11 Hotel Features You Won’t Find Anymore

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  • Опубліковано 12 лип 2024
  • Discover the nostalgic features of staying at a hotel, motel, or inn from the past. Learn how essentials like the hotel TV, room key, and Gideon Bible added unique touches to every traveler's vacation or road trip, from the vibrating bed to the guest book that captured every visit. Whether you're reminiscing about sending a postcard from a quaint tavern or planning your next stay at a bed and breakfast, this video will transport you through the evolution of travel accommodations and the unforgettable services, like room service by the maid or assistance from the bellhop with your luggage.
    #hotel #motel #travel #airbnb #nostalgia
    Welcome to American Rewind, your ultimate trip down memory lane! Dive deep into the golden age of Americana, as we journey through the good old days of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Experience the nostalgia of days gone by, flipping through vintage photo albums and exploring this rich archive from the 20th century. Remember when the USA was filled with memories that shaped its history? Relive those moments growing up, as we bring you a nostalgic look back at America's golden years. From retro vibes to the timeless charm of yesteryear, our channel is dedicated to remembering the past and celebrating our great country. Join us as we travel back in time and let's rewind together!
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 514

  • @AmericanRewind
    @AmericanRewind  2 місяці тому +23

    How do hotels back then compare to staying at a hotel now? 🏨

    • @LittleKitty22
      @LittleKitty22 2 місяці тому +11

      It's depressing how standards have fallen!

    • @gbear2253
      @gbear2253 2 місяці тому +2

      Hi

    • @debannas4567
      @debannas4567 2 місяці тому +5

      A lot of needless and unnecessary expenses

    • @SuV33358
      @SuV33358 Місяць тому +1

      @@debannas4567 lol, you don't get it. You must be young

    • @debannas4567
      @debannas4567 Місяць тому +2

      @@SuV33358 yep, I’m 70 years young😂😂🤣

  • @samanthab1923
    @samanthab1923 2 місяці тому +176

    For some reason as kids the pool was the best feature ❤

    • @sp8118
      @sp8118 2 місяці тому +14

      Still is for me and my daughters (30 & 27)!!!

    • @rawilliams5881
      @rawilliams5881 2 місяці тому +6

      Something positive after a long day on the road. For the parentsa, a chance to get rid of us kids for a while.

    • @laurachristianson1688
      @laurachristianson1688 2 місяці тому +7

      I credit the many hotel swimming pools I inhabited when my family was traveling to visit family to my swimming expertise now that I’m in my sixties

    • @JudeTavonFenwick
      @JudeTavonFenwick 2 місяці тому +2

      Because you were a child… imagine that

    • @mattalan6618
      @mattalan6618 2 місяці тому +3

      @@sp8118 not me cause i dont know how to swim

  • @mbrennan459
    @mbrennan459 26 днів тому +29

    Another guest service was babysitting. I remember staying at hotels when traveling when my brothers and I were very young. My parents wanted to go out for the evening and the hotel provided a sitter.

  • @Arkelk2010
    @Arkelk2010 2 місяці тому +91

    More in hotels than motels, but wake up calls were a thing. Call the front desk and ask for a call to wake you up. Used to be a live person, later a recorded message.

    • @xr6lad
      @xr6lad 2 місяці тому +7

      Yes specially if you had an early flight.

    • @wandamontgomery6030
      @wandamontgomery6030 Місяць тому +9

      We do wake up calls at my hotel but it's automatic. It just rings and goes beep beep.
      People rarely ask for one nowadays.

    • @1whitkat
      @1whitkat Місяць тому +7

      Most hotels will still do wake up calls now, they're just automated.

    • @arekkrol9758
      @arekkrol9758 Місяць тому +3

      when i stayed in hotel in 2022 the wake up was still done by live person

    • @bradlevantis913
      @bradlevantis913 26 днів тому +1

      I worked in a hotel in the 90’s. The wake up calls were automatically sent, but if they were unanswered you got a live call, if that was unanswered we came to the room to wake you up. Apparently someone missed a flight and blamed a missed wake up call. The hotel paid for a new flight and in person wake up became a thing

  • @1aikane
    @1aikane 2 місяці тому +209

    Cleanliness is something I've noticed missing too

    • @lakeozarkrei3767
      @lakeozarkrei3767 2 місяці тому +21

      You must be staying in the wrong hotels...

    • @paulgerrard9227
      @paulgerrard9227 2 місяці тому +13

      Replaced with bedbugs. All ok

    • @strapsgamingvids
      @strapsgamingvids Місяць тому

      @@lakeozarkrei3767nah most budget motels and hotels have definitely gone down in quality, some being outright dirty. I won’t stay at a Super 8 or Motel 6 or anything less quality than a Wyndham Gardens hotel. Anything of horrid quality, I’ll just sleep in my truck.

    • @tonypreston7278
      @tonypreston7278 Місяць тому +9

      Hotels have never been clean

    • @Barbara-jn2gw
      @Barbara-jn2gw Місяць тому +1

      bigly

  • @genebateman3183
    @genebateman3183 2 місяці тому +92

    Hotel stationery is a thing of the past. Hotels used to provide a couple sheets of paper with the hotel’s header and an envelope to send letters. I started traveling as this was mostly phased out but I remember using stationery from the Loftleider in Reykjavik and the Hilton in Quito. Now you’re lucky if you get a small notepad.

    • @kolonarulez5222
      @kolonarulez5222 2 місяці тому +9

      Yes when i was very little I liked to save and collect the hotel stationary but that was right as they started just leaving a branded notepad and pens.

    • @EvelynSaungikar
      @EvelynSaungikar Місяць тому +7

      Now you get WiFi instead.

    • @jamesmelcher9355
      @jamesmelcher9355 Місяць тому +6

      I miss that stationery.

    • @katv1195
      @katv1195 Місяць тому +4

      You still get hotel stationery in country Australia... and ordinary keys, postcards, colourful bedspreads, breakfast delivered and pushed through a tiny door beside the door...

    • @1whitkat
      @1whitkat Місяць тому

      @@katv1195 That sounds very posh. In the U.S. we're lucky if we can find a hotel that's clean anymore. It makes travelling difficult.

  • @EvelynSaungikar
    @EvelynSaungikar Місяць тому +33

    Watching TV while in bed was a special treat!

