By the turn of the 20th century, Grand Hotels had emerged as a symbol of the modern metropolis. To boast a Grand Hotel meant for any city or a country to be part of the modern world, of progress and of civilization. The growth of Grand Hotels across the world was a product of industrialization, urbanization, globalization and imperialism. This is why they are an excellent window into the history of these processes in distinct regional contexts. Despite their (for a contemporary eye) somewhat uniform appearance, they conceal distinct stories: stories of the relationship between old aristocratic elites and the new capitalist bourgeoisie, between the state and growing civil society, between the metropolis and the colonies and between metropolitan cities themselves.

Grand Hotels reflected and forged new forms of metropolitan experiences. As products and motors of global change, they were unique liminal places and spaces that contested traditional urban orders. They were neither private homes nor traditional public spaces. They were freshly inclusive (e.g. a wealthy non-noble could become part of a novel “palace” society), yet stratifying in new ways. They demonstrated the power and wealth of the hosts, while claiming to serve and treat their guests as new kings and queens. They were private businesses in which governments held a vested interest (and vice versa). They displayed fantastic wealth, but concealed extreme poverty and inequality. They were intrinsically international and cosmopolitan, but also national and local in regard to claims to and celebration of power and prestige.

Despite their central role in advancing the understanding of urban development at the turn of the century, Grand Hotels have so far received little scholarly attention. Yet, due to their role as 'hosts’ to mobile elites across continents, Grand Hotels became an important part of the metropolitan city topography and a world map. As a key urban industry in the transfer of global knowledge, technology and fashion, they should be treated as a central development of modern, global metropolitan culture. As institutions that provided opportunities for mobility and discovery, comparison and competition, which necessarily entailed a process of definition and redefinition of the local “self” and the global “other,” Grand Hotels should be considered as pivotal in understanding local interpretations, appropriations and generation of globalizing processes.

We are looking for contributions that deal with the social production of the “world” in Grand Hotels, and also look at spatial elements both within the context of the buildings themselves, and within the wider environment of the city. By examining the history of Hotels within their cities, we aim to trace the history of their urban locations and show how the Hotels transformed these spatially and structurally. Exploration of the interior planning and design, will contribute to the history of urban technological, structural and architectural innovation. In other words, how did Hotels fashion the new understanding of a living space, of the city structure and experience and of global inter-city connections? Additionally, we aim to discover how Grand Hotels contributed to and transformed the urban experience through display and social encounters, consumption, international trade, the entertainment market, and social and technological mobility.

The aim of the three-day workshop in Berlin is to fill the current research gap on the role of Grand Hotels in modern urban topographies. It is intended to offer an international comparative perspective on the global and local dimensions of the history of Grand Hotels. Our objective is to understand how Grand Hotels brought the “world” – broadly defined – to their locations? We are interested both in Grand Hotels, located in metropolitan centers, and resorts around the world.

We aim to publish a volume comparing histories of Grand Hotels internationally. We are interested in the following themes:

- Grand Hotels as exemplars of structural and technological innovation;
- Spatial relationships within the built environment - the significance of the Grand Hotel's 'place' in the city, and of its interior spaces;
- Grand Hotels and urban economies;
- Grand Hotels as a status symbol and a social focus point;
- Architecture of Grand Hotels and the urban imagery;
- Grand Hotels as an urban industry;
- International vs. local in the décor, style and staffing;
- Grand Hotels and the world of business and tourism;
- Grand Hotels in imperial cities and colonial contexts;
- City life and the Riviera.

Please submit a 500 word proposal to Botakoz Kassymbekova (botakoz.kassymbekova@metropolitanstudies.de) by March 1st 2013. The deadline for the submission of a volume chapter, which will be discussed at the workshop, is June 30, 2013.