Founders of the Hotel industry

E.M.Statler:

An entrepreneur in hotel industry, who was motivated by wealth & fame on agrand scale. Ellsworth M.Startler(1863-1928) developed the chain of hotels that were known as Startlers. He began with a hotel in Buffalo, New yorkin 1901. Then the chain started growing in Boston,Cleveland,Detroit,New York city, St.Louis & other locations.

In 1954 the Startler was sold to Conrad Hilton.

Conrad Hilton:

Conrad Hilton is one of the successful hotelier after the world war I . In 1919 he bought the Mobley Hotel in Cisco,Texas. In 1925 he built the Hilton in dallas,Texas.His acquisitions during & after world warII includes the 3000 room Stevens Hotel( now Chicago Hilton) & Palmer house in Chicago & the Plaza & Waldorf  Astoria in New York city.

In 1946 he formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation, in 1948 the Hilton Hotels Corporation was formed where more than 125 hotels was formed. In 1954 the first major American chain was created by Cornad Hilton with the purchase of the Statler Chain.This is the first hotel in a group that followed the first major chain of modern America that followed standard operating procedures in marketing, reservation, quality of service, food & beverage operations, housekeeping & accounting.

Hilton hotel now includes Hilton Garden Inns, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns, Harrison Conference Centres, Homewood suites by Hilton, Red Lion Hotels & Inns & Cornard International.

Cesar Ritz:

César Ritz (23 February 1850 – 24 October 1918) was a famous Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz, in Paris and The Ritz Hotel in London. His nickname was "king of hoteliers, and hotelier to kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term ritzy derives. Because of his management abilities," the hotel became one of the most popular in Europe & Cesar Ritz became one of the most respected hoteliers in Europe.

William Waldorf astor & John Jacob Astor IV:

Beyond the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the Astor family name is imprinted in a great deal of United States history and geography. There is a town of Astor in the states of Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Kansas and there are Astorias in Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Oregon. There is an Astor Park in Wisconsin, in New York City, an Astor Row, Astor Court, Astor Place, and Astor Avenue in the Bronx where the Astors used to stable horses. A large number of town and city thoroughfares also bear the family name. The New York City neighborhood of Astoria, Queens is named after the family as well.

The Astors were also prominent on Mackinac Island, Michigan and Newport, Rhode Island with their summer house, Astor's Beechwood Mansion. At Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, there are the Lord and Lady Astor Suites; the hotel salon is called Astor's. Cliveden House Hotel in Buckinghamshire, England, once home to Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor and Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (née Langhorne), is also home to Lord and Lady Astor Suites.

A number of Astor family members are buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan, New York.

Kemmons Wilson:

Kemmons Wilson started the Holiday Inn chain in the early 1950s, opening the first i  Memphis, Tennessee. He wanted to build a chain for the traveling families & later he exapanded his marketing plan to include business travelers. His accomplishments in real estate development coupled with his hotel management skills proved a highly successful combination.

In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew dramatically, following Wilson's original tenet that the properties should be standardized, clean, predictable, family-friendly and readily accessible to road travellers.
By 1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. The chain dominated the motel market, leveraged its innovative Holidex reservation system, put considerable financial pressure on traditional hotels and set the standard for its competitors, like Ramada Inns, Quality Inn, Howard Johnson's, and Best Western.

By June 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. Innovations like the company's Holidome indoor pools turned many hotels into roadside resorts.
Wilson retired from Holiday Inn in 1979. In 1988, Holiday Corporation was purchased by UK-based Bass PLC , followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990, when founder Wilson sold his interest, after which the hotel group was known as Holiday Inn Worldwide.
Wilson was the founder of many different kind of companies such as Holiday Inn Records. After selling his shares of Holiday Inn, he formed Wilson World, another hotel chain.

J.W.Marriott & J.W.Marriott Jr.:

J.W.Marriott (1900-1985) founded his hotel empire in 1957 with the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel in Virginia, near Washington, D.C. Marriott Hotels & Resorts had grown to include Courtyard by Marriott & American Resorts Group at the time of  J.W. Marriott's death in 1985, at which time J.W. Marriott Jr. acquired the Howard Johnson Company, he sold the hotels to Prime Motor Inns but retained 350 restaurants & 68 turnpike units. In 1987, Marriott completed expansion of its world wide Reservation Centre in Omaha, Nebraska, making it the largest single-site reservations operation in US hotel history.

In 1987 Marriott acquired the residency Inn company,an all-suite hotel chain targeted at extended stay travelers.


Raibahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi:

The foundations of the Oberoi Group date back to 1934 when Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, the founder chairman of the group bought from an Englishman; two properties - The Clarke's in Delhi and The Clarke's in Shimla. In the ensuing years; Mr.Oberoi continued the expansion of his group with properties both in India and abroad.
Today; his younger son; Mr.P.R.S.Oberoi is the Chairman of The East India Hotels (EIH); the holding company for the group and his grandsons; Mr.Vikram Oberoi and Mr.Arjun Oberoi serve in the capacities of Joint Managing Directors.

Presently, under the Oberoi brand; the group owns and/or operates 18 luxury hotels and 3 luxury cruisers in India, Mauritius, Egypt, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Their offering of 5-Star Business hotels; Trident Hotels own and/or operate 9 properties in India and one property in Saudi Arabia.

The Group also operates the Clarke's Hotel in Shimla and the Maiden's in Delhi. These two properties; however are neither under the Trident nor under the Oberoi brand.
Presently, under the Oberoi brand; the group owns and/or operates 18 luxury hotels and 3 luxury cruisers in India, Mauritius, Egypt, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Their offering of 5-Star Business hotels; Trident Hotels own and/or operate 9 properties in India and one property in Saudi Arabia.


Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata:
Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata (March 3, 1839 - May 19, 1904) was an Indian entrepreneur and industrialist, prominent for his pioneering work in Indian industry. He was born to a Parsi family in Navsari, Gujarat, India.

He founded what would later become the Tata Group of companies. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the "father of Indian industry".

The company started by Jamsetji Tata came to be known as the Tata Group and is today among the largest and most respected companies of the world.

Jamsetji, was however, known for much more than just starting a company. He was a pioneer in his field.

The Taj Hotels resorts & palaces was incorporated in 1902 and it opened its first hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai, in 1903. The Company then undertook major expansion of The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai by constructing an adjacent tower block and increasing the number of rooms from 225 to 565 rooms. With the completion of its initial public offering in the early 1970s, the Company began a long term programme of geographic expansion and development of new tourist destinations in India which led to its emergence as a leading hotel chain in India.