  • @SuV33358
    @SuV33358 2 місяці тому +37

    I absolutely LOVE the signage old hotels used way back then. The huuuge neon signs, with stars and arrows and various other starbursts, crazy fonts, overly sized and sometimes garish.

    • @jimdennis2451
      @jimdennis2451 Місяць тому +4

      Especially Holiday Inn and Quality Inns.

    • @martiniangoldberg
      @martiniangoldberg Місяць тому +3

      Especially in Las Vegas!

    • @PCSPounder
      @PCSPounder Місяць тому +2

      Route 66 still has its places.

  • @gregpeacock5497
    @gregpeacock5497 2 місяці тому +33

    At the time of your "smoking rooms", smoking was actually allowed in all areas of the motel/hotel. It wasn't until the mid to late 80's that you could have a non-smoking room, but common areas still allowed smoking.

    • @penguin44ca
      @penguin44ca Місяць тому +1

      Dude I was in Vegas in 2006 and still could smoke in my room.
      Insane I did that. Glad I quit

    • @theoriginaledi
      @theoriginaledi Місяць тому +4

      I came to the comments to say exactly this. Back then there was no such thing as a "smoking/nonsmoking room" or a "smoking/nonsmoking area" because people smoked absolutely everywhere. Airplanes, elevators, schools, grocery stores, you name it. It was inescapable.

    • @hewitc
      @hewitc 26 днів тому +1

      @@penguin44ca Could you smoke in the casino back then?

    • @BoratWanksta
      @BoratWanksta 4 дні тому

      ​​@@hewitcStill can find smoking rooms at certain motels/hotels in Vegas to this day, if you know where to look. And outside of Park MGM(where the Monte Carlo got renovated into this), most Vegas casino gaming floors still permit smoking. Even if there are some small smoke free gaming areas.

  • @PeppermintPJ90025
    @PeppermintPJ90025 2 місяці тому +92

    I remember checkout time as being noon or 1pm back in the day. Now it's always 11 am. Check in is usually at 3pm, so the customer doesn't even get a full 24 hours. And the expense is higher now too.

    • @joefaller4525
      @joefaller4525 2 місяці тому +17

      Well, they do need time to clean the room after it is used.

    • @edbrown6985
      @edbrown6985 2 місяці тому +4

      I live in Pennsylvania,most allow eleven am check in.or late check out at 2pm for an extra charge.

    • @joefaller4525
      @joefaller4525 2 місяці тому

      @@edbrown6985 Same here. Almost every hotel chain we stay in has a noon checkout, and if they do happen to have an 11AM, I will ask if I need Noon or even later and they normally accommodate my request.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +10

      Just like everything else, we're paying more and getting less.

    • @lorefreak94
      @lorefreak94 Місяць тому +12

      I understand the need for a time to clean but I wish there was a night owl version so I can come in late and leave in the afternoon.
      As a night shifter it is another trait of day privelage. 🙄😋

  • @brandywineblogger1411
    @brandywineblogger1411 16 днів тому +7

    1) Most hotels and resorts still have Gideon Bibles in an upper drawer.
    2) The historic Bed and Breakfasts still use the old metal keys and metal key fobs.

    • @valibas1
      @valibas1 5 днів тому

      I know we dumped all the ones we had 7-8 years ago. I always figured all hotels did it.

  • @InTeCredo
    @InTeCredo 2 місяці тому +43

    Coming from Germany in 1973, my vivid memories as a 7-year-old boy was those vibrating beds that cost 25 cents a "ride", colour TV set and telephone in each room, swimming pool, and lot of delicious American breakfast (pancakes, waffles, omelet, etc. ). Those were offered at the cheap motel in the US but non-existential at guest or boarding houses in Germany. You'd have to pay a lot of money to stay at a hotel with TV set, telephone, and hot breakfast in Germany back then.

    • @brenster21
      @brenster21 2 місяці тому +5

      Funnily enough, now adays I love the service at hotels in Europe vs American hotels.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +1

      But you could probably get a nice dopplebock.

    • @Canleaf08
      @Canleaf08 28 днів тому +1

      Coming from Germany, too in the early 90s, we had guest and hotel directories, a real phone book, a fresh copy of the USA Today and even a video game console Nintendo in some Best Western in the US. Often these hotels did not come with breakfast (buffets), so you needed to order food from Denny’s. Nowadays, the hotel breakfasts are better in Germany much more options than in the US. Stayed in a Fairfields in Maine recently and left very unhappily. In some hotels at Hiltons, they even did away with breakfast and only provide with an 18 $ meal breakfast, if you are gold level or higher at honors.

  • @markleach116
    @markleach116 2 місяці тому +41

    Such fond memories of the vibrating beds and outdoor pools!! Remember the lighted Holiday Inn signs??

    • @veggirl1964
      @veggirl1964 День тому +1

      I remember the first time we stayed somewhere with a vibrating bed. It turned out to be more fun in theory than in practice.

  • @CrazyCatMom11
    @CrazyCatMom11 Місяць тому +7

    Growing up in the 80s and early 90s, hotels used regular keys for the rooms. One time circa 1995, we stayed at a Hilton that had electronic room key cards. My brother and I were amazed. It was one of the coolest things we'd ever seen.

  • @orion7763
    @orion7763 2 місяці тому +43

    As someone born decades after the time this video covers, this channel is interesting to see what American life was like long ago.

    • @yungsagegaming8577
      @yungsagegaming8577 2 місяці тому +2

      Same

    • @yvonneplant9434
      @yvonneplant9434 2 місяці тому +5

      These kinds of videos tend to idealize everything from the past.

    • @joefaller4525
      @joefaller4525 2 місяці тому +3

      @@yvonneplant9434 Obviously. Everey generation's era of growing up had positives and negatives. Plus generally speaking, childhood memories are good. I realize some people's childhood memories aren't. but I think most were.

    • @EvelynSaungikar
      @EvelynSaungikar Місяць тому +3

      You could “dial 9” to get an outside line.

  • @paul16451
    @paul16451 2 місяці тому +20

    Back in the days of rotary phones, many hotels had locks on the dial that you had to pay to get removed during your stay. Probably one of the earliest forms of parental control, preventing kids or drunk guests from making unwanted calls.

