Posted on 11/11/2007 7:36:33 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In the rooms of Manhattan's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests can enjoy an eclectic selection of underground music, iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs and even the living company of a complimentary goldfish. But, alas, the word of God is nowhere to be found. Unlike traditional hotels, the 10-year-old boutique has never put Bibles in its guest rooms, because "society evolves," says hotel spokeswoman Lori DeBlois. Providing Bibles would mean the hotel "would have to take care of every guest's belief."
What might be surprising to many Americans is that the Bible-free room isn't a development just in hip New York City hotels. Across the country upscale accommodations are doing away with the Bible as a standard room amenity. And in its stead have arrived a slew of "lifestyle" products that cater to a younger, hipper (and presumably less religious) clientele. Since 2001 the number of luxury hotels with religious materials in the rooms has dropped by 18 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. The Nashville-based Gideons International, which has distributed copies of the Christian scripture to hotels since 1908, declined to comment on this trend.
Edgier chains like the W provide "intimacy kits" with condoms in the minibar, while New York's Mercer Hotel supplies a free condom in each bathroom. Neither has Bibles. Since its recent renovation, the Sofitel L.A. offers a tantalizing lovers' dice game: roll one die for the action to be performed (for example, "kiss," "lick") and the other for the associated body part. The hotel's "mile high" kit, sold in the revamped gift shop, includes a condom, a mini vibrator, a feather tickler and lubricant. The new Indigo hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., a "branded boutique" launched by InterContinental, also has no Bibles, but it does offer a "One Night Stand" package for guests seeking VIP treatment at local nightclubs and late checkout for the hazy morning after.
The reason for hotels' shift in focus? Leisure travel is up, business travel is down, and younger generations are entering the hotel market. Leisure now leads business by more than 10 percent in U.S. hotel stays, according to travel research firm D. K. Shifflet & Associates. With the lead in technology, design and nightlife, the boutique market is where Generations X, Y and young baby boomers want to be, says CEO Doug Shifflet. And with the boutique sector booming (boutique hotel rooms have grown by 23 percent since 2001, compared to only 7 percent for standard rooms), more traditional chains, which once catered to business clientele, are now desperate to emulate.
Sofitel's brand, for example, is taking "a new direction," says Daniel Entenberg, the "romance concierge" at the chain's flagship Los Angeles location. He was brought in two years ago in an effort to reposition the entire company's image. The chain once had Bibles in all guest rooms, but the corporate office in Dallas recently removed them due to guest inquiries about why other religious texts weren't available.
Even the staid Marriott chain, founded by a Mormon, is debating whether or not to include Bibles in its yet to be named boutique chain, which is set to launch in partnership with hipster hotelier Ian Schrager, who created the '70s disco Studio 54 and later New York City's Morgans, Royalton and Paramount hotels—which are largely credited with kicking off the boutique hotel craze. Schrager says he hasn't yet discussed the Bible amenity with Marriott, though he adds that his properties have never had in-room Bibles.
Marriott spokesman John Wolf says the Bible question is premature for the new venture, which he describes as "cutting-edge," "more urban" and "less values-oriented." Now, there's a marketing slogan no one's tried yet: "Sleep with us. Leave the values at home."
Yes, next there will be a prayer rug rolled up in the drawer along with a copy of the Koran (sp?) and the Communist Manifesto....
I’m at the Grand Hyatt in NYC right now...no Bible in the room... but there is a leaky loo, so all is not lost.
“romance concierge”
Really means: slutty periphenaila and softcore cable tv
If you don’t want porn movies in your room and you find yourself in a hotel wiith the “service,” call down to the desk and they will block those channels. We’ve done that for 15 years.
Nowadays, staying in a hotel room, could be like staying in
someone elses “sex-room”...man,you never know what was
going on, in the bed, or on those bed covers, or couches,
in the tub, etc....
I recently heard about some room maids in Germany who were
disgusted cause they had to clean up in rooms where
pornographic material was displayed ...yeeech...and let’s
say there were lots of “products of conception” all around.
