Evening star., 1927-09-04
HIGHWAY 1OSTELRIES' GROWTH
PROVES BOON TO AUTO TRAVEL
Remarkable Increase In Number and Va
riety of Accommodations Re-
corded In Few Years.

adobe, or sun-dried mud which Is sur.
prisingly cool in the hottest weather.
In other parts Of the Southwest the
style of Indian pueblo has been fol.
lowed. In either case the effect is fire.
quently artistic, especially when there
are trelised shelters for automobiles
between the buildings.
One great advantage of the bunga-
low camp is that the tourists belong.
ings can be placed under lock and
key, it is true, but the tourist hardly
ever feels at ease when he drives
away for little sightseeing, Leaving
valuables merely under canvas.
Shelter Chief Factor.
The chief advantage of the bunEa.
low camp, however, IS shelter. Small
town hotels are often unable to pro-
vide accommodations for the motor
tourists who swoop down upon them
on a stormy day. And in many cases
those accommodations are so poor
that the motorist prefers whatever
hardships may be involved in makiig
his own camp.
Observers who have followed the
trend of affairs in motor camping are
confident that in time there will be
chains of bungalow camps along all
the principal highways. Such is the
opinion of Harry n. Burhans, secre-
tary of the Denver Tourist Bureau.
These camps will be standardized
as to price and accommodations" says
Mr.. Burhans. "The tourist will know
that at the end of his days run he
can check in at a bungalow camp and
get shelter at a fixed charge. His car
will be under roof, and if it needs re-
no airS nr "a he
call up the central garage and have
the work done at a reasonable cost.
If clothes need pressing, there will be
valet service. OF course, there will
be a laundry, and the tourist can do
his own work or have it done. The
main feature will be restaurant serv-
ice. There is no doubt in my mind
that much of the future of automobile
camping is to be found in the develop.
ment of the bungalow colony"
This does not mean that municipal
and other publicly owned camp
grounds are to disappear. Probably
they will be as extensively patronized
as ever. There are thousands of mo.
torists who prefer real camp life to a
Moreover. thousands continue TO
carry tents because of the financial
saving.
In the national parks, where camp
ground facilities are constantly being
enlarged, provisions are being made
for the growing class of bungalow
hunters" In Yellowstone National
Park there have been erected a GER
tain number of these cabins, which
are regularly filed, despite the fact
that tenting conditions at Old Faithful
and other camps in the park are ideal.
A small charge is made for the rental
of these shelters, but ordinary camp
ing is free, fees being made unneces-
sary by the general admission charge
assessed against each car entering the
park.
Informal Inns Available.
The Chamber of Commerce OF the
United States, in making an exhaBs-
tive survey of automobile tourist
| camps, found considerably more than
1000 of the first class, representing
an initial investment of at least $10,-
900, 900 and involving the estimated
expenditure of $20.000,000 or more an
nually by tourists in local communi.
| ties where there are camps. This sud-
| den springing up of a $4,000 900 in
dustry from movement which at
| first was looked upon very lightly, no
in the number of privately-owned
| camps, offering extra inducements and
being run for profit.
For another large-scale development
| of recent years, numerous owners of
comfortable old houses in villages and
small towns are responsible. Such
| houses, usually big and square and
white, if their habitat be New Eng
land. have been converted into inns.
supplementing the regular. all-year-
around hotels, which otherwise would
| find that the Summer demand far ex.
ceed their means of accommodation.
| These impromptu inns cater by
preference to transients, the legion of
motoring overnighters There is more
money in this transient trade than in
resorting boarders who abide by the
week, although the latter are not
scorned. Very often neighboring
homes when the inn overfiows become
still more informal annexes. Through
out New England caring for the mo-
torist has become a major industry.
The growth of tea houses has also,
of course, been enormous. They range
from sadly unimaginative affairs to
establishments that delight the new
conner with appropriate atmosphere.