The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-17
AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION.
The Hotel Expert Who "sizes" the
Guests Importance or Purse.

Guests Importance or Purse.
From the Philadelphia Times.
A new face was noticed the other night
behind the desk of a very swell hotel
Several of a group made inquiring COM
ment 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 establish
ment. He is a 'sizer, and the cleverest
query in chorus as to what was meant by
a ''sizer," and the hotel man explained
that he was a trusted and confidential no.
tel employe who 'sized up" what each
patron of the estabnshment-they are not
guests" as every newspaper in the land
daily informs us-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 easily In a pub
lie hostelrie. 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 ex-
hibition of the weaknesses and the vani-
ties of ourselves and our fellows. The ho-
tel man who understands this, gauges 1t
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,
employees "'slzer,'' who Is paid a large
salary. He must be a keen judge OF hu-
man nature. When a statesman of high
acri-f are hfe l.. 81
book this functlonary fondles him with
attentions, sees that he gets the best
apartments in the house, and when he
leaves arranges that his bill shall be small
Big statesmen are advertisements to a
public house. Fellow-sta tesmen flock
around them and buy wine. Newspapers
interview them and publish the name of
the hotel where they are staying Little
tadpoles in the political pond carry their
gripsacks to where the big bullfrogs are
croaking. The 'sizer'' insures such com
fort to the great man that he returns to
the hotel again and again until 1t finally
becomes known as his headquarters.
But some one must pay for what the
great statesman does not This is gener-
ally the newly rich fellow. The "sizer'
demonstrates his ability by the estimate
he places upon people of this class. There
is probably popular impression to the
effect that in all the swell hotels in the
large cities there is regular prize fixed
for the occupancy of each ROOM depending
upon its size, the floor it is on, and wheth-
er it has parlor and bath room connec-
tons. There was never a more mistaken
IDEA. The sZer' 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
4ng o,AI Il ahf extr1,n
To such as these the "sizer' says: my
dear sir. I am so glad that we have the
bridal chamber vacant. l know nothing
less would satisfy you. 1t has just been
vacated by Mr.. Astorbilt, and / am de-
lighted that l am enabled to accommodate
you with that suite of apartments
What is the resut2 Mr. Mans bump OF
vanity becomes extensively swollen, and
when he receives a bill for $50 a day for
a suite of apartments, the customary price
of which is $40, he pays it with delight
glories in telling his friends about il, and
becomes a walking, talking advertisement
of the hotel which had sized him up That
is no eXaggeration. A well-known Phila-
delphian, a man of large means and ad-
vanced years, with his wife, on his way
home from trip to Europe, stayed at a
New York hotel with the intention of re-
naming there one day. The most accom-
plished "sizer' living took him In charge
and placed hlm in suite of apartments
for which he was charged 800 a day. Did
that alarm him? He had been well sized
up. His mansion in Philadelphia was va
cant except for the servants who had 1t
in charge. But the "siZer" had seized
him, and it is a matter of record that
he and his wife remained in that hosiery
at that daily rate of expenditure, which
did not include meals, for fully one year
Reckon that "sizer' earned his salary
Many a man has occupied the same apart
ments since for $40 day.
Ii is this cleverness in the study OF
mankind that brings enormous incomes
to hotel proprletors, who, i'm their line of
work, possess the attributes of genius
People wonder how soma of the leading
public houses Of America. which are con,