Luxury Hotels Lose The Bible

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Nov 18th 2007 at 10:02AM

We've seen a lot of hotel trends over the years, plasma TVs, the rise of free wi-fi, pillow butlers, in-room fitness equipment and all sorts of adjustments as hotels adapt to the greening of America but the latest might just be the disappearance of an old favorite. ABC News has a story on the fact that luxury hotels are ditching the tradition of the Bible tucked in the bedside drawer. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the number of luxury hotels that stock the Bible and other religious items has dropped 18 percent since 2001. Luxury chains taking part in the trend include Kimpton Hotels, the Borgata in Atlantic City and the Gansevoort Hotel Group. The hotels all offer various religious materials that are available by request.

This trend is on the luxury side. In other motels, hotels and inns, the number of in-room Bibles has increased from 79 percent in 1988 to 95 percent today. In fact, a survey from the American Hotel and Lodging Association reveals that the more you pay for a hotel room the less likely you are to see a Bible. A full 99 percent of economy hotels have a Bible in the room but just 73 percent of luxury hotels provide one. Also Bibles are least likely to be found in urban hotels and resorts and are most often at hotels near interstate highways or at airports.

Tags: bible, luxury hotels, trends

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

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Reader Comments (Page 45 of 45)

Michelle Jan 1st 2008 7:14PM

I agree that God is being dismissed far too much these days. Where would all of us be without him. I agree that religious material for all other religions should be available upon request at Hotels. I work front desk at a major Hotel chain, in the United States where the Bible is in each room. If I were to go to another Country I would hope to see their Religious materials in their guest rooms, but would expect to receive the Bible upon request.

b white Jan 1st 2008 7:35PM

when 911 happened I'll bet that the first thing you said was "Oh my god" hmmmmm
maybe we can leave the bibles in the hotels
in case we need them again. we certainly pray not!

Deb Jan 1st 2008 9:00PM

In response to asmary...........here's a revelation for you that doesn't come from a story book. Not all Americans are Christians!! Not all of us fall under the spell of the story book whose absence in hotel rooms so disturbs you. Personally, I don't care if there's a bible in a hotel room, I'm not going to read it wherever it is, but if having that book of tales available to you 24/7 is so important to you, I'm sure they won't mind a bit if you bring your own.

chinny Jan 5th 2008 10:24AM

If you are as religious as you say you are then you should bring your own bible with you! And if you should forget it then the front desk should have one for you to borrow. You don't need one in the drawer. Enough with all the whining.

darlene Jan 1st 2008 9:40PM

i am a christian and if a hotel chain has a bible in the room that is fine if not thats ok also i have my own that is like a part of me years a writing and references in it i dont impose my religion on others unless i feel a need to reach out to this person and most times people will talk to me when i inquire about their beliefs we are all free to choose to believe in a god or not or for that matter whatever object or person they choose to worship god does grant us all a life in eternity its our choice where to spend it heaven or hell thats my freedom to choose where i spend it and your to choose where u spend it

D'Arcy Jan 1st 2008 11:48PM

The Bible is a personal book. If you are travelling you WOULD take your own. The reason the Bibles were put in the hotel rooms was mainly for the lost. In the event they should read it and turn to God. There have been times when a person was going to commmit suicide or some other act and finding the Bible and reading God's word changed them. God does not force himself on anyone FREE WILL so therefore no one else SHOULD BE FORCED to participate in Christianity it is A Personal choice. A hotel in Las Vegas the person is drinking, gambling and possibly hired a hooker, But they shoudl have a BIBLE in the room? The hotel is not promoting religion.

Flush1 Jan 2nd 2008 12:54AM

What will people rest their drinks on now when they order porno?

LYN Jan 2nd 2008 8:05AM

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU KNOW THAT ACTUALY GO TO A HOTEL TO READ THE BIBLE? MOST PEOPLE WON'T EVEN READ IT AT HOME MUCH LESS AT A HOTEL.

Deb Jan 2nd 2008 9:06AM

Personally, it makes no difference to me whether the bible is in a hotel room or not to me. It harms no one sitting in the closed drawer and if anyone finds it offensive, simply put it back and close the drawer. The one and only time I opened one in a hotel room I found a polaroid photo of a nude man someone had stuffed between the pages.

