Customer Reviews

Hotel: An American History

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While this comprehensive history of the American hotel surely will become required reading for students in hospitality programs, it is not the sort of history of hotel management and technology that one might expect of a text book in this field. Rather, this seems to be the "American Studies" genre, primarily concerned with viewing the hotel as a phenomenon in a larger cultural context of the place and times.

While more attention to management practices and technology might have enriched the book, it serves a sufficient purpose as cultural history. The author clearly has done much homework, searching local newspapers across the nation for anacdotes about hotels. Naturally, what was reported was not behind-the-scenes hotel operation, but what would interest the public--the "front of the house" events.

All of us who have favorite historic hotels and their histories will regret that much has been missed, but considering the vast scope of his subject, the author has done a superb job.

Lucky me. A friend gave me this wonderful book about the rise of hotels and the hospitality industry in the United States. What an eye-opener. The author, an academic, has done massive, serious research and has come to some extremely interesting conclusions. Who would have dreamed what an important part of our social history hotels are, or what they have meant to us economically (including the rise of the railroads). As someone who has traveled extensively, I can attest that some hotels are more welcoming than others, some have better beds or better food, but being a guest in a hotel is almost always a treat. This book helped me relive childhood trips to Miami Beach, eating a glorious room service dinner during a blizzard Richmond, Va., and hightailing it to a Motel 6 in Carlsbad,California. It taught me about a valuable part of our history I had never thought about. And the pictures are fascinating. I'm giving Hotel: An American History to my traveling cousin for Christmas.

I'll never hear the snoring, coughing, wheezing, televisioning, or humping in the hotel suite next to mine without thinking of this history of the American Hotel.We have come a long way since the time when overnight accomodations included sharing a bed with a stranger (unintentionally). The slamming of doors, the ker-chunk of the ice machine down the hall, and the rowdy late nights of party-goers become understandable (if not tolerable) after reading this rich and detailed history of the American hotel. Indeed, it explains why "American Hotel" is redundant.

Interesting to know how, in America, grand hotels emerged from the 'taverns' which preceded them, and how in Europe it was pretty much the same phenomenon.The writing is graceful, the details fascinating. A great read.

This book was a gift to my husband and he loves it. He had seen it in the lobby of an Inn in Maine. It's a very informative and interesting history of hotels.

Well written but not complete. How thorough an examination can an history of the American hotel industry be if it fails to contain the word "Marriott," much less tell the Marriott story?