CHAPTER XXIV

HOTELS

By L. M. BOOMER 1

The business of inn-keeping is an old one and rich in traditions. Until recently it has been thought of as a "personality" business. The hotel is, and always will be-in an important sense-a domestic establishment. In the old days, the inn-keeper received his "guests" very much after the fashion of guests in his own home. He served them and literally "entertained" them, and hotels were often known and judged by the hospitality and personal characteristics of the host. In other words, the common judgment was that the business success of a hotel depended, in a peculiarly important manner, on the personality of the man operating it. Hotelkeepers were, as a class, inclined to emphasize the requirements of this expectation and devoted themselves more to being "good fellows" than to business management.

The need for hotels in towns and cities is obvious. They are as necessary as railway stations-which suggests the thought that hotels are indeed an integral part of the country's system of travel. They are an important adjunct to almost every business of any community, to the community's reputation at large, and to its local enterprises, civic matters, and social life at home.

GENERAL POLICIES FOR THE ERECTION OF A HOTEL What are the questions of hotel real estate? First, to determine the need for a hotel, then the type to meet such

1 L. M. Boomer, New York, N. Y., President of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; Waldorf-Astoria Irvine Corporation; Hotel Savoy; Bolkenhayn Apartments; The Savarins, Inc.; Café Savarin, Equitable Building; Pershing Square Savarin, Pershing Square Building, all of New York; Louis Sherry, Inc., of New York and Paris; The BellevueStratford Hotel, Philadelphia; and The New Willard, Washington.

need; second, the selection of site and the cardinal points to be observed. There naturally follow: considerations of suitable architecture, the arrangement of the interior, with reference to operation and to equipment; then matters of appointments and facilities.

Need. Indications of need for a new hotel may be summarized as follows:

First. Inability of existing hotels to meet requirements properly for a considerable portion of the year.

Second. Undesirable or old hotels, which should be replaced by new and modern types to meet present-day demands.

Third. Opening up of new city areas, shifting of centers. of activity, or other new demands for hotel accommodations.

Type. Hotels are generally thought of as belonging to one of four general classes: Commercial, residential, apartment, and resort. In the larger cities, only the first three classes, and combinations of them, are found. As an illustration of the analysis which should be made before serious consideration is given to the erection of a hotel, let us consider points to be studied as pertinent to a proposal to erect a modern hotel of 150 to 175 rooms, involving an investment of one million dollars:

1. The city must be the natural center of a number of towns and villages and must have at least 30,000 inhabitants. 2. The city under consideration must be accepted and used as a center by the surrounding tributary area.

3. The outlying villages and towns in the zone should have a population of at least 80,000.

4. It is essential in addition to the above conditions that diversified industries are located in the zone of the city. One great industry with workers constituting 4 to 5 per cent of the total number of inhabitants is at times detrimental to the development of a profitable hotel business. The greater the number of small industrial plants engaging from 50 to 200 workers, the greater the floating population. The diversity of the industries also increases the number of traveling busi

ness men and consequently enhances the opportunities of the local hotel.

5. Without good railroad or steamship facilities, all of the above points could not exist and, therefore, we can take for granted that, if the conditions named above are satisfactory, the transportation facilities must also be good. It is also necessary to investigate the existing condition of the highways in order to determine the possible share of the auto tourist trade that can be expected.

6. When a nearby city has superior hotel facilities and when good transportation exists between the two places, it is essential to consider this situation as furnishing direct competition. The extent of this should be judged by:

(a) The reputation of the other hotel and the sentiment of the traveling public toward it.

(b) The past earnings and line of credit that the other hotels enjoy.

(c) The ownership, whether individual or collective.

Or, suppose that there is already a modern hotel in the city. under consideration, the following will then be the most important points to be investigated:

1. The profitableness of the existing hotel, based not on the investment as shown on their books, but upon the investment required to replace the hotel today (assuming that the city has at least a population of 50,000, as a second modern hotel in a smaller city would hardly be considered).

2. The general policy of the management, taking into consideration the value given to the public, and any improvements in service which could be made to surpass the existing hotel.

3. The history of the city, its growth, and the prospects for future development.

Or, suppose that there is more than one modern hotel in the city:

Here we have under consideration cities of from 100,000 population upward to the point where we can class the city as "metropolitan." Practically the same points mentioned above must be considered, and in addition a careful survey

should be made of the ever-shifting centers of business in the larger cities.

We now come to the class of cities known as "metropolitan," with added complications due to diversity of requirements:

Selection of Site. The locality or site is largely determined by the class of hotel under consideration. A neighborhood eminently suited for a commercial house would generally not be advantageous for a residential hotel. For a strictly family hotel, convenience to schools and parks, for the children, must also enter into consideration.

The merits of available sites must be weighed with due regard to the centers of business and of pleasure, railway stations and main traffic routes. Besides, it is always wise to consult an architect before finally deciding to purchase a certain site, as an advantage gained in the cost of the ground might be wiped out by the technical disadvantages involved in the erection of the building. At times it is advisable to secure adjoining plots to insure light or to provide for further expansion, and it is necessary that a very careful study be made of any restrictive covenants there may be covering the site selected.

When the land on which the hotel is to be built is very valuable, it is necessary to build the hotel as high as is consistent with the general neighborhood and as is permitted by the building code.

Exposure. In most cities in the Temperate Zone, it is best to have a hotel located so that it faces south and west. The outlook and the air are best for the greater part of the year. This, however, does not hold invariably, as local conditions may control or render this less desirable than an outlook in another direction. By this is meant that a hotel giving this outlook may in some instances be on the wrong side of the street for business, a condition frequently met in the mediumsized and larger cities, where there is a wrong side and a right side of the street. However, other conditions being equal, a site and plan affording a south and west outlook is to be preferred.

Preparation of Plans.-Plans are best prepared by architects who have had experience in building hotels and whose efforts are supplemented by the ideas of men who have practical experience in hotel operation. It often happens, because of a failure to attach due importance to one or both of these points, that hotels involving very large amounts of money have, after opening for business, been subjected to expensive alterations and changes which might have been avoided. In any hotel, a device or arrangement which will eliminate one single employee during the life of the hotel will mean a large amount of money saved-probably enough to more than pay the entire fee for an expert's service during the planning period.

The life of a hotel building, under modern conditions, should be at least 30 to 40 years. Therefore, one of the most important factors to be borne in mind is the permanence of each feature of construction, the retention of upkeep costs to a minimum.

Interior Arrangement. The arrangement of rcoms, determination of proportions for public rooms and restaurant space, questions of ballrooms and other entertainment rooms are all matters which depend upon the type of hotel and its class. Answers to all of these questions will be suggested by the studies which should precede construction, or, indeed, the consideration of financial conditions.

The interior arrangement should be such as to make the desk, or registration counter, as convenient as possible for the patron on his first entrance, and the elevators should be placed as near to this desk as the lot will permit, but separated by a space sufficiently great to permit of a crowd approaching the desk at convention or other peak-load times and yet not cause congestion because of another crowd waiting for the elevators.

Effect of Prohibition on Hotel Design.-Much has been said about prohibition in connection with hotels. The effect of prohibition-now an accomplished legal fact is a condition of the hotel business as now conducted and therefore cannot any longer be considered as a special problem. Hotels