beach

First commercial trans-Atlantic jet service

Airlines began developing hotels

1960s

23,000 hotels, 40,000 motels, and 170 chains operated in the U.S.

Resorts developed in Spanish Mediterranean, Portugal, Balearic Islands, Scandinavia, Greece, and Yugoslavia

Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, reintroduced atrium concept

Arden House of Columbia University, Tarrytown House in Tarrytown, New York, and General Electric Co. in Crotonville, New York, were 

first conference centers used extensively by businesses

Sheraton at Prudential Center in Boston was first major hotel/mixed-use complex

Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, was first built with prefabricated concrete modules

1970s

Boeing 747 introduced; airlines became active in hotel development through subsidiary chains

New hotel expansion took up slack caused by demolition and conversions of hotels to apartments and office buildings

Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, opened as first major hotel/amusement destination center

Extensive hotel development in the Middle East generated by oil prosperity

Luxury condominiums developed offering hotel services

Hotel restorations extensively developed

First suite hotels converted from condos

Time-sharing and condominium resorts developed

MGM Grand casino hotel fire in Las Vegas caused changes in building and fire codes

Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease at Bellvue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia caused bankruptcy of hotel and changed engineering and 

maintenance operations

No-smoking rules took effect in federal buildings

Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia, had 70 stories—tallest hotel

Multi-resort complexes developed in Maui, Hawaii, and Cancun, Mexico

China opened to foreign tourists; international hotel experts invited to participate in development of facilities

Middle East investments in U.S. real estate increased values of hotels and resorts

1980s

Hotel boom #3 generated by innovative marketing and development of specialized types of hotels, many combined with large-scale 

commercial complexes such as Copley Place and Lafayette Place in Boston

Airport hotels, conference centers, all-suite hotels, vacation villages, health spas, marina hotels, ski lodges, time-sharing and condo 

resorts developed rapidly

Casino hotels developed in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Condominium hotels developed, such as The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons in Boston and UN Plaza in New York City

Limited-service budget motels continued rapid growth

Popular revival of country inns

Marriott Marquis in Atlanta was largest convention hotel

Marriott Marquis in Times Square in New York City was highest-cost hotel project

Hyatt and Marriott open mega-hotels in Orlando, Florida

Hotel boom in China; 50 major hotels under construction or design including 2,000-room Lidu in Beijing; visitors increased from 200,000 

at beginning of decade to 5,000,000 per year expected by end of century

Embassy Suites and Crowne Plaza by Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, and Residence Inn debut

Japanese investments in U.S. real estate increased values of hotels and resorts

Dow-Jones average of New York Stock Exchange plunged 508 points, or four times previous record one-day drop

Americans with Disabilities Act became law, affecting broad areas of hotel design and operations

Electronic key-card for hotel rooms was introduced by Ving

Resolution Trust Corporation sold off hotels as required due to failing savings and loans

First baby-boomers turned 50, Generation X gained economic power

Disney licensed operation of Tokyo Disneyland, east of the city in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, the first Disney park outside the U.S.

Table 1.1 continued

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9

1990s

Gulf War slowed tourism

Recession of 1991 resulted in lowest financial record in hotel history, with majority of hotels not meeting debt service

Growth through conversions became more prevalent

Over 75 percent of top 25 U.S. chains engaged in global hotel development

Casinos and hotels on Native American reservations gained acceptance

Riverboat gaming on Mississippi River and Gulf Coast

Budget hotels were industry’s leading money-makers

Disney opened Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, the second park outside the United States, with seven hotels and 5,800 

rooms

Palace of the Lost City in Sun City, South Africa, based on a fantasy lost African tribe, was most costly casino resort

Wall Street–REIT investments in as many as 15 percent of all U.S. hotels turned back financial recession, with hotel values at levels higher 

than paid by previous waves of international investors in the 1970s and 1980s 

Vacation ownership booming, with five million members investing record annual $6 billion at 7 percent yearly growth rate forecast

Regent Four Seasons built in New York was highest-cost hotel project

Mega-casino themed resorts rapidly expanding in Las Vegas, including New York, New York, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, The Venetian, and 

Paris, increasingly attracting family market

Better shower offered at Holiday Inn in place of standard tub/shower combination

Cruise ships booming owing to unmatched appeal to affluent elderly population

Self-service business centers widely available to hotel guests

Hotel schools at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, New York University, and the University of California at Los Angeles expand their 

role in international conferences and research activities in hotel, resort, travel, and leisure-time field, now the world’s largest industry

Universal Studios opens major resort theme park including first mega-hotel in Orlando 

Disney announced expansion of its luxury resort, retail, dining, and entertainment center at Disneyland in Anaheim, California 

Atlantis mega-hotel opened on Paradise Island, Bahamas

Internet, incorporating console control of lighting, temperature, security monitoring, non-disturb, maid, large-screen interactive info-

entertainment centers with multiple language and time zone displays, city guide, speaker/video phones, data port, and speed dialing 

to home and office installed in hotels by INNCOM, SeaChange, GTE, TCI, LodgeNet, On Command, ViaTV, Travelers Telecom, Zenith, 

Panasonic, Thomson, Phillips, etc.

Hotel boom #4 generated by advanced technology, imaginative design, and the successful marketing of mass customization of hotels, 

resorts, and leisure-time amenities

Spas booming as baby-boomers perceived them as essential to health

Boutique hotels popular with business travelers; such developers as Ian Schrager, Bill Kimpton, and W brand by Starwood all converted 

older hotels or developed new properties 

First billion-dollar Native American mixed-use casino complex completed in Connecticut, catapulting the region into a major gaming 

center

Entertainment hotels introduced in downtown areas, including New York City

Hilton Hotels acquired Promus, owner of Embassy Suites/Doubletree, making it the third largest global hotel company

Over 250 luxury and upscale hotels were announced for development worldwide

Ultra-high-rise mixed-use hotels developed in Shanghai, Bangkok, and other major Asian cities 

2000s