World-record setting hotels

[edit] Tallest

The tallest hotel in the world is thought to be the Burj al-Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 280 metres, which however will soon be surpassed by the nearby Rose Rotana Suites at 333 meters (1,091 feet). The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang was intended to reach 330 meters (1,083 feet), but is unlikely to be completed; it has been under construction since 1987 and was abandoned in 1992. The Baiyoke Sky Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand has a building height of 309 meters, but rooms do not go all the way to the top.

The highest hotel rooms are in the Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, the highest floor being at around 350 m.

[edit] Largest

The largest hotel in the world is the MGM Grand Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA with a total of 6,276 rooms[3] as of December 20, 2006. On December 18, 2006 Guinness World Records listed the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia[1] as the world's largest hotel. It has a total of 6,118 rooms and is part of the Genting Highlands Resort and Casino. The First World Plaza which is joined to the two hotel towers boasts 500,000 square feet of indoor theme park, shopping centres, casino gaming areas, and eateries. Previously, Guinness had listed the MGM Grand Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA with 5,005 rooms as the largest hotel in the world.[2]

In the past, other hotels have held the title of largest hotel in the world, in terms of the number of rooms. Some of these include the Rossiya Hotel near Moscow's Red Square, and the Ambassador City Jomtien in Pattaya, Thailand. Other large hotels being considered for development that may one day take the title are in Penang, Malaysia and Macau.

[edit] Oldest

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is the Hoshi Ryokan, in Awazu, Japan. It opened in 717, and features hot springs.

[edit] Hotel occupations

The owner, chairman, or CEO of a hotel or hotel group is known as a hotelier.

The front desk, housekeeping, security, valet parking, restaurant, accounting department, and sales and marketing are common departments of a mid or large sized hotel.

The night auditor role falls within the front desk department but also carries some of the responsibilities of the accounting department.

The engineering staff takes care of building repairs and up keep of HVAC systems, plumbing, fire sprinkler systems, chillers, cooling towers, pool and spa if applicable, lights, breakers, door locks, C.P.R., laundry machines, kitchen walk ins, ice machines, building air handlers, room repairs and upkeep.

[edit] Hotel chains

A hotel chain is a collection or grouping of hotels under one recognizable brand operated by a management company. Best Western International claims to be the largest hotel chain in the world, in terms of the number of properties.

[edit] Living in hotels

The American billionaire Howard Hughes lived much of his life in hotels. He moved with his entourage from hotel to hotel and from Beverly Hills to Boston before deciding to move to Las Vegas and become a casino baron. Less than a month after his November 27, 1966 arrival, Hughes made a public offer to buy the Desert Inn. The hotel's 8th floor became the nerve center of his empire and the 9th floor penthouse became Hughes's personal residence. Hughes moved to the Bahamas, Vancouver, London and several other locations — always taking up residence in the top floor penthouse of the hotel. Between 1966 and 1968, he also purchased several other hotel-casinos from the Mafia: Castaways, New Frontier, The Landmark Hotel and Casino, Sands and Silver Slipper.

Coco Chanel made the Hôtel Ritz in Paris her home for more than thirty years, until the day of her death, at 87, in a suite now named "Coco Chanel Suite".

King Peter II of Yugoslavia spent much of the Second World War at Claridge's, a hotel in London. His son, Aleksandar Karađorđević, was born in the hotel.

Prince Felix Yusupov lived in the Hotel Melia Vendôme Paris in Paris.

Sultan Said Bin Taimur of Muscat lived at Dorchester Hotel in London after he was deposed by Qaboos of Oman in 1970, he died in the hotel in 1972.

Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek statesman and diplomat, lived in the Hôtel Ritz Paris while he was in exile in France from 1935-1936.

Actress Elaine Stritch lives at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City.

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. Hotels often provide a number of additional guest services such as a restaurant, a swimming pool or childcare. Some hotels have conference services and meeting rooms and encourage groups to hold conventions and meetings at their location.

There is no hard and fast rule differentiating motels from other hotels, although a motel is clearly suggesting that it is aimed at motorists. This may simply mean that it is a hotel with good access to the road network (on a motorway or ring road) so that a long car journey need not be interrupted for long by town-centre traffic. In other cases the designation is simply an attempt to make the most of a poor location inconvenient for town-centre services and attractions. Classically, though, a motel is a hotel which is made convenient for people who, for whatever personal reason, wish to be able to have quick access from the outside world (especially from their parked car) to the hotel room - without passing the scrutiny of a receptionist or fellow guests. This is usually arranged by having rooms (sometimes in individual chalets or even trailers) arranged around the car park with room doors opening directly to the outside rather than to an internal corridor.

In Australia, the word may also refer to a pub or bar. In the UK similarly, many pubs with "hotel" in their name do not offer accommodation or even food.

In India, the word may also refer to a restaurant since the best restaurants were always sit