Short answers, pulled from the story.
Guinness World Records recognises Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705, as the oldest hotel in the world. The hot-spring inn has been operated by the same family for forty-six generations. The title was held until 2011 by the Hoshi Ryokan in Komatsu, Japan, which opened in the year 718.
The word hotel comes from the French hôtel, which shares its origin with the word hospital. It once referred to a building that received frequent visitors and provided care rather than accommodation. The circumflex in hôtel replaces an 's' from the earlier hostel spelling.
One of the first hotels in a modern sense, the Royal Clarence, opened in Exeter in 1768. The idea only caught on widely in the early 19th century. In 1812, Mivart's Hotel opened in London and later became Claridge's.
Hotels are commonly classified as international luxury, lifestyle luxury resorts, upscale full-service, boutique, focused or select service, economy and limited service, and extended stay. Other categories include motels, timeshare and destination clubs, and microstay bookings of less than 24 hours. There is no global standard, so amenities at any rating level vary by market.
In 2006, Guinness World Records listed the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, as the world's largest hotel with 6,118 rooms, since expanded to 7,351 rooms. The Izmailovo Hotel in Moscow has the most beds at 7,500. On the Las Vegas Strip, nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels hold over 67,000 rooms between them.
Coco Chanel lived in the Hôtel Ritz, Paris, on and off for more than 30 years, and Nikola Tesla died in his room at the New Yorker Hotel in 1943. Cole Porter spent his last 25 years at the Waldorf Towers, and Vladimir Nabokov lived in the Montreux Palace Hotel from 1961 until his death in 1977. Howard Hughes lived in hotels during the last ten years of his life, from 1966 to 1976.