Sleep At Home, And Keep The Values

Trinette Reed / zefa-Corbis
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By Roya Wolverson Newsweek Web Exclusive
Nov 8, 2007 Updated: 3:16 p.m. ET Nov 8, 2007
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So Long, Gideons

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The one thing travelers could reliably count on in their hotel rooms: a Bible in the bedside table. But like many traditions, this one may be dying.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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Article Link

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http://www.newsweek.com/

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Glenn Beck

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Transcript:

November 14, 2007
• Congressman Refusing to Deal with Border Situation; Pork Barrel Spending Big Problem in Congress; Hotel Chain Offers Condoms Instead of Bible; Mitt Romney Interview

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BECK: Well, just when you think that the outrage is they don`t have "An Inconvenient Book" on every nightstand, many hotel chains have now stopped including the Bible as a standard room amenity. These days Gideon`s good book is out, and iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs, and intimacy kits, with a mini-bar full of condoms and sex dice, are in.

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Is it just me?

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Jim Daly is the president and CEO of Focus on the Family and author of "Finding Home: An Imperfect Path to Faith and Family."

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Here you have Marriott, which is -- I mean, Marriott is a Mormon hotel chain, or always has been. The Marriott family are big in the Mormon faith. They have come out with a statement -- I want to quote it. Their new hotels will be "cutting edge, more urban, and less value-oriented."

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What the heck does that even mean? What does it say about them, the hotels, or us?

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JIM DALY, CEO, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: Well, it says a lot about the culture, unfortunately. This is like replacing the Guttenberg Bible at the Library of Congress with "People" magazine. You know, it`s just -- it doesn`t make sense.

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And just when the culture needs organizations, companies to be firm, to stand up for values in the culture, here we`re going to put these toys in the hotel which, you know, from what I understand, a lot of people that -- especially during the holidays when they go a hotel, they`re depressed. They`re lonely. And many, many people have found answers through the Bible being there at the bed-stand. So it`s just unfortunate all the way around that we can`t be a culture of hope.

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BECK: Yes. I will tell you, I travel a lot, and I usually bring my own Bible with me, but I mean, I hate to sound like a complete zealot, but that`s just what I am. I have read the Gideon Bible. Now, when I was an alcoholic and would have known what sex dice were, I didn`t.

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But they say that the reason why it`s changing is because hotels that are traditional for, you know, people traveling on business, it`s down 18 percent. But condom hotels, the ones that have the condoms and people are visiting, that business is up 23 percent, because they say people are using hotels differently now. It`s just for, you know, fun on the weekend with your wife or whatever.

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DALY: Well, it`s an expensive way to buy a condom. But beside that, I mean, it`s just amazing that, again, I think they may be misreading the American people. I don`t think that`s necessarily the trend.

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I think what people are looking for -- I just went to Disneyland, and my wife and I stayed at a hotel nearby. I would have been horrified if my two boys 5 and 7 to walk into that hotel room and have them open the drawer and say, "Daddy, what`s this?"

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BECK: Yes.

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DALY: You know, it`s just not where we`re at, and I think there might be a handful of people that might much rather have something encouraging in there for people that are desperate and lonely to be able to pick up and read and be hopeful again.

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BECK: It really amazes me that we always seem to play to the bottom denominator. We don`t strive to be better than we are. We always just seem to reach down in the barrel.

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DALY: Why do it?

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BECK: Yes. Jim, thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

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Now, coming up in just a second, we have presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He`s going to take some time from his very busy campaign schedule -- schedule to speak to yours truly. Yes, an interview for the next half hour that you don`t want to miss. Coming up next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/glenn.beck/

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http://www.glennbeck.com/home/index.shtml

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideons_International

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Some Luxury Hotels Buck The Bible