"Intimacy kits" replace bibles in hotel rooms
SuzannePjam
Posts: 411
Thought this was an interesting commentary on society today and how much things have changed.
Newsweek
By Roya Wolverson
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."
Newsweek
By Roya Wolverson
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."
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
probably. you think it's a war on christianity or something? cmon... you know the climate these days. it's only a matter of time until someone up and filed a lawsuit against somebody over them pushing bibles without having a single koran or whatever in the house. plus, people probably just don't give a shit about a bible so where's the cost effectiveness? it makes more sense to offer services your guest will use... nobody wants to reach for a condom to bang the hot chick they brought home from the bar and come up with a bible instead.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
And if I was one to read the bible, I'd have my own with me anyway.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
I always use the hotel soap and shampoo (less to pack, and it's even more of a pain in the ass now to bring liquids on carryons - not that they ever check mine), but I wouldn't use a condom that they provided... too much of a risk of some jackass poking a hole in it or something.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Religion, while very important to some people, is not.
I think it's smart...not to mention, cool.
---
London, Brixton, 14 July 1993
London, Wembley, 1996
London, Wembley, 18 June 2007
London, O2, 18 August 2009
London, Hammersmith Apollo (Ed solo), 31 July 2012
Milton Keynes Bowl, 11 July 2014
That neverending war on Christianity is horrible !!!! Soon Christians will be forced to practice their religion in secrecy in these hotels.
if I remember the one room I had with one of those kits they are sealed in a tin.
Ft Worth 9-15-23
Hartford 5-13-06, 6-27-08, 10-25-13
Mansfield, MA 6-30-08, 6-28-08, 7-2-03, 7-3-03, 7-11-03, 8-29-00, 8-30-00, 9-15-98, 9-16-98
Worcester 10-15-13, 10-16-13
The hotels aren't paying for the bibles.
That being said, the title of the thread doesn't really align with the way the story was presented if someone takes the time to read it.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I noticed there are also a few restaurants who are waging a war on french fries. They are quite difficult to find though.
I think it should be a law that every restaurant has french fries.
Is the paper thinner?
Kama Sutra rolling papers...
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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( o.O)
(")_(")
You sleep on the beds, don't you? I think their getting a lot more of the stuff you mentioned than the bible is.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I've always wondered, do they feel guilty printing those textbooks with the blank pages sprinkled throughout them?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
No, I'm sure they would just fill in the blanks with fantasy jibberish like in the bible.
Yeah, I probably could, but I have a hard enough time with the sheets, towels, pillows and the bedspread! :eek: I'm forever inspecting the place with a microscope practically before I can get to sleep. I need one of them blue light thingies they have on CSI to check for body fluids!
I do use their soap sometimes for washing my hands if it's wrapped up, but I just figure it's easier to take my own. There are so many things they wanna check my bags for at airports these days I just figure I will get checked and I may as well take what I like coz the time's gonna be wasted anyway.
Can you imagine the deal with vibrators??? I mean come on! They can barely clean the rooms in some places! :eek:
Nah I'm one of those everything but the kitchen sink folk. If I use it, it comes with me from home. I've even been known to bring my own towels and sheets and pillow.
haha! just reading back over that it's a wonder I leave home at all!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
uhh Jeanie? it says that the vibrators can be bought in the hotel giftshop. it's not as though one comes with the room and it gets reused from guests to the next guest that rents that room...ewwww. it's not like having a clothes iron in every room
ooh this is a great room...would you just look at the vibrator that comes with this one!
angels share laughter
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's no way I'm shashaying into the "gift shop" to peruse the toys!
I was just thinking they'd have them in the room like they do the mini bar. And I'm dodgy on the mini bar so even if they were claiming that the vibrators and condoms were hermatically sealed and brand new, I still wouldn't touch em with a barge pole! :eek:
But it's a relief to know they're not gonna start leaving vibrators on the pillow like chocolates!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
ooh that's a great idea....chocolate vibrators! okay, so maybe that could get a bit messy...
angels share laughter
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Messy is good!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
My point exactly.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
By the same token, if you're going to be staying in a hotel room with a lover, chances are you'll have condoms, anyway. Besides, they probably provide condoms that have spermicide ( nonoxynol-9) and I can't use those. The nonoxynol-9 painfully burns and irritates the meatus, head and urethra of my willy. Only non-spermicide condoms, for me!
too much information