  • @bobblowhard8823
    @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +53

    I'm Tom Bodet, and we'll leave the light on for you.

    • @Colorado_Native
      @Colorado_Native 20 днів тому +1

      I met him at a gas station in Marysville, California. He was there to check on one of his motels. He was very nice.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 18 днів тому +2

      @@Colorado_Native How cool is that? That would be like meeting Mr. Rogers or Bob Ross!

  • @JonProulx
    @JonProulx 2 місяці тому +38

    "non-smoking" rooms used to be the special amenity....

    • @BennyLlama39
      @BennyLlama39 Місяць тому

      Until some putz said, "Let's make *everything* non-smoking."

    • @sonniepronounceds-au-ni9287
      @sonniepronounceds-au-ni9287 28 днів тому +10

      ​@@BennyLlama39God bless that guy. Cigarette smoke is nasty. You never get the smell out of the carpet.

    • @hewitc
      @hewitc 26 днів тому +2

      @@BennyLlama39 You can't get the smoke out of the rooms. Smokers actually destroy the hotel's property. We were on a cruise and the smokers before us ruined the room. The manager said the curtains, carpet etc all had to be thrown out and replaced with new.

    • @stickynorth
      @stickynorth 16 днів тому

      @@BennyLlama39 REALLY?

    • @tejaswoman
      @tejaswoman 13 днів тому +2

      ​@@BennyLlama39yeah, how dare they make hotel rooms healthier and more pleasant for both future guests and hotel staff, all because a cigarette turns out to be a portable item a person could just take outside to enjoy without inflicting it on everyone else. The nerve!

  • @estherweiner3892
    @estherweiner3892 2 місяці тому +72

    Those weren't comforters on the beds. They're bed spreads. That was the style then.

    • @NoelleTakestheSky
      @NoelleTakestheSky Місяць тому +7

      And they’re rarely washed, which is horrifying.

    • @rhuffstedtler
      @rhuffstedtler Місяць тому +2

      I miss bed spreads. No one needs an 18 inch thick duvet that makes you feel like you’re laying on the surface of the sun even when it’s 23 degrees Fahrenheit outside and you have the window open - if you’re lucky enough to have a hotel window that opens.

    • @hewitc
      @hewitc 26 днів тому +1

      It is still the style in more expensive hotels. With top sheets of course.

    • @johnp139
      @johnp139 14 днів тому

      @@rhuffstedtlerHow about TAKING IT OFF?!?!?!?!?!!?

    • @rhuffstedtler
      @rhuffstedtler 12 днів тому

      @@johnp139 LOL. It usually gets kicked to the floor within about 15 minutes of attempting to sleep. Seems like there ought to be an option between nothing and way too much, though.

  • @amymwheeler
    @amymwheeler Місяць тому +15

    I worked at a motel in the first few years of the early 2000s. 80-90% of the guests would schedule a wake-up call with the front desk. There was a logbook just for wake-up calls next to the phone console.
    Now, I’m back in the hospitality industry and we get a wake-up request maybe once a month. There are instructions on how to enter them into the phone system taped on the phone console because nobody remembers how since they’re so rare.

    • @penguin44ca
      @penguin44ca Місяць тому +1

      Because people now have phones as their alarms.

  • @elanarobin
    @elanarobin 2 місяці тому +35

    Mints on pillows.

    • @FreeRadicals305
      @FreeRadicals305 2 місяці тому +3

      Whoa, what Palaces were you staying at?

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +1

      I like mint.

    • @user-rz8bu6vl8x
      @user-rz8bu6vl8x 2 місяці тому +7

      The 5 star hotels used to leave chocolates on the pillow

    • @hewitc
      @hewitc 26 днів тому +1

      We get chocolates

    • @SunnyWu
      @SunnyWu 19 днів тому

      When I was a kid in China, it was usually white chocolate.

  • @pamelas1002
    @pamelas1002 2 місяці тому +34

    A Best Western in Jackson, TN still has Gideon Bibles!

    • @yungsagegaming8577
      @yungsagegaming8577 2 місяці тому +4

      Most hotels older than 2010 will. But it seems to be primarily southern. The Marriott I stayed at in SeaTac WA two years ago didn’t have one

    • @pamelas1002
      @pamelas1002 2 місяці тому +5

      @@yungsagegaming8577 This one was built in 2020.

    • @yungsagegaming8577
      @yungsagegaming8577 2 місяці тому +2

      @@pamelas1002 🤔

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +1

      And probably the vibrating beds.

    • @VanillaMacaron551
      @VanillaMacaron551 Місяць тому +5

      A modern NYC hotel I stayed at this week had a Bible. It also had The Book Of Mormon. I haven't read that one, but I've seen the stage show and it's a ripper!

  • @atxcats42
    @atxcats42 18 днів тому +3

    My family stayed in a motel in New Mexico in the late 1960s on the way to California. The beds all had Magic Fingwers, and I took my precious coin and dropped it in the slot. It vibrated the bed for the expected length of time - and then the coin dropped into the return slot, so I inserted it again. And again - for hours! In retrospect I suppose it was stealing, but I was a dumb kid.

  • @robertmiller3529
    @robertmiller3529 2 місяці тому +16

    I still find Gideon bibles everytime I rent a hotel room

  • @jimdellavecchia4594
    @jimdellavecchia4594 2 місяці тому +27

    Googie architecture was so cool!

    • @joywebster2678
      @joywebster2678 2 місяці тому +4

      As a kid traveling in tne 60s with my family, I would say that Googie designs looked like the Jetsons TV show. Mybparents would be perplexed, and my cool older sisters would finally say, yeah you're right! LOL

  • @ForestTekkenVideos
    @ForestTekkenVideos Місяць тому +9

    I'm old enough to remember the disgusting smoking rooms. Great video! 👍

    • @johnp139
      @johnp139 14 днів тому +1

      EXACTLY!!! I got stuck in a smoking room because they “ran out of” non-smoking rooms.

    • @truepeacenik
      @truepeacenik 14 годин тому

      Plot twist, all yellow surfaces are actually white….with stains

  • @davidsigalow7349
    @davidsigalow7349 20 днів тому +4

    One of the greatest things about motels in the 60s was the Ice Machine! In those days, only wealthy people had ice makers, so the availability of Unlimited Ice was just fabulous!

