The oldest continuously operating hospitality company in the world is Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, which has been run by the same family lineage for over thirteen centuries since its founding in 705 AD. When evaluating modern corporate hotel chains rather than individual historic properties, brands originating from Europe and Japan established early multi-property frameworks. Traditional Japanese hot spring inns and early European railway hotels paved the way for modern chain management, but the historical record for continuous hospitality service firmly belongs to this ancient Japanese establishment.