Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/291

* HOTEL. 251 HOTEL. or lobby, which frequently occupies an inclosed central court, two or three stories in height. The lobby generally contains not only the public office of the hotel, but also news and cigar stands, a telegraph office, and telephone booths; or, if these are not in, they are adjacent to and connect with the lobby. Reading, writing, and smoking rooms also adjoin the lobby, and there may be a parlor or reception-room near at hand. The hotel parlors are more generally on an upper floor, commonly on the second. Both public and private parlors are usually provided. An- other marked feature of a hotel is its dining- loom. Here the object is to get a large, un- obstructed floor-space, with plenty of natural light, where possible, and at the same time to have the room only second in general accessibility to the lobby or oflice. Smaller public dining- rooms, frequently called breakfast-rooms, are generally provided, and also a gentlemen's cafe, besides which there are private dining-rooms in proportion to the size and general character of the hotel. A conspicuous feature of hotels in this country' is the bar. which is likely to be near, if not connected with, the cafe. The bar is often on the office floor, but where this floor i.s well above the street level the bar and caf&, together with l)arber-shops. lavatories, and, per- haps, the public baths, are in the basement. The hotel kitchen must be either near or in speedv communication with the dining-room. It may be on a different floor, if dumb-waiters are pro- vided. Where there are numerous dining-rooms, public and private', several kitchens are a prac- tical necessity. Spacious stairways almost invariably lead from the office or lobby to the parlor or dining- room, although the universal use of elevators has lessened their importance. An impressive fea- ture of some of the finest hotels is a gallery above and around the lobby, giving access to whatever public rooms may be located on the second floor. The elevators should be conven- iently arranged so as to give quick access t^) private dining-rooms, ballrooms, and parlors; and there should be separate elevators for ser- vants and freight. The guests' rooms, if any, on the second floor of large hotels, are generally in suites (bedroom, parlor, and bathroom), but similar suites may, of course, be distributed on the other floors. Above the second floor tlie building commonly assumes, at least in city hotels, the form of a hollow square, or rectangle. The guests' rooms are arranged along corridors, the outer ones fronting on the street, the inner ones on the court. Even third or fourth rate ho- tels of (he present day rarely offer guests a room ■which does not have an ample window opening into the outer air. Fire-escapes must be pro- vided on each floor, and red lights are placed r.ear them and at the heads of stairca.ses to mark their location. Besides the various rooms, pub- lic and private, already mentioned, baggage and storage rooms, ballrooms, halls for concerts, con- ventions, and other assemblies, music-rooms, and sometimes roof gardens, are, some or all, found in the best hotels. ^Mountain and seaside resorts call for various modifications in design, including many spacious verandas and balconies, .sun-parlors for winter use, and other features suited to the changed conditions nf a hotel life where recreation and social amusements, or perhaps the search for Vol. X.— 17. health, are the? main objects. The constructional features of hotels are not sufficiently different in the material employed and the way in which it is put together to require separate treatment. The governing principle in the design of a hotel should be to make it as safe, convenient, comfortable, and generally attractive as possible. Unfortunately, the order of these requirements sometimes is reversed; or, at least, inadequate attention is given to the safety of the guests. Safety is used broadly here, to include all that goes to make the building structurally sound, to reduce dangers from fire, and to conduce to good sanitation. Fireproof construction (q.v.) should be employed as far as possible, and there should be adequate fire-escapes and fire-protection facili- ties. The latter, at least in all large hotels, in- clude apparatus in the w.ay of fire-pumps, stand- ])ipes, hose, chemical extinguishers, and the like. A plentiful supply of water is, of course, essen- tial. This necessity frequently entails an inde- pendent pumping plant, and always requires an extensive system of piping for both hot and cold water. To meet the demands for purity in drink- ing-water, it is frequently advisable to install a filter plant in the basement of the hotel, or, where possible, to sink deep artesian wells. Spring waters are often supplied at table. Both public and private baths are required. The latter should be in separate rooms with in- dcjiendent air and light. Private water-closets generally accompany private baths. The public lavatories and water-closets, both as regards spaciousness and good sanitation, may be taken as a fair index of the rank of most hotels. In general, all plumbing should be of the simplest possible design and should be readily accessible for inspection and repairs. In the choice of floors and floor-coverings, wall finish and decorations, window and other hangings, it should never be forgotten that frequent and thorough cleansing is imperative, and that everything that creates or serves as a lodging-place for dust, or that cannot be thoroughly disinfected, is a menace to health. Ventilation is most important and, together with heating, its arrangement should be intrusted to a heating and ventilation en- gineer. In the best hotels in the colder sections of America, the buildings are heated with steam or hot water throughout, supplemented, in some instances, by open fireplaces. Well-equipped laundries, with drying closets, are becoming more and more common even in smaller hotels. Either gas or electric lights, and frequently both, are provided in most hotels. Whatever the rank of a hotel, some means is provided for niakinj known wants without le.iv- ing (me's room. Tlie most common method is a simple push-button electrically connected with an annunciator in the hotel" office. In some hotels elaborate signal systeTiis are provided so that by moving a pointer over a dial in one's room any want may be made known in the office. Such cumbersome devices, however, bid fair to be superseded by the house telephone system, with a telephone in every room. The management of modern hotels presents a difficult executive problem. The number of em- ployees (which varies according to the hotel, but which is always over .50 per cent, of the guests), the constantly shifting crowd of guests, the num- berle.ss mechanical details, and the large amount of provisions and supplies which is necessary, all