I know they wash the sheets, and towels, but am not sure
about the bedcovers, carpets, tubs, couches, table tops,
etc...
Anybody here know about the sanitation in hotels, motels?
dont’t forget the Che posters too
I carry my own bed cover, pillow (the MOST essential element) and a sleeping bag; I drive about 40,000 miles per year. That spray Lysol is a good traveling companion too.
from what i hear,
i don’t think you want to know about
sanitation in mo and ho
tels
So the hoity toity (and some not so much) have given up Bibles for what? Bedbugs?!
I prefer the Bibles myself, but there’s no accounting for taste!
Those same hotels probably provide porn channels into the rooms now. America is going down!
“Products of conception” is what is leftover after a miscarriage or an abortion...I think you meant used condoms/sex toys or something like that? I’ve seen documentaries where they said that hotel bedcovers (quilts, or comforters, or whatever they are called where you live) are RARELY washed, and yes, sperm was one of the number one things found on the dirty linens.
Ewww factor to infinity!!! :-O
I remember a story about a year ago, about a hotel that had pulled the Gideon bibles, and replaced them with Al Gore’s book.
“Providing Bibles would mean the hotel “would have to take care of every guest’s belief.”
They would? Says who? A private concern can provide what it wants.
.yeeech...and let’s say there were lots of “products of conception” all around.
Biohazard, seriously.
Have you ever thought about taking the Foreign Service Officer test at the State Department?
Good tip.
For those who aren't familiar with it, read the instructions... For disinfection, spray--and then let the surface air-dry for 10 minutes before use.
As I understand it, "They" don't take care of anyone. The Gideon's ask if they can put the Bibles in the rooms and they are provided free. The motel owner may feel like it's a tradition, but their is no pressure to do so. I'm sure if Mecca sent some Korans over, their would be takers in Detroit, at least. The Mormons give their book to anyone who doesn't recoil their hand quick enough, so I don't see the problemo with the Bible.
The motel can offer porn and condoms, but what if a soul is looking for something different? That's the whole purpose of the Gideon's. It's there if you want it. No one is forced to read two chapters by checkout.
I am going way out on a limb here but I am guessing that perhaps more people check into a trendy SOHO hotel with plans to have sex than to read a Bible.
Boston is the bedbug capitol of the U.S.
Google it.
Isn't that how it's always been for some of those lonely business travelers?! Pre-martial sex, adultery etc. weren't invented in the 1960's. LOL!
The Gideons are quite happy if you take the bible they provide. They figure it may be put to good use so they provide it free to the hotel. But I don’t think Al Bore’s book is provided free. Still, I might want to evangelize about global warming to some fool, so I would take it. I mean, it’s provided for our use, no??
The last I noticed, Gideons was still providing the King James translation. If they want people to read their Bibles, they really need to upgrade their inventory with a more up to date translation.
Look at the historical record - when a nation decides to evict God - the nation is judged....
My guess is, the Bibles are bad for porn channel sales. As in, if you pick up the Bible (free), you're unlikely to order an expensive, really skeevy movie. Can't have that.
Of the last 3 overnight rentals I’ve stayed in, only one had a Bible in it. That was a gorgeous log cabin in Jasper National Park. Lots of God’s handiwork visible, and a Bible there.
The other two places were in large (over 1 million pop) cities. Cramped dirty cities. Little of God’s handiwork visible, no Bible.
They are now providing New King James Version in most of their Bibles.
and don’t forget the Book of Mormon too....
>>>Unlike traditional hotels, the 10-year-old boutique has never put Bibles in its guest rooms, because “society evolves,” says hotel spokeswoman Lori DeBlois. Providing Bibles would mean the hotel “would have to take care of every guest’s belief.”<<<
God forbid we should stand up for our own beliefs. However, that would be judgmental.
“I fear we are just about where the Roman Empire was in A.D. 409.”
Well we’ve not cashed in the Republic yet. Probably just a matter of time.
Would the Janitors rather clean a room used by a Bible reader, or those looking for a “one night stand”?
