The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-12-28
THE HOTEL SIZeR.
he Sizes Up the Stranger as to What Z
VIII Paw.

L
VIII Pay.
A new face was noticed the other
night behind the desk of very swell
lotei. Several of a group made inquir-
ing comment upon the presence of the
stranger. An old hotel man stood by.
Said he:
"Why, that is, next to the proprietor,
the most valuable man about this estab-
iishment. He is -sizer,' the cleverest
II the business"
There was naturally query in Choir
US as to what was meant by ''sizer,"
and the hotel man explained that he
was a trusted and confidential hotel
rmploye who "sized up what each
patron of the establishment is willing
to pay for the service accorded him.
This is an inner mystery of the hotel
business that has never publicly been
revealed. Humanity is read most cas-
lily in public hostelry. There every
! kind of human being is seen on full
parade with all the foibles of mankind
exposed to the public gaze. 1t is a
great object lesson; an exhibition of the
weaknesses and the vanities of our
selves and our fellows. The hotel man
who understands this, guages it. and
feels its pulse is sure winner.
Hence every hotel in the prominent
cities of this country, especially in New
York, which is managed upon the
European plan employs a ''sizer,"
who is paid a large salary. He
must be a keen judge of high
enown registers his name upon the
hotel book this functionary fondles
him with attentionssees that he gets
The best apartment in the house,
and when he leaves arranges that
his bill shall be small. Big states
men are advertisements to a public
house Fellow statesmen flock around
them and buy wine. Newspapers in
terview them, and publish the name of
the hotel where they are staying. Lit
tie tadpoles in the political pond carry
their gripsacks to where the big bull
frogs are croaking. The "sizer" in
sUres such comfort to the great man
than he returns to the hotel again
and again, until, it finally becomes
hAONu ILLS
But some one must pay for what the
great statesman does not. This is gen.
orally the newly rich fellow. The
'sizer" demonstrates his ability by the
estimate he places upon people of this
Class. There is probably popular i'm
precision to the effect that in all the
swell hotels in the large cities there is
a regular price fixed for the occupancy
of each room, depending upon it's size,
the floor it is on, and whether it has
parlor and bathroom connections
There was never a more mistaken idea.
The "sizer" determines what you shall
pay. His eyes fathom not only your
pocketbook, but your disposition.
Many men, especially the newly rich,
although they may not know how to
live at home, like a princely estimate
placed upon their tastes and habits
when they are travelling. To such as
these the ''sizer" says:
My dear sir, am so glad that we
have the bridal chamber vacant n
know nothing less would satisfy you.
1t has Just been vacated by Mr. Aston
bilt, and l am delighted that am en-
abled to accommodate you with that |
suite of apartments"
What is the result? Mr. Mans bump |
OF vanity becomes excessively swollen,
and when he receives bill of $50 day |
for suite of apartments the Gus
tomary price of which is ten dollars.
lie pays it with delight, glories in tell
ing his friends about it, and becomes
walking talking advertisement of the
hotel which has sized him up" That
is no exaggeration. A well-known
a man of large means
and advanced years. with his wife. on
his way home from trip to Europe,
stayed at a New York hotel with the
intention of remaining there one day.
The most accomplished "sizer' living
took him in charge and placed him in
q suite of apartments for which he was
500 day. Did that alarm
himP He had been well "sized up."
His mansion in Philadelphia was va
cant, except for the servants who had
il in charge. But the "sizer'' had sized
him, and it is a matter of record that
he and his wife remained in that hostel
~ at that rate of expenditure, which
did not include meals, for fully one
year.
Reckon that "sizer" earned hi. SAL
airy? Many a man has occupied the
same apartments since for ten dollars
q day.
1t is this cleverness in the study. of
mankind that brings enormous in
comes to hotel proprietors, who, in
their line of work, possess the at
tributes of genius. People wonder how
some of the leading public houses of
America. which are confessedlv the
finest In the world, can be so royalty ap-
and yet prove profitable They
90 not dream of the amount Of their
money receipts. During the New York
hoTSs show of few weeks ago one
hotel 10 that city put in its Golfers
daily from the pocketbooks of its
patrons between $4,000 and $4,000.
hose figures continued throughout
The year would mean an annual in
>ome of over $40, ooo, 900, but, of course.
here are violent fluctuations ia the
patronage of hotel. All these things
ne slzer watches. He knows when
accommodations are especially desir-
IDLE He knows when 10 tell the two
ioiiars-a-day man that every room in
he house Is taken, knowing full well
nat before the night is passed a Ave
'oliars-s-day man viii take his place.
ND this comparison grows stronger
s the fiCures reach higher