Guinness World Records has officially recognized it as the oldest continuously running hotel in the world. In 705 AD, Fujiwara Mahito founded the inn and his family have been experts in the hospitality industry ever since.

While "inns" have existed since antiquity, the world's first officially recognized hotel still in operation is the Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi, Japan. It was founded in 705 AD by Fujiwara Mahito, the son of a high-ranking aide to Emperor Tenji. Remarkably, the hotel has been owned and operated by the same family for 52 generations (as of 2026), earning it a place in the Guinness World Records. In the Western sense of a "modern" luxury hotel, the Tremont House in Boston (opened in 1829) is often cited as the first to offer indoor plumbing and private rooms with locks. However, if looking at the very first purpose-built commercial lodging in history, ancient Roman "mansiones" were government-owned for officials, while the first private commercial "hotels" appeared in the Middle East along the Silk Road as "Caravanserais." These were owned by local rulers or merchants to facilitate trade. Therefore, while Fujiwara Mahito holds the record for the oldest extant family-owned hotel, the concept of a "hotel owner" predates written records in Mesopotamian and Roman history.