Locational Characteristics of American Resort Hotels

Abstract

Resort-hotel location has diffused from the Northeast and Midwest to the Sunbelt and West. In 1985 there were approximately 834 resort hotels and 295,617 resort-hotel rooms in the United States. More than half of these rooms were located in just three states: Florida, Nevada, and Hawaii. The present distribution of resort-hotel rooms has been influenced by three periods in resort-hotel evolution. Until the early 20th century, resort hotels were in the tradition of the “Grand Hotel,” oriented toward natural resources in the East and Midwest and serving an elite clientele. Later in this period, elite resorts were also developed in the coastal Southeast and in the Southwest. A second, transitional period beginning in the 1920s accelerated construction of resort hotels in the Southwest and along the Southeastern coast. In the third period, post World War II mobility and affluence led to a revolution in resorthotel location and function. Resort hotels are now found in urban and suburban locations and have expanded the resort concept by linking it to meetings, conventions, and business travel. This has allowed resort hotels to adapt to changing market conditions and to achieve economies of scale by spreading demand throughout the year.