  • @robertnichols2283
    @robertnichols2283 2 місяці тому +21

    I remember every one of these
    I guess that makes me old 🫤

    • @kat35lulu88
      @kat35lulu88 2 місяці тому +5

      Join the club! These were good times regardless.....

    • @TheAtkey
      @TheAtkey Місяць тому +3

      Some of these are still around. I don't stay in hotels very often anymore but I don't think I've been in an American hotel room that didn't have a Guidian
      Bible in the nightstand.

    • @chopsticksforlegs
      @chopsticksforlegs 13 днів тому

      Same. The good old days

  • @Ninjanimegamer
    @Ninjanimegamer 2 місяці тому +13

    We used to have room service maids. They would come in every day at 9/10, change out the sheets, make the beds, vacuum the room, take out the used towels leaving clean ones, they dusted the furniture/desk, empty or exchange out ash trays and garbage cans, and left the room clean.
    Sometimes, they turned down the sheets at the corner, and left a chocolate on the turned down corner.
    Sometimes, there were terry cloth bathrobes hanging in the closet to use instead of the towels. They would replace these when they did the towels.
    There were glasses, with complimentary toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss in the bathrooms. The glasses were also changed out daily.
    These maids worked in shifts and there were 5-10 maids depending on the size of the hotel/motel.
    Now, we are lucky to get new clean towels without asking for them. The rooms were cleaner, because hotels/motels hired maids to clean.

    • @homehere9817
      @homehere9817 7 днів тому

      They don’t clean the rooms anymore if it’s occupied. They only replace towels and take out the trash. Some hotels offer cleaning upon request. Disgusting and lazy on their part.

  • @kevindelaney1951
    @kevindelaney1951 2 місяці тому +9

    I’m a 1951 boomer child. Oldest of 4. Enjoyed x2 family road trips from Ontario to Nova Scotia in the early 60s to visit family. Loved the road trip every bit as much as time with family upon arrival. Pool’s & restaurant meals just fantastic experiences for us kids. I love the descriptions of what once was.

    • @FreeRadicals305
      @FreeRadicals305 2 місяці тому +2

      I'm with you on that! ( 3rd of 4 ) Can't tell you how COLD the pool would be, never mattered : )

  • @normanhines5189
    @normanhines5189 Місяць тому +5

    I once checked in to the Sahara in Vegas, and I noticed a painting on the wall. It was gold paint on black velvet, and showed an impressionist vision of the kaaba 🕋 Islam's holiest site. Astonished, I looked around. On the opposite wall was a painting in the same style, but this one showed the Dome of the Rock. Islam's second holiest site. I immediately searched the room for a Gideon Koran. No such luck.

  • @johnny-becker
    @johnny-becker Місяць тому +8

    I got my hands on a old motel television that had a barrel key hole on the side. The key is long gone but if you wanted television, you had to pay extra, and the desk clerk would unlock it for you.

  • @davidhall8874
    @davidhall8874 2 місяці тому +22

    I stayed in a hotel back in the 70's that had quarter operated TVs.

    • @user-bf1rj2cz3v
      @user-bf1rj2cz3v 2 місяці тому +4

      Me too, and most were black and white. But now when WiFi service is provided, I can watch TV through my Directv wireless subscription on my iPhone.

    • @yungsagegaming8577
      @yungsagegaming8577 2 місяці тому +1

      That’s a new one

    • @jimlocke9320
      @jimlocke9320 2 місяці тому +3

      For a time, Motel 6 used the coin operated B/W TV sets as part of its marketing model of a clean, but basic, low cost motel room. The coins turned out to be too much of a nuisance for guests when the TV would shut off during a program and the guest would find that he or she was out of quarters. Motel 6 switched to a key operated system, where you could obtain a TV key for extra cost at check-in, and your TV viewing would not be interrupted. You would insert the key and turn it, then the TV could be operated normally. The key stayed in the TV lock but the staff had some way of removing it after your stay ended before the next guest checked in. Motel 6 eventually did away with the extra charge for the TV, which was really never intended to make money, just be part of the marketing model. They also upgraded to color TV sets as color became effectively standard, added a reservation system, and started accepting credit cards.
      Even though the TV was extra cost, it was considered a basic feature that the room had to have. One time, I managed to rent the last room in a Motel 6 because the TV in that room did not work. The clerk asked me if I needed to have a TV and I said no, so he let me have the room, which he planned to leave vacant.
      Before TV came of age, some rooms had coin operated radios. A few of these radios have survived and are in the hands of collectors.

    • @SunnyWu
      @SunnyWu 19 днів тому

      @@user-bf1rj2cz3v I remember in 2005 when I was in China, my parents put our relatives up in a motel room. That was the first and only time I saw an old fashioned black and white TV with the tuning knobs.

    • @cokesquirrel
      @cokesquirrel 14 днів тому +1

      I remember quarter operated TVS at the bus stations

  • @jeremy1350
    @jeremy1350 2 місяці тому +14

    My family used to stay at motels up and down the Eastern Seaboard, driving between New Britain Ct, and Miami. And also around Florida. You could call the front desk and ask for a wake up call, and an actual person would call you in the morning, Live and In Person. Dining in the motel restaurant was also fun. I think "South of the Border," was the most exciting place we stayed at. What could be more fun than Giant Apes and Characters and Fireworks galore !!!
    The Crystal City Marriott in Washington DC was fun too, with its modern style AND it's underground tunnels connecting to other areas around the hotel.

    • @samanthab1923
      @samanthab1923 2 місяці тому +2

      We put my little bro on a plane in EWR Newark NJ to meet my aunt & uncle in FL. My dad gave him enough money to take them out to eat & all he wanted to do is spend the money on fireworks. They were driving my uncles moms Caddy back up. He was only 10 & knew about South of the Border 😂

    • @jeremy1350
      @jeremy1350 2 місяці тому +3

      @@samanthab1923 And it is still there, just as kooky as it was 40 years ago. But it was the Wild Wild West back in those days, the 70's and early 80's.

