You can find so many versions on the evolution and history of pousada em gramado that, at least for me it is difficult to say hey, this is the way everything started and that is when it started. However, logically and analytically speaking, one found many facts hidden facts involving the lines of history. It's left then to your judgement to draw conclusions.

The requirement for travel will need to have triggered the demand for overnight sleepover places. Where the traveller could rest his horses, wash himself, eat good food with a glass or two and have an audio sleep before embarking upon the journey further the following day. The history so implies. Alehouses used to serve the travellers with home brewed beer and allow him to sleep in the barn or the kitchen. Inns would offer primarily room or dormitory accommodation with attached or shared bathrooms initially and as demand grew, rooms were provided with attached baths.

The principles governing the stay of the traveller were framed by the innkeeper and were quite strict. The key door of the inn would close at a specific hour and after that, one could not enter even though you were a guest. Since travel conditions those times were tough, people normally would travel alone. Many Inns would therefore not allow travellers with families to stay. One had to eat the fixed breakfast prescribed by the Inn Keeper and on shared tables. Yet the Inns enjoyed good occupancy and business in the lack of any alternative.

From those medieval days to the current day, the Inns have covered a lot of ground, seen enormous developments and embraced changes in the item, style and operations of contemporary Inns. Even the traveller has changed to guests who no further arrive on the horse back; he is a jet set traveller with totally fresh set of demands and expectations. Inns are actually full service hotels, meeting the demand criteria of the guests. The brands command an amount premium because the demand for rooms can be high.

The factor that used to characterise the early day inns are, they certainly were mostly or generally on the intersection of two major roads, or at the entry of a city or nearby the railway station no further holds good. Today one finds Inns anywhere and everywhere. Airports, down town, city centre, beach or resort location, specially on ski resorts and golf resorts or for example even as part of a combined development.

Since Inns are perceived as budget hotels, offering economical rates because of its rooms and food and beverages, they normally attract the bulk of mid market segment and like a relatively higher occupancy. Inns also provide a lower operating overheads and therefore even after lower revenues, can generate a healthy contribution to underneath line. This cost benefit benefit of the product has prompted a lot of the big hotel chains to enter the Hotels Inn segment. It is just a profitable business niche from investment angle.

A few of the big ticket Inn sign boards would read such as the Fair Field Inns by Marriott Hotels, Days Inns & Quality Inn, Holiday Inns by Intercontinental Hotels, Premier Inns, Residence Inns, Park Inns, Hampton Inns and Suites, Sleep Inns and the list goes on. The benefit of big corporate launching Inn brands has been many folds. It gives a quality stamp to the Inn product and offers the ability to the Inn tag to ride on the trunk of upscale tags like the town hotels, down town hotels, luxury hotels etc.

Today, some hotels inns are of the same quality in product development and quality as any luxury hotel or a 5-star hotel. They've good sized and well-appointed guest rooms, two to three gourmet restaurants, bars, pubs, discotheque, business centre, health club with a well-fitted gym, swimming pool. Meeting spaces and the works, yet they're shy to drop the "inn" tag afraid to loose the special status they enjoy. Inns wouldn't like to have drowned in the deep ocean of the hotel world and loose their identity. Inns certainly are a different world. Inns remind you of the nostalgic time journey of hotel evolution.