Historically, travel and hotels have served as crucial connections between people and places. They have also been significant centers of public assembly, public debate, and political struggle.
The history of travel and hotels in the United States is a long one. The hotel industry expanded to unprecedented heights after World War II. It became an important battleground in domestic politics, and its influence grew globally.
The American hotel industry transformed travel. As the nation’s transportation network became increasingly reordered, hotels proliferated in frontier settlements and along coastal trade routes. They became an indispensable part of the national landscape.
The rapid growth of railroads in the nineteenth century fueled the hotel industry. Railroad hotels were built at regular intervals along track lines. These hotels provided places to sleep and eat before traveling on sleeping cars.
The emergence of the automobile and the rise of the interstate highway system marked the start of a new age of hotels. Railroad hotels were replaced by automobile-powered motor hotels, which typically were located on cheap land.
The rapid expansion of railroads also reconfigured the nation’s transportation network. It freed long-distance travel from river systems and river ports, and made travel easier.
The growth of the interstate highway system also increased commercial travel. After World War II, commercial travel soared to unprecedented heights. The postwar economic boom led to an unprecedented growth of the hotel industry.
The relationship between travel and hotels has continued to grow over the years. With the rise of organized labor, millions of Americans were able to take paid vacations. The success of this labor movement helped to increase incomes and distribute wealth more equally.
