Founding Fathers of the Hotel Industry

Cornelius Van Horne

He started the hotel company “Canadian Pacific Hotels (CPH)”, a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

Mount Stephen House located in the wilds of the Canadian Rocky Mountains was the first-ever CPH property in 1886, but it was more of a dining stop initially. Fairmont Banff Springs was the first of the several grand railway hotels built by CPR, the hotel opened in 1888.

Interesting facts

In the 1880s, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) connected the West and the East coasts of Canada with a single railway line, opening up several beautiful but hard-to-reach destinations to tourism. Van Horne realized that he could bring tourists into Canada using the railway, and ordered the construction of several resorts along this railway line. Van Horne is noted for his famous quote, “If you can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists”.

Isadore Sharpe

Isadore Sharpe started the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. Their first hotel was the Four Seasons Motor Hotel, 1961, in downtown Toronto, Canada.

Interesting facts

Isadore Sharp, an architect and builder, had no plans to enter the hotel business on a grand scale when he constructed his first hotel. Sharp’s went on to create a kind of hotel, one that focused solely on the guests. Sharpe cared more for his employees – offered them more pay, profit-sharing, stress breaks, and more perks. Many hoteliers, Sharp included, followed a strategy of managing properties rather than owning them.

Cesar Ritz

Cesar Ritz started the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Their first hotel was the Ritz Paris in 1898 and the Carlton Hotel (London) in 1899.

Interesting facts

Cesar Ritz, a Swiss hotelier, is considered to be the first, great modern hotelier, and credited for creating the concept of the “grand hotel”; his name is more synonymous with hotel luxury and fine food than his hotels. Cesar Ritz and his business partner Auguste Escoffier (celebrity chef) were already well-known across Europe before they started their own hotels; Ritz was a perfectionist and startled everyone with his luxury offerings, and he trusted only his partner Escoffier with his kitchens.

MK. Guertin

MK. Guertin started the Best Western Hotels & Resorts. Their first hotel was the Best Western Motels, founded in 1946.

Interesting facts

Best Western was founded by M.K. Guertin, as an informal link between existing hotels and lodging houses in the U.S. with each hotel recommending other lodging establishments to travelers. Under Best Western’s ownership model, each hotel is independently owned and operated, and the brand supports hotels with marketing and supply support. Merile Key (M.K.) Guertin was known in the hospitality industry as Mr. Motel. Best Western purchased WorldHotels in 2019.

Ernest Henderson & Robert Moore

They started the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. Their first hotel was the Sheraton hotel opened in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1937.

Interesting facts

Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore were Harvard classmates. The chain got its name from the third hotel the pair acquired, in Boston, which already had a large lighted sign on the roof saying “Sheraton Hotel,” which was too expensive to change so the pair decided to call all of their hotels by that name. The chain was acquired by Starwood Hotels in 1998, and Starwood Hotels was later acquired by Marriott International in 2016.

Kemmons Wilson

Kemmons Wilson started the Holiday Inn hotel chain. The first Holiday Inn opened in Memphis, TN (US) in 1952.

Interesting facts

Kemmons Wilson was so angered by the shabby lodgings he encountered on a family vacation in 1951 that he vowed to start a motel chain, a decision that led to Holiday Inn. The name of the Holiday Inn hotel chain was inspired by a Hollywood film of the same name. The Holiday Inn brand of hotels is now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

J Willard Marriott

J Willard Marriott started the Marriott Hotels. Their first hotel was the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, in 1957.

Interesting facts

With the acquisition of the Starwood group, Marriott became the largest hotel company in the world with a huge, global footprint. Marriott group operates on a light asset ownership model- most properties are operated on a franchise model- owned and operated by individual business owners under the branding and quality guidelines of Marriott. Marriott was the first hotel chain in the world to implement online reservation of hotel rooms.

Conrad Hilton

Conrad Hilton started the Hilton Hotels. Their first hotel was the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, which Conrad Hilton purchased in 1919.

Interesting facts

Conrad moved to Texas during the oil boom in 1919 with the intention of buying a bank, when the sale of the bank fell through, he bought his first hotel, the 40-room Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas. The Hilton hotel chain was the first international hotel chain. Conrad Hilton wrote an autobiography, called Be My Guest (published in 1957); for many years, a copy of the book was kept in every Hilton hotel room.

Waldorf Astor

Waldorf Astor started the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Their first hotel was the Waldorf Hotel (1890) in New York.

Interesting facts

Upon the death of his father, William Waldorf Astor inherited a personal fortune that made him the richest man in America. That year (1890) he initiated the construction of the luxurious Waldorf Hotel on the site of his former residence. Four years later his cousin started the Astoria Hotel. The two combined operations to form the Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel. Later, the original Waldorf was torn down to make room for the Empire State building.

Charles Waterhouse

Charles Waterhouse started the Deerhurst Resort. Their first hotel was setup in 1896, in Peninsula Lake, Ontario, Canada.

Interesting facts

Charles Waterhouse built Deerhurst Resort on a prime four-acre plot on Peninsula Lake for which he paid $100. Originally, the resort was only accessible by steamship. At one time, visiting Deerhurst was almost an American Family Tradition. Fishing was one of the most popular pastimes on Peninsula Lake, just as it is today.

Academic Questions

Q. Founding Fathers of the Hotel Industry. List numerous Hotel Companies, can you recognize their logos, do you know who started the Hotel or how long they have been open?

Using the list provided below, Research each of the 10 Founding Fathers Research Tips – search the name & add the word hotel to your search. Once you have found the hotel/brand name, go to the hotel website and look at the “About Us” or “History” page.

Use this document to make notes as you do your research and then you will be required to complete an exercise to assess your knowledge and research skills.

Use your research to complete the Founding Fathers Exercise, you can attempt multiple times but can only submit your results once. Include a picture of your results from the final summary page and exported text document that can be downloaded by clicking on the button from the final summary page.