Since the dawn of time, merchants and travelers have found refuge in places where they could eat and be received, known as "hotels". During the Middle Ages, this hospitality was organized solely by the Church, but over time, the formal hotel industry underwent a notable evolution.
The hotel industry has come of age in the wake of the development of tourism, a major pillar of the sector. But a lot happened before that... Our hotel in Saint-Malo intra-muros invites you to step back in time and retrace the origins of the hotel business, which is now firmly entrenched in the local way of life.
The duty to accommodate and restore travelers
At a time when our hotel in Saint-Malo didn't even exist, i.e. during Antiquity, welcoming a stranger to your home was already considered a duty. In Greece, the earliest sacred texts said that it was Zeus, the father of the gods himself, who sent out itinerants. It was therefore obligatory to give them shelter and food.
In France, this tradition lasted until the Second Empire, the constitutional and political system established by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic. In those days, post houses were inns where travelers could rest and care for their horses.
After 1860, the first seaside resorts appeared, and with them, prestigious hotels. The first large establishments were built in Deauville, Le Touquet, Arcachon and Cabourg.
World War I: cheap hotels arrive
The first budget hotels appeared during the First World War. Smaller, less well-decorated and more reasonable, the Prince de Galle, the Georges V and the Bristol were nonetheless emblematic. Between the two world wars, the first paid vacations encouraged the development of more affordable hotels.
In 1949, France became the world's leading tourist nation thanks to a major reconstruction plan. Yet nearly 30% of its hotels were unused. In the early 1960s, France was dethroned, the fault of less comfortable, less hygienic hotels than those of other major nations.
Hotel classification
This explains why, as early as 1965, new hotel establishments were created. From then on, chains, campsites, vacation villages, self-catering cottages and pleasure boats were legion. Today, star-rated hotels such as our charming hotel in Saint Malo continue to expand, offering ever higher standards of service.
Last but not least, the rapid expansion of the aviation industry has enabled hotels to accelerate their growth. The advent of low-cost airlines, the rise of online booking sites to the detriment of traditional travel agencies, and the possibility of renting a car at lower cost have made travel more accessible, which of course benefits the tourism industry as a whole.
Digitizing hotel offerings
While the history and growth of the travel industry have always been exponential, it has to be admitted that technological advances have had a major impact on the sector. For smaller brands, the evolution of new technologies is not always easy to grasp, but the travel industry has no choice but to adapt to the challenges of tomorrow.
However, the core of the hotel business has remained unchanged: while the desires and needs of 21st century customers may differ from those of the 18th century, the basic principle of accommodation remains the same, although the modern industry incorporates more features and services to guarantee optimum customer comfort.