Yeah, I really meant to say “products of an act usually
leading to conception/labor/childbirth”, thanks for the
correction, but eeeeewwwwww...guess I’ll carry my own
washable sleeping bag, pillow, lysol, etc...
Kinda makes you sick with all of the uncontrolled
swapping of infected body fluids going on around you....
but you DO reap what you sow.
You have FReep mail on how rooms are cleaned.
God is going to get tired of this sh....t soon. Then lookout!It never fails.
I've heard they NEVER wash the bed spreads (bed covers). This applies to your local Motel 6 and your high-class Hilton. Never sit on a hotel bed spread naked. There are others who've done so before you.
Google [ black light hotel room ] ... get barf bag before reading.
My wife did a summer in college cleaning hotel rooms. The first thing she does in any room is strip off the bed spread.
Holiday Inn Express has but recently started making their beds by enclosing a blanket between two flat sheets with everything being washed between guests. This setup has taken the place of a bedspread. They were gradually implementing this throughout their chain. Makes me feel a little better about staying there, anyway.
My Mom worked for a while cleaning hotel rooms to make some extra money. You are right - some of the things she found in those rooms can’t be posted on this forum.
So, you think the one can comparatively replace the other?
Came across this bit of trivia while looking up stuff about the Gideons:
“On Christmas Eve 1968, the astronauts of the Apollo 8 mission read from the first part of Genesis during a live television broadcast from lunar orbit. A Japanese correspondent staying at a Houston hotel while covering the mission called NASA Public Affairs to request a copy of the speech that the astronauts were reading. The Public Affairs official asked where he was staying and then told him that if he opened the desk drawer in his room he would find a book and that he should open it to page one. The reporter found the Gideon Bible and later reported that “NASA Public Affairs is very efficient - they had a mission transcript waiting in my hotel room.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideons_International
>>Yes, next there will be a prayer rug rolled up in the drawer along with a copy of the Koran (sp?) and the Communist Manifesto....<<
Its sounds like what they are trying to avoid. If their clientel in New York city has a lot of non-Christians and they provide Bibles I can see where they would get a lot of grief for non providing for other religions.
>>What a disgusting and wretched trend. I fear we are just about where the Roman Empire was in A.D. 409.<<
I’ve know some Gideons. They used to come through town where my Grand Daddy had been preacher and where I still hung around the church with the new preacher (we were both model rail roaders)
The first time I met a Gideon, I was all excited - I thought he would give me a Bible. I had a dozen Bibles but not a Gideon Bible.
Turns out he didn’t give out Bibles - he sold Bibles to small churches that he then promised to place in motels. They were kind of over priced and talking to him he wasn’t particularly religious.
He was a Bible salesman. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
But I don’t see where one particular type of business has more obligation than others to work with this particular religious group.
You seriously do not want to know.
Although it is a TV show, a CSI episode once said that the average hotel bedspread will have over 100 unique DNA samples on it. I then asked a friend who worked for a very respected, very well known hotel chain in the laundry department, and she told me that bedspreads are not routinely washed. All other linens were but the bedspreads (unless obviously soiled) were only washed on a rotating basis. I got, from her, the impression that this was industry standard.
This is sad. No one is forced to read that bible in the drawer, so it sure isn’t hurting anyone. I have heard anecdotes where the bible did some good, i.e. someone who was planning to commit suicide who found that bible in the drawer and ended up not doing so.
My Mom was an executive housekeeper at 4 Diamond resort and more than once I had to help out during racing season in Saratoga when she didn’t have enough employees show up for work.
Bedspreads, mattress pads and blankets were not washed unless soiled. Look at a maid’s cart and you only see sheets and towels and maybe a spare bedspread or blanket. Keeping enough good employees was a big problem. Some were let go for not changing sheets and got caught in one case because the previous guest had wet the bed.
At least the experience makes me aware of how clean a hotel room really is. It was an eye opener listening to others pass on “cheats” on how to make a carpet look vacuumed and where you can save time cleaning a bathroom.
It is very hard work and some do a great job but it is like sleeping with strangers! I always wondered about the pillows, so many people drool in their sleep.
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