The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-04
IOREWOMDN'S H0TELS NEEDED
MORE APPLICANTS THAN ROOMS
AT THE MARTHA WASHINGTON.

Capitalists Shy Of the Investment TIL
II Has Been Well Testeti-But There'M
He More Such Hotels In Time, and
Chesper Ones-The Rates Now High.
It begins to look a II New York would
soon have more than one women's hotel
Evidently more than one IL needed, with
200 women clamoring in vain for permanent
rooms in that already in operation.
When tho Martha Warrington Hotel for
women was opened In East Thirtieth street
last March, two things happened. Nearly
400 women poured in to take possession OF
every permanent room'-as those rented
by the season are called. All Of these had
been engaged long before the framework
of the building was finished, and nearly
every one Of the hundred transient rooms
had an occupant.
Private dining room and public restaur-
ant were alike thronged. The band played
and tenants and stockholders rubbed their
hands In great content. A woman's hotel
had really come to pass.
A critical, unbelieving public shook its
head and did not rub Its hands. On the
contrary. 1t went 80 far as to say that the
hotel would be shortlived.
when lot Of women get together there
is bound to be trouble" and mo hotel can
be run at profit with such low prices
were among the publics comments.
There are some people saying the same
things yet. Others are beginning to have
| doubts on the subject. Mr.. Kellogg. Sec
] rotary of the women's hotel company,
said the other day:
Tho Martha Washington is q pct SUBJ
| ject for sneers from all over the country.
| and not only sneers but misstatements.
Here, for instance, is an article cut tho
other day from an out Of town paper. It
says that the woman hotel has been obliged
to substitute bell boys for bell girls, . man
head waiter for . woman, chef for .
woman cook and male clerks for woman
clerks. because the manager found that
women will not obey women.
think Of that! Now. Is almost every
body knows, we had bell boys. . head
waiter. chef and men clerks from the
very start But that Is mild compared
with some OF the rnisstatements read
every day.
The attention Of the secretary was called
to the statement that a dividend OF Is per
cent. was recently paid to the stockholders.
Nothing Of the kind has happened,
said he. mo dividend will be declared
until January or perhaps not until the hotel
has been in operation one year. And no
one knows yet how much It will be. That
there will he q dividend Of some sort Is
reasonably sure, even though We have just
emerged from the summer season, when nat
urally there was big falling OF in receipts
from the restaurant and the transient
rooms. There are a great many teachers
| among the regular boarders, all Of whom
take long vacations. While away they
pay for their rooms. but not for meals.
"There is no truth either in the state
ment that we are catering to women living
on incomes rather than to self-supporting
women, or that we have raised the price Of
rooms. About nine-tenths Of the perma-
nent guests are self-supporting women.
Many Of them, indeed, support mothers as
| we'll "a themselves. The women living
| on an income occupy, for the most part,
! hieh-priced suites OF rooms, which are not
| In demand by the wage earnerss and by
! renting which we are able to make the price
Of single rooms uniformly low.
AS for the transients, we don't know and
don't ask whether they have an occupa-
ton or not But one thing il sure: we
| have not raised the price Of rooms. nor do
| We intend to.
we have made one change, though.
Permanent guests must now take their
meals here, either IN tho American dining
room, where IS a week IL charged for two
| meals day and SO for three meals, or in
the restaurant, where meals are served 10
carte At first II was optional With guests
whether they ate hero or not--a fact
which encouraged some women TO try and
cook in their rooms, which, Of COURSE, va
| can't permit.
Other more or less telling facts about
tho hotel are these: Since II wss opened
there has not been one vacancy In the per-
| manent rooms. On the contrary nearly 200
! women have put their names down for per-
manent room. Then, for tho last month.
| the room clerk has been turning away be-
tween thirty and forty would-be transients
| a day. This is taken a. very promising
outlook for next winter--the hotels first
| which. say the directors will be the real
test of the enterprise.
In fact. on the business done during the
next three or four months undoubtedly
hinges the question just how soon Wornen's
Hotel No. will he started.
That there will he more women's hotels
seems already d foregone conclusion. al
though the women's hotel company IL
| chary about making its plans public When
this hotel was opened a woman member or