PERSONALITIES

Writers at Hotels: Thomas Mann

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For many writers a hotel was the ideal refuge from their daily life. Often a necessity, sometimes a treat, always an inspiration.

The Marriott Definition Statement

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2016 Marriott issued this mission statement. We also present some interesting videos, offering interesting insight in the life and development of a hoteliers' family.

Radisson, Pierre Esprit

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When a fine hotel opened in downtown Minneapolis in 1909, the manager sponsored an essay contest with high school students on what to name this great new hotel. The winning name was 'Radisson'. Who was Pierre Esprit Radisson?

George Bernhard Shaw at the Reid’s Palace in Madeira

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On  30 December 1924, Irish Dramatist George Bernhard Shaw arrived on the island of Madeira (Portugal). At the age of 68, he checked into the Reid's Palace Hotel. His new hobby was dancing. His instructor Max Rinder became ‘the only man who ever taught me anything.’

The Vietnamese at the Ritz

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It is one of those "what would have been if ..." footnotes of history. In 1919, Ho Chi Minh, who was then living in Paris and working as a kitchen assistant at the Ritz, sent in a petition asking America for help. America’s President Wilson didn't care to respond.

Kempinski, Hoteliers since 1952

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The use of the name 'Kempinski‘ for a hotel chain by the same name of the former Jewish owners of various Berlin restaurants sparks controversy. In fact the Kempinskis were expropriated, expelled and murdered by the Nazi regime. Today the Kempinski group of hotels drives a dubious PR-campaign...

Boldt George C. of the Waldorf

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The Waldorf-Astoria (spelled Waldorf=Astoria these days) for more than a century has been renowned; when established at the end of the nineteenth century it was not merely the largest hotel in the world, but its proprietor George C. Boldt was called “the inventor of the modern hotel.”

Hilton, Conrad Nicholson

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Conrad Nicholson Hilton, (1887-1979), born in 1887 in San Antonio, New Mexico, was an American entrepreneur. In 1919, he actually wanted to buy a bank. While waiting for a room at the lobby of the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919, he approached the innkeeper and made him an offer.

Somerset Maugham arrives at the Oriental

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"The hotel faced the river. My room was dark, one of a long line, with a verandah on each side of it, the breeze blew through, but it was stifling. The dining-room was large and dim, and for coolness"

Bristol - who or what’s behind the popular hotel name

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The Earl of Bristol has nothing to do with the city of Bristol. All hotels called Bristol have! Soon we realised that this was a dilemma all Bristol hotels around the world suffered from. They all told the same story.

Artist: Oskar Kokoschka at The Savoy

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Austrian painter Oskar Kokoschka spent considerable time in London at The Savoy, where he created some of his most famous London works.

Charlie Chaplin: The Savoy London

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