    • @samanthab1923
      @samanthab1923 2 місяці тому +2

      @@jeremy1350 I can’t just imagine. They stopped in Mrytle Beach too. 😆 hitting all the hot spots. While sitting by the hotel pool a guy broke the diving board. My uncle hears hey Bill, that big fat guy just broke the diving board! 😮

    • @FreeRadicals305
      @FreeRadicals305 2 місяці тому +1

      On trips from Levittown, PA to Miami, 'South of the Border' was way overrated. Stopped 1x to figure that out. Remember the construction of I-95? Some states were slower than others, but what a game-changer.

    • @jeremy1350
      @jeremy1350 2 місяці тому +3

      @@FreeRadicals305 It was a fun "stop" on the way to fireworks shop, and see the kooky giant apes and others. We stayed once, but never again. We traveled mostly on I-95 between the two points. It was cheaper.

  • @heru-deshet359
    @heru-deshet359 Місяць тому +2

    I miss the old Howard Johnson hotels. Whenever I travel to a beach front town, I look for well maintained hotel/motels from the 1960s. There are many still around because older and younger people are looking for an interesting experience from the past.

  • @winstonelston5743
    @winstonelston5743 23 дні тому +3

    4:05 Back in the day, our policy on visitors on the 400-room property where I worked was to ask the visitor to use the house phone to call themotel operator and the operator would connect the visitor to the guest room where the guest could provide the number or come to the lobby if they didn't want the visitor to know the number, or wished to ditch the encounter altogether.
    5:25 Beds aren't as comfortable as they used to be. I always pack a separate duffle with a couple of plush blankets in case the motel "comforters" (usuallt an additional thin sheet) is inadequate. Packs neatly into a recess in the trunk.

  • @maggiegarber246
    @maggiegarber246 Місяць тому +5

    I am 75 and grew up in a town of about 2,000. We were on Hwy 75. There was a motel, small cabin rooms, right next to the highway. When I was very young, one of the rooms was a photographer’s office. In 1993, my guy stayed in the motel when he came to my mother’s funeral. A few years ago, it was put up for sale. No takers-I suppose there were too many remediations that needed done, removal of asbestos, etc. It’s almost completely torn down now, and it makes me sad. Small towns lose so much without having a decades old fixture removed. 2 years ago, it was my high school!

  • @laurenj3417
    @laurenj3417 29 днів тому +4

    1:01 I recognized those motels immediately! Wildwood, NJ! My family goes there every summer, and they are known for their dop-wop style motels. I thought of Wildwood as soon as you started talking about Googie architecture. Love that you included a picture of Wildwood!❤

  • @matthrivnak6572
    @matthrivnak6572 2 місяці тому +10

    The pool in front!

  • @lunatickgeo
    @lunatickgeo Місяць тому +2

    When I saw the bedding, I got a really sharp hit of nostalgia. We used bedding like that at home waaay past the time it was considered stylish (I'm talking 90s). It reminded me of my childhood visiting my grandparents on Sundays and hanging out with my cousins.

  • @Noa_Lynn
    @Noa_Lynn 2 місяці тому +7

    I worked for a popular hotel brand for almost 5 years and technically all hotels are still supposed to keep the written down logbook in the case of power going out or a fire, and we need a way to identify guest if the computers were to fail

  • @namename4779
    @namename4779 2 місяці тому +43

    Smoking room? Every room was a smoking room before 1980.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +9

      Yeah. And they smelled like it, too.

    • @VanillaMacaron551
      @VanillaMacaron551 Місяць тому +5

      Yeh, I thought the smoking room was the bar. But there would be an ashtray in your room anyway.

  • @MikeinVirginia1
    @MikeinVirginia1 Місяць тому +2

    At 71, I'm very familiar with all of this. Because of smoking, hotel rooms had a "hotel room smell" that was just expected. I quit smoking in 1988 mostly because of non-smoking edicts everywhere. Smoking became too much of a hassle. If they provided a "smoking area" at work it was in the parking lot away from the building. I remember seeing smokers in the rain with their umbrellas. I wasn't willing to go there!

  • @blazefairchild465
    @blazefairchild465 Місяць тому +3

    I remember getting the postcards, I saved some to put in my travel diary.

  • @monicacall7532
    @monicacall7532 2 місяці тому +7

    Most of the motels and hotels that my family stayed in on vacations had a majority of smoking rooms with a few nonsmoking rooms. I remember my parents having to pay extra for nonsmoking rooms at a few places. I hated the stale smoke smell and how it permeated my clothes and took a long time to rid them of the smell after we returned home. Also, I’m allergic to cigarette and cigar smoke, so I had health issues when we had to stay in a “smoking” room.

  • @BiologyBabe
    @BiologyBabe 2 місяці тому +4

    I really like how much hotels have done to try to make everyone compfy. I especially love the addition of coffee makers and refrigerators… also, plenty of hotels still sell postcards. I send my mom one from every town I visit. My mom saves them and puts them in a photo album. The best part is that I’ve been to hundreds of cities across 24 countries on 5 continents. I’m only missing Asia and Antarctica.

    • @tejaswoman
      @tejaswoman 13 днів тому

      Love that you still send one to your mom from the various places you go. It's a running joke in my family that when I was about 10 or 12 years old, my parents went on a trip to Europe and left me with my grandparents. I specifically asked them to send me postcards from the road, and waited impatiently, but for days no such postcards arrived. When they finally did, I was flummoxed by receiving an envelope addressed in Mom's handwriting, which turned out to contain various BLANK souvenir postcards.
      When they got home, my father felt so vindicated by my expression of disappointment! He had tried in vain to explain to my mother his certainty that I didn't merely want the postcards as in "a picture to look at," but was requesting them to write me messages _on_ the postcards about their travels and send them each separately. She was sure he was wrong, and in the 40+ years since, she has been teased lovingly but mercilessly over it: "Send me postcards... *_with writing on them_* !" 🥰
      Garrison Keillor once wrote wrote a lovely essay on the art of writing a good postcard message. You can find it in his collection _We Are Still Married_ .

  • @prestonstephens7719
    @prestonstephens7719 2 місяці тому +7

    Anybody else???? When the picture went OUT in there 1959 Magnavox,,, they put their 127p “portable” on top of it because the Magnavox, was a piece of furniture.

  • @josephd2059
    @josephd2059 3 дні тому +1

    A travel lodge teddy bear was given to me as a kid by the lobby staff. I loved having it and kept it most of my childhood.

