The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-08-07
HOTEL FOREMOST
UTILITY OF ANY
CITY OR TOW

The hotel Is the foremost public
utility Of any town. 1t is the organized
host to the towns visitors. A town
without a good hotel is like a private
house without a spare room for COM
pany.
As We travel over the country all
of US remember those cities with good
hotels, just as we remember those
friends whose hospitality affords US
comfort and pleasure.
There is a more certain profit for
any town in encouraging a bad hotel
to become good, and a good hotel to
become better, than in any other line
of effort.
At some time or other every town
That wants to grow organizes a boost
ers' committee which goes through the
motions of trying to interest outside
capital to the point of making the
town the site of new industrial enter
prises.
Free land. exemption from taxes and
even capital are offered these OUT
siders.
The trouble with this method of
boosting is that it starts at the wrong
place.
The first essential Improvement is
self Improvement. and the proper place
to begin improving is right at home
with the hotel
OF course, many hotels are better
than their towns, but in that case the
town ought to pinch itself and en-
courage the hotel, and take advant-
age of the facilities it offers for help
ing the town to grow
In other instances, where the no.
needs improving. the trouble is usu; -
laPE of nif11 al forG
not to advance capital to enable its
hotel or hotels to clean up. brush UP
and spruce up.
The cost of undermining a hotel is
not a matter for consideration. The
question is: What win the cost be If
we don't do it?
With an up-to-date hotel a town can
think of inviting outside capital. I'm
til then it's efforts are wasted One
night and one meal in back-sidiag
hotel will drive away more prospec-
tive capital than the boosters com
mittee can dig up in a month
Then, too, every town should re-
member that it isn't go much what
citizens say as what outsiders say,
that makes the best advertisement.
A travelling man in Pullman
smoker does a lot of talking and If
he is grouchy because of a bad night
in a bad hotel he will leave nothing
unsaid. The same man pleased with
a town because of a good hotel, is a
walking advertisement of it.
But it is not alone in it's influence on
outsiders that good hotel is import
ant to town. OF even greater con-
Germ is good hotels influence on
those in the town.
The hotel is the common meeting
ground-the one place where all sects,
creeds and groups can get together.
A good hotel is the first aid to demo-
cracy-it is one Of democracy's strong
holds.
The social, political and business
life of any progressive community CEN
ter around it's hotel In the ballroom
are held the social functions; around
the banquet table men meet and get
to know each other better, smoothing
out their differences; in the meeting
rooms groups of all shades of opinion
gather and crystalline their ideas into
action-all for the towns improve
ment and advancement.
AS people come better to understand
the true function of the hotel in the
community life, there will be more
and better hotels and the pleasures
and comforts of life will be multiplied
many times.-The Bigelow Magazine.
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