I found this online and hope some of you find it helpful in your debate as to whether it should or should not be made available in hotel rooms:

"An organization known as the Gideons has long been making an effort to place copies of the Bible (New International Version, I think) in the dresser drawers of as many hotel and hospital rooms as possible worldwide. The idea, as far as I can make it out, is that people who find themselves desperate and alone in their hotel rooms will open the drawer looking for something to steal or an old syringe to re-use or a place to put their shirts, find the bible instead, and sit down to read.

If people are going to be offered religious literature in their hotel rooms, though, someone probably ought make an effort to provide a wider choice so that guests seeking spiritual guidance can find whatever suits them best."

Please stop saying and believing that the "founding fathers" of the US of A were European. Native Americans were her long before Columbus got lost during his slave transporting. As a matter of proven fact, Africans came across this country several centuries before the Europeans. They had a genuine appreciation for the Native Americans, their culture, their goods and sought not to take away their land, but to become friends with them.

wvlaw Jan 2nd 2008 8:07PM

Please note that our founding father T. Jefferson certainly included God when he drafted our Declaration of Indpendence. "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them ...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ...." It is doubtful that he put these ideas aside when the Constitution was drafted. The establishment clause was inserted not to deny religion, but actually to protect our rights to practice religions of our choice.

So, regardless of your idea of whether hotels should have Bibles, you must not deny that our founding fathers were, in fact, in favor of protecting our religious freedom.

Sarah Jan 2nd 2008 8:21PM

I guess I am in the minority - I actually did read the Bible when I was in a hotel room. And many times, the ladies I travel with often use it as a reference when we are looking at another version of the Bible. As a Christian, I did not find it offensive when I was in the hotel in Malaysia and there was an arrow on the ceiling pointing to Mecca. As with the Bible in the drawer - where most people don't even bother to look - the arrow was inoffensively in the corner of the room. I'd be willing to bet most of you who are opposed to the practice of Bibles in hotel rooms don't have one in your own home...or if you do, can you find it to read?

miss G Jan 2nd 2008 10:19PM

I'm not all that religious but I do believe in God. The Bibles are given free of charge to the hotel/motels and maybe if more people actually started reading it and put the teachings into practice maybe we would'nt be in the mess this country is in right now. I'm not saying we have to become Bible thumpers but lets get real people, God is your salvation and He is the one who will be judging you on your last day, can you justify your actions, thoughts and deeds???

Diane Jan 2nd 2008 10:24PM

Bibles not in hotels don't bother me. If I want one, I'll take my own. Maybe they aren't being provided free anymore by the Gideons. Anyway, take a look at the money you spend. A lot of things in this country need to change. Just where do we begin?

SHayes Jan 3rd 2008 6:29AM

Merely reading or having a Bible in a bedside table drawer doesn't make an individual a Christian.

SHayes Jan 3rd 2008 6:31AM

Many people who carry the Bible have no idea what's in it. I am a college professor and I do not grade my students for just having their books everyday. I grade them on the mastery of the content of the the lessons in the book. Even without a physical Bible in the drawer of the bedside table, the words and lessons, if understood, studied, and practiced should live forever in our deeds, our hearts and our minds. If given a test on the content of this highly revered book, most would fail miserably. So, why all of this fuss? There are so many valuable lessons in this book that should be mastered.

Rebekka Jan 3rd 2008 12:16PM

The point is not that Christians want a bible in a hotel room to read, it's the matter that it can help someone in need of guidance, whenever that may be. I think that the bible in hotel rooms HAVE helped people and led them to Christ. I think it's a disgrace for luxury hotels to leave out these very important staples.

bagel buddy Jan 6th 2008 10:59PM

I BET NONE OF YOU BRILLIENT PEOPLE REALLY KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT.
WELL, HERE IS A CLUE.
THE NEW TESTAMENT IS A GROUP OF LETTERS, WRITTEN BY JEWS TO JEWS.
THAT IS WHAT WAS THERE, EXCEPT FOR THE ROMANS. HAY!! HERE IS ANOTHER CLUE, "JESUS" WAS JEWISH. ALSO THE WORD "JESUS" IS NOT HEBREW WHICH HE WAS.

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