  • @RadioactiveSherbet
    @RadioactiveSherbet Місяць тому +3

    There's a Gideon Bible in the room I'm staying at right now. I was like, "they're still pretty common," so I looked. Yep.

  • @QuaintMelissaK
    @QuaintMelissaK 2 місяці тому +5

    It was also a good thing that keys were replaced with key cards for the safety of those at the hotel.

    • @tejaswoman
      @tejaswoman 13 днів тому

      A bonus for the hotel is that the key cards are much cheaper to replace, as they only need to reprogram.

  • @TheParot161
    @TheParot161 Місяць тому +4

    Great video! But you forgot to mention diving boards and “deep end” pools. Hardly any of those around at hotels these days.

  • @TxCstevo
    @TxCstevo 2 місяці тому +4

    Magic fingers in a hotel now a days would mean something totally different and it would cost more than 25 cents 😂😂😂

  • @moatl6945
    @moatl6945 Місяць тому +1

    Gideon-bibles are still very common in hotels in Germany.
    There was even one in the station of the (catholic) home for elderly, I did my social service back in the late 1990ies.

  • @marinhusky8863
    @marinhusky8863 Місяць тому +4

    The Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend, AZ had that vintage style signage and was a fun roadside attraction place to stay for a long time. Now, I think Best Western has taken it over and it is a toned down version of what it was.

    • @Canleaf08
      @Canleaf08 28 днів тому

      The lobby is very interesting of the Spage Age lodge… I was in Gila Bend in winter… Best Western used to have a real crown on their hotel logos. We could spot a BW for MILES ahead… Now they only have circular logos.

  • @vaidasjan3201
    @vaidasjan3201 12 днів тому +2

    I was traveling in US from Texas to Wisconsin by car in 2004. I was sleeping in random Motels on my way. I found almost everything same as in this video. The Holy Bible were in every room on bedside table drawer. Telephones with buttons also. TVs with glass color screen and remote control laying on the bed or by side of the Bible. Only vibrating beds I haven't seem. In some Motels reception even an old slot machines I found for play if you are borry at room. Everything were old but working perfectly, also clean. The most impressive was that at anytime, even in midnight when I came I found always somebody in reception and free room available. Just you are tire by driving, turn to motel and in 10min you will get a room key and can go sleep. Opposite in Europe in Germany: you must to book a room at least 2 weeks before.

  • @xr6lad
    @xr6lad 2 місяці тому +6

    @ 0:10. Geez I wet myself at that photo. That was the Oakleigh motel in Melbourne Australia. I drive by it going to work. Looks basically the same although it’s been converted into apartments now. It was built in the mid 1950’s for the Melbourne Olympics and was the turn around point for the Marathon. It’s about 20 kms out of the central city.

    • @Dave_Sisson
      @Dave_Sisson 2 місяці тому

      It's interesting how much Australia embraced the American motel concept in the decades after the war. As you noticed, many Australian motels could be mistaken for American ones complete with Googie architecture. But their fall was almost as fast as their rise and by the 1980s we began switching back to traditional accommodation like hotels and guesthouses, although backpacker hostels took over the bottom end of the market from pubs.

    • @klhaldane
      @klhaldane Місяць тому

      Was that on the Princes Highway, left hand side as you drove into the city?

  • @samsandyvideos
    @samsandyvideos 8 днів тому +1

    my Mom used to carry her own pillows to Howard Johnson's in Hyannis, MA. The hotel pillows were too lumpy and I can remember her leaving a review on a comment card. 55 years later when I travel I carry my memory pillow just like Mom.

  • @autumnmoonfire3944
    @autumnmoonfire3944 День тому +1

    Holiday Inn, Amsterdam NY, 1970’s-80’s. Indoor pool with a nonopus painted on the wall, it was supposed to be an octopus but it had 9 legs! Ooops! Quite funny for kids!

  • @ronm6585
    @ronm6585 2 місяці тому +4

    Thanks for sharing.

  • @B.H.56
    @B.H.56 Місяць тому +3

    How about the bottle opener on the wall?

  • @luvmyrecords
    @luvmyrecords 21 день тому +2

    As a kid travelling with my parents in the early 70s, those "Googie" hotels still were all along the road, and so much fun at which to be guests.

    • @luvmyrecords
      @luvmyrecords 21 день тому

      ...and hotel keys were a thing, even at some places in the 90s.

  • @williamantico7768
    @williamantico7768 2 місяці тому +4

    Better Privacy now. Better TV's now. I do see Bibles still in the Rooms. So that's not gone away. No one is forcing anyone to look at it. It's just there if you want to.

  • @jc19766
    @jc19766 2 місяці тому +7

    You had to call the hotel or take a chance and just arrive hoping they had a room available. I remember visiting Florida in the 1980's to vacation with my parents and we just drive down without a reservation. We always found a room. However, we ended up in dump once because all of the other nicer hotels were sold out. After that, we stayed in better hotels with a reservation made over the phone of course.

    • @veronicaadair9004
      @veronicaadair9004 Місяць тому +1

      That was my family when there wasn't a Holiday Inn available. I remember those thick books that Holiday Inn gave out that listed their hotels. We never stayed in a dump, but we did stay in a hotel that was just built and in our opinion still wasn't ready for guest.

  • @samsandyvideos
    @samsandyvideos 8 днів тому +1

    great videos, thank you

  • @pinkyellowblue007
    @pinkyellowblue007 2 місяці тому +33

    I love the Googie architecture

  • @3frenchhens818
    @3frenchhens818 2 місяці тому +1

    I liked going to the older hotels where you could see the bathtubs were sized for how much shorter people were back then. I also get a kick out of some of the really older hotel rooms that were only wide enough for the bed and a bit of room to walk around them. Those rooms still had a bathroom and tub.

  • @susanjeffay3851
    @susanjeffay3851 28 днів тому +2

    At the President Hotel in Atlantic City, in 1965, Mom grabbed the GLASS pitcher of ice water and struck the drunk over his head when he broke the door down mistaking the room for someone else's.

  • @psduckie
    @psduckie 2 місяці тому +6

    I actually have a Gideon Bible today. That said, I didn't get it from a hotel, but from a hospital.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +1

      You thief!

