Page 5 - Demo

Because all hoteliers desire repeat customers, those that can afford it offer services and benefits beyond room and board. One of the earliest amenities to appear was having a full-service restaurant, which in many cases could also provide room service. As a resort destination, the French Lick Sheraton, where Lynn and I spent our honeymoon in 1972, had gift shops, several eateries, clothing boutiques, a small bowling alley, a golf course, tennis courts, mud baths, massages, skeet shooting, and an enclosed swimming pool.I remember my first stay in a hotel%u2014the Palmer House in Chicago%u2014when I was a 10-year-old. As I explored our room, I discovered a Bible in the nightstand drawer. Dad explained it had been supplied by an organization called the Gideons that put them in drawers in hotels and motels all across the country. In one of the dresser drawers, I came across some stationery, and each blank letter and envelope was imprinted with the hotel%u2019s name and address, while several postcards showed color photos of the Palmer House exterior. The hotel%u2019s name was also emblazoned on the paper wrappers of the small soap bars the bathroom. It was an era of smoking, so there were ash trays%u2014with matchbooks festooned with similar advertising.A number of hotels from that era offered something very special in the form of Magic Fingers. For a mere quarter, the device would cause the mattress to vigorously vibrate for a predetermined few minutes, before it required another quarter. Magic Fingers was meant to relax stressed muscles, or possibly enhance romantic encounters. To kids, it was fun.Today, the list of amenities has changed. Gone are Magic Fingers, stationery, and matchbooks. They%u2019ve been replaced with a mini-bar, a large-screen TV, a Wi-Fi connection, and perhaps hypoallergenic bedding. An elaborate bathroom is typical%u201a with complimentary Indianapolis%u2019 downtown hotels in 1933.Magic Fingers, an amenity of the past.