The roaring twenties was a heyday for more than just flappers, speakeasies, and Louis Armstrong. It’s also when some of the world’s finest five-star hotels were born. So what was happening 100 years ago that enabled so many elegant properties to thrive? Then as now, technological advancement paved the way. Better design and construction techniques allowed for suites with their own private bathrooms, lit by electric lights instead of gas or candles. But Bjorn Hanson, a travel consultant and hospitality professor at New York University, points to another important factor: The world’s wealthiest were traveling en masse for the first time and refused to sacrifice comfort on the road. “Lengths of hotel stays were weeks or months, because long-distance travel was by train or ship,” Hanson explains. “Hotels evolved, with larger rooms and more services, to serve those travelers. They were seeking accommodations equivalent to their homes.” To celebrate the recent (or approaching) centenaries..
