Abstract

"The Ritz Hotel in Budapest at the End of the Belle Époque"

Peter Szende, Oxford Brookes University (pszende@brookes.ac.uk), Bradford Hudson, Boston College (bradford.hudson@bc.edu)

The Ritz Hotel in Budapest operated from 1913 to 1916. It originated from a partnership between Hungarian investors, the Ritz Hotels Development Company in London, and the wife of César Ritz. This paper describes the backgrounds of the founders, explores their aristocratic social network, provides details about the development and branding of the property, and describes the hotel that was constructed. It also explores the causes of its subsequent bankruptcy, which included strategic weakness and political turmoil. The Ritz serves not only as a case in business history, but also as a symbol of the rise and fall of Budapest during and after the Belle Époque.