The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro SATURDAY, MAY 9? 1925. HOTEL ACCOMMODATION.

Southland Times, Issue 19546, 9 May 1925, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro SATURDAY, MAY 9? 1925. HOTEL ACCOMMODATION.

Any country which broadcasts an appeal to tourists must be prepared to stand searching criticism of its hotel accommodation. The United States and Switzerland may be taken as the two countries of the world which most energetically and most efficiently organise for the handling of tourist traffic, and it is a striking fact that both’ countries are noted for the excellence of the accommodation they provide for the moving public. Being on holiday, the tourist is prepared to spend money, but in addition to looking for scenic beauties, sport and other points upon which to fix his interest, he is desirous of obtaining a maximum of comfort, and he is prepared to pay for it. If he has toured in the United States or in Switzerland he has set up standards of living comfort which are not easily obtainable in any other lands, and it is painfully obvious that as far as New Zealand is concerned, these standards in no case are reached. Of course, the Americans criticise the British hotel accommodation very severely because it does not supply them with as many appurtenances to comfort as the great establishments in Aiherica, where hotel management has been raised to such a pitch of excellence that it can almost be added to the arts of the day. But the Americanisation of hotel management, or in- other words, the improvement of hotel management, has proceeded apace in London, and to-day there are many places of accommodation .which can rival such magnificent establishments as the Stetler Hotels of the United States. In this country, although we may regard the hotel accommodation as quite satisfactory to our own needs, it is very disappointing to visitors from Britain, Europe and from America, and their criticism is levelled not at a lack of cleanliness, but at the deficiencies in the sendee afforded to clients. In the American hotels the guest can engage a suite of rooms or even a single room, to which is attached a private bath, and for each is furnished a telephone sendee, telegraphs, messengers and withia easy reach practically everything that his comfort can desire. The British idea of a public bathroom for thirty or forty rooms, to the American touri t is a tragedy. What they must, think of the conditions in this country is not difficult to imagine. At times it is argued against Prohibition towns in this country that the absence of revenue from the sale of liquor makes the maintenance of a good hotel impossible. This really is a fallacy, and some American hotels may

be quoted in support of that contention because none of the great hotels of America are supported by the proceeds from liquor bars. There are enormous establishments providing accommodation and employment for a population bigger than that which the majority of the smaller towns in this Dominion can boast, but within their walls there are no bare run by the management as a means of raising revenue for the running of the business. They are, in fact, gigantic boarding-houses, and the fact that no hotel in this 1 country can compare with them is’ very strong evidence in support of the argument that, strictly/ speaking, the bar is not necessary for the provision of first-class hotel accommodation. The explanation of our deficiencies is to be found elsewhere. In the first place the hotels in New Zealand cannot depend upon such large numbers of guests and they are not dealing regularly with the population which has set such high standards of living comfort. The American people may have many weaknesses, they may be subject to criticism on very many points, but that they know how to make living comfortable is beyond question. This is reflected in their hotels. Notwithstanding this explanation, however, it is obvious that if we are to go on attracting and satisfying tourists from other countries, we must be prepared to provide them with the best hotel accommodation it is possible for us to devise, and the criticism levelled against the privately-owned estabments, can, we are sorry to say, be directed almost as effectively against the hostels controlled by the Government in connection with the tourist resorts. With one or two exceptions it must be admitted that the Tourist Department hostels fall far short of what should be considered I adequate for the comfort of tourists who have known what it is to live in the tourist hotels of Switzerland and the United States. It cannot be said, for instance, that the accommodation on the Milford Track is good enough to meet the requirements of those who make “the greatest walk in the world.” Food and shelter from the elements are provided for the walkers, but beyond that there are none of the soft things which go to make the evening after a heavy day in the open air a pleasant and refreshing rest. Our standards are not high enough, and if the Hon. G. J. Anderson can raise the general level of hotels and of the Government hostels, he will have done a great service for the future of the tourist traffic in this Dominion.