    • @SpamEggSausage
      @SpamEggSausage 2 місяці тому

      @@bobblowhard8823 no, the gideon organization wants people to take those bibles

    • @psduckie
      @psduckie 2 місяці тому +1

      @bobblowhard8823 Actually, after I read the whole thing during my hospital stay, I went to return it and the hospital told me to keep it.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому

      @@psduckie That was nice of them.

    • @joywebster2678
      @joywebster2678 2 місяці тому +2

      A childhood friend just retired as the head of Gideons here in Canada. As a RN I was working on an Indian reserve hospital way north, and the Bibles were ancient and falling apart. So I phoned Gideons to see if there were still replacements. Lo and behold my childhood friend answered. So we refurbished the hospital, and remote Nursing stations, and gave permission to give away the very old ones to those desiring one at home. 😊

  • @cherishawan7004
    @cherishawan7004 Місяць тому +3

    It was great when hotels has a restaurant attached. Rhe service was always good back rhen

  • @msbebelle07
    @msbebelle07 Місяць тому

    In Wildwood, New Jersey there are many vintage motels, I love this place, I have been there many times with my parents as a child, with my boyfriend, now my husband and kids…still planning to return soon 😂

  • @DavidPaulMorgan
    @DavidPaulMorgan 2 місяці тому

    even the in UK we had those picture postcards - I miss those, but now use one of the print-and-mail services for holiday postcards 🙂

  • @yungsagegaming8577
    @yungsagegaming8577 2 місяці тому +3

    Used to be in-room Video Games that you could pay to play. No longer

  • @chiarac3833
    @chiarac3833 2 місяці тому +2

    That one shot of the Googie architecture showed motels in Wildwood, NJ. They refer to them as "Doo-Wop" era and there is a huge preservation effort happening.

  • @vampirina-vp7op
    @vampirina-vp7op Місяць тому

    In the late 90,s when I was in HS our music group stayed at an older hotel that had magic fingers. We put quarters in while the bed shook us. So funny, none of us had experienced a bed like that before 😂

  • @doubledrats235
    @doubledrats235 2 місяці тому +2

    It wasn’t just your hotel room where the TV only had a few channels. Most people only had a few channels on their home televisions too. Growing up in a Long Island suburb of NYC in the 1960s and 1970s we had three network channels, three local channels and PBS. And this was a major market. When we traveled upstate (NY) there were fewer channels in the motels but that’s because there were no other OTA channels in the area. Cable and satellite TV were decades away. We had radio and we also had books and puzzles and board games for rainy days. But if it was nice out we would be outside. Playing, swimming in the pool or lake, or hiking and exploring. We didn’t travel to sit in a motel and watch TV. And there were no video games or cell phones then.
    There were no dedicated smoking areas because people smoked everywhere. We weren’t a smoking family except for one grandfather who was not allowed to smoke around us.

  • @markluscombe-zx4sc
    @markluscombe-zx4sc Місяць тому

    The Oakleigh Motel pictured in the beginning. Is in Victoria Australia in the suburb of Oakiegh. My Granparents used to stay there back in the 70s when they came to visit. Was around the corner from our place. Still pretty much looks the same to this day.

  • @katv1195
    @katv1195 Місяць тому

    You need to visit country Australia. Last year I went to a country hotel and it had postcards at registration, standard keys with a key ring (no digital nonsense for inland NSW), bright comforters / bed spreads, a little door where breakfast was delivered on a tray, and hotel stationery. For anyone from Australia, it was in West Wyalong.

  • @mirzaahmed6589
    @mirzaahmed6589 Місяць тому +3

    Gideon Bibles are still quite common.

  • @jwillisbarrie
    @jwillisbarrie 12 днів тому

    Thanks for adding actual captions for the Deaf ❤

  • @wendynieves7159
    @wendynieves7159 22 дні тому

    my grampa loved the vibrating bed!

  • @onlyyoucanstopevil9024
    @onlyyoucanstopevil9024 Місяць тому

    AMAZING😊

  • @chrisneumann4202
    @chrisneumann4202 2 місяці тому +3

    I remember staying in motels and hotels when I was very young. Doing a comparison from the very early 70's (for me) to now is not really a completely fair as motels and hotels were often different experiences in my opinion. Admittedly I haven't stayed in a MOtel in decades but as a very frequent business traveler I've spent hundreds of nights in hotels. In general I prefer the modern hotel but I rarely use all of the amenities except for the gym and restaurant/bar if there is one. Some of the quirky hotels can be fun because they try to capitalize on nostalgia or themes, but my criteria for a hotel is pretty simple, hot water, functioning plumbing and HVAC, clean, quiet and a stable WiFi. But speaking of keys I have a collection of hundreds of key cards from hotels for my own amusement.

    • @TheBlindAndTheBeautiful
      @TheBlindAndTheBeautiful 2 місяці тому

      I'm a much younger guy, but the idea is the same for me. I remember motels when I was really young. I wish it was positive memories, but meh we don't always win. As an adult though I travel a lot. And have basically the same rules. I’m very particular on the clean part and the Wifi part as I’m gone almost 300 days a year. but I’ll even give up the good internet for a good clean space. Certain hotels recognize me immediately and know that they can put me in a room with less of a view or that is less desirable as long as it has been cleaned well and is relatively quiet. I try to show a little extra thanks when people do that. And in turn also try to leave things mostly as I found them. Not going to lie doesn’t always work out because again I’m a younger guy and do enjoy female company from time to time. But I really do try. I’m curious though; You’ve been doing this a long time. How has customer service changed over the years for you? Has it got better over the years as times have evolved? Or got worse as things have become much less personal and more transactional? I’ve been traveling quite a bit, but only since about 2017. But I’ve noticed that customer service has really changed. Now granted I tend to get it. I’ve seen some truly terrible guests. Even confronted a couple myself to stick up for the hotel staff. But I don’t know it just feels like something is missing you know? Especially since COVID let up. There’s just something different and I can not quite put my finger on it but it feels lesser I guess is the word I’d use

    • @chrisneumann4202
      @chrisneumann4202 2 місяці тому

      @@TheBlindAndTheBeautiful I used to travel about 42 weeks a year and had similar experiences when I stayed in certain hotels in that when I walked in the door everything was ready and they simply handed me a key and I usually stayed in the same room each time. As far as customer service...well, not to sound snobby I think it often depends on what kind of hotel it is, the larger chains, most of which I had gold or platinum status, were the best in that I was treated very well. For business and personal travel I usually stayed in one of the larger chain hotels, often rated 3.5* and higher, not in the Red Roof Inn near the airport. The larger chains have more to lose for unhappy customers especially business travelers. All it takes is one bad experience and the word gets out in the company...boom, money lost. The smaller and budget hotels, not always awful but it's more hit and miss on average. I've always found a stay to be transactional, I (or the company) pays you for a service and I expect certain standards. Maybe because I'm older I get treated a little differently? I don't interact with the staff unless I need to but I've found 95% of the time they are at least courteous.

  • @singledad1313
    @singledad1313 Місяць тому

    I can remember when there were phone booths in the lobby, some motels had coin operated TV's where a quarter would get you like 4 hours of use, cigarette vending machines, and clean smelling rooms.

  • @7YearOrthodoxCatechumen-rv2mu
    @7YearOrthodoxCatechumen-rv2mu Місяць тому +2

    I love the Gideons Bibles and I put money (cash) in some. Some other people would do that too. I think thats a nice practice.

  • @albear972
    @albear972 20 днів тому

    Just last Month we visited Chicago and stayed in a hotel in Downtown. It honestly was the very first time that such hotel had a real metal room key. And 20+ years ago, my buddy liked to smoke the wacky weed, he ran out of rolling papers but found out that the hotel bible made perfect Zig-Zag wrappers. Talk about holy smoke! 😂

  • @roytee3127
    @roytee3127 20 днів тому

    I remember those hotal postcards.
    The images - and maybe the cards themselves - were decades old.

  • @FreeRadicals305
    @FreeRadicals305 2 місяці тому

    @1:51. I remember using it with pennies. If you turned the box upside down, it was able to engage like a quarter. Sure they started to lock them down, soon after.

  • @MezunaKua
    @MezunaKua Місяць тому

    The hotel I work at still keeps these little bible books 😯

  • @hedonismbot1508
    @hedonismbot1508 2 місяці тому +1

    I've stayed at a hotel with a CRT TV and another with metal room keys well after those things were considered obsolete across the industry at large. Though these were small, low-end independent hotels.

    • @lztx
      @lztx Місяць тому

      I stayed at a motel with metal keys in the last few weeks. The TV was LCD but it was on a shelf clearly designed for a CRT. Not that I even turned it on! That place was just somewhere to shower and sleep between work and socialising for a weekend

  • @dolbyvixen
    @dolbyvixen Місяць тому

    3:28 Found a motel on my travels with a metal key. I hadn't seen one in so long I took a photo of it. La Roma motel in Edmundston, NB

  • @NoelleTakestheSky
    @NoelleTakestheSky Місяць тому +1

    I see PBX exchange phones and some other things on this list at quite a few hotels still. This last trip I was on was the first time I didn’t see an exchange phone, and I wasn’t sure what to do when I needed to call the front desk about another guest running down the hall naked and banging on doors. By the time I figured out how to reach someone, he was gone. I didn’t like that-you have to call the general line and hope you aren’t on hold behind people trying to make reservations, and I ended up doing. The direct line approach is much better, and for this reason alone, I won’t be staying there again.

  • @UltimaOmega
    @UltimaOmega Місяць тому +1

    One thing I've noticed is that "color cable tv" has been replaced by "free wifi" as a selling point. I don't remember seeing key cards until probably the mid to late 90's.

    • @Canleaf08
      @Canleaf08 28 днів тому

      Believe it or not, some hotels in Germany in the early 2000s only bought the Wifi service from Deutsche Telekom, which still charge a fortune on Lufthansa flights. It was a thing to install specific certificates… Now you just enter a code or your last name and room number and get free wifi. Sadly highly insecure and often hacked, that I recommend to use a travel router.

  • @waltersteenvoorden252
    @waltersteenvoorden252 Місяць тому

    I remember the glass sealings in the dining rooms and the smoking rooms. That was during the early to mid 80s.

  • @chuckcookus
    @chuckcookus 2 місяці тому +6

    It's hard to find motels with hourly rates now too. I worked at a place called the No-tell Motel where you could rent a room for two hours for ten bucks.

    • @arfriedman4577
      @arfriedman4577 2 місяці тому +2

      In nyc and nj, there's a good amount of short stay hotels and motels.

    • @alkaiable
      @alkaiable 2 місяці тому

      we have hourly, siesta hotels in Montreal.

    • @bobblowhard8823
      @bobblowhard8823 2 місяці тому +1

      And I'm sure they had the cleanest of bed sheets.

    • @AlexWolfLikesPie
      @AlexWolfLikesPie 13 днів тому

      or you just played cyberpunk lmao

  • @Telecolor-in3cl
    @Telecolor-in3cl 11 днів тому

    That Googie style was nice.

  • @donwald3436
    @donwald3436 Місяць тому

    Every one of these videos makes me feel old lol.

  • @rickloera9468
    @rickloera9468 Місяць тому

    Some motels back then had coin-operated televisions. I miss the hotels that had onsite restaurants. Some still do, but not even close to what they offered decades ago.

  • @herrmeistermann2426
    @herrmeistermann2426 2 місяці тому +4

    I remember as a young teenager travelling around Europe half a century ago, in the evening working girls, clubs, bars, and brothels would place visiting cards in or near the lifts.

  • @KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain
    @KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain Місяць тому +7

    TV’s, Postcards, Keys, Guestbooks, Bibles, Comforters, barbershop, shoeshine stands, other services, dialing “9” to get an outside line. All things to bring back.

    • @celtasnake
      @celtasnake Місяць тому +3

      We don´t need the bibles.

    • @tejaswoman
      @tejaswoman 13 днів тому

      ​@@celtasnakenor do we need to bring back dialing 9 for an outside line.

  • @matthrivnak6572
    @matthrivnak6572 2 місяці тому +1

    I remember the radio built into the wall!

    • @christopherjohnson2422
      @christopherjohnson2422 Місяць тому +1

      I remember seeing such a radio one time in the mid-60s, probably in Louisiana. As I recall, it was non-functioning but had not been removed. What I most remember is that the device did not have a tuning knob. Instead, it had preset switches for the four major radio networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, Mutual).