SUPPLY AND DEMAND
So, I am not all giddy about the value of the book because I understand most of those values are unchanging store fronts that don’t care if they ever sell the book, so it’s a manufactured or somewhat arbitrary evaluation. And I looked at sold copies on ebay, and there haven’t been any in a long time… so it’s spurious to think the values are correct, or that there’s any interest in the book at all. What’s more, I am collecting these specific copies for people, and not to flip. But this is wild, and just an accidental but interesting notion of supply and demand.
I bought up about 20+ of Shelley Berman’s hilarious classic “A Hotel Is a Place” about 10 years ago for a few bucks each. I realized it was a rare and superb gift for hospitality professionals, and very few people know about it. It had been forgotten by history and they were sitting for dollars in goodwill bins all over the world. Apparently I bought all of them… because they’re selling for $75 – 400 now. LOL Fascinating. If you can find a copy, and you’re a dyed in the wool hotel professional, you will have the most hilarious read of your life. I’d say my purchasing of this, prior to Shelley passing away in 2017, set the market on fire. =/
Also, little tidbit… in about 2010, I communicated with Shelley through Facebook, and we had talked about adapting the book into a series or film, and we were supposed to write a treatment. NO JOKE. Never happened… he started getting long in the tooth, and his assistant said he wasn’t up to it. I might try a round two. But, I was shocked in researching and am just dropping the links here. I’ll research on Reddit how to define if a book is really of merit or value (not that I care, I just love the book), but this is bonkers. While researching I just started dropping links here so I guess it’s a blog post! Read on for the comedy.
$50 – $450 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=%22a+hotel+is+a+place%22&_sacat=0&_sop=15
$92.29 https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-hotel-is-a-place-_shelley-berman/504345/#edition=1884332&idiq=7061772
$77 – $324 https://smile.amazon.com/Hotel-Place-Shelley-Berman/dp/084310211X
$75EU https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/a-hotel-is-a-place/author/shelley-berman/
$296.84 https://picclick.it/Berman-Shelley-Un-Hotel-Is-A-Posizionalo-Autografato-164943006530.html
$330.86 https://www.abebooks.com/Hotel-Place-Berman-Shelley-Price-Stern/30776531232/bd
$319+ https://www.rarebookcellar.com/pages/books/80753/shelley-berman/a-hotel-is-a-place-signed-1st
$325.95 https://www.biblio.com/book/hotel-place-signed-1st-berman-shelley/d/795374170
$450 https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Hotel-Place-BERMAN-Shelley-Price-Stern/893039263/bd
Different $450 https://www.abaa.org/book/123437563
& Different $450 https://www.betweenthecovers.com/pages/books/92654/shelley-berman/a-hotel-is-a-place
THE BOOK ITSELF
here’s two bits from the book. It’ll be interesting how people feel about them in modern context, but I do think they stand the test of time, and have become too dated. The Room Service one, possibly:
The Little Soaps letters actually went viral as something real in the last 20 years, but was eventually snoped back to the book. =) The line breaks are meant to represent literal and actual physical letters written by hotel staff and the guest.
TINY SOAPS
Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily.
I hope this is satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid
Dear Maid — I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won’t need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc.
Please remove them.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn’t remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can of further assistance.
Your regular maid,
Dotty
Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this A.M. that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 745 AM and don’t get back before 530 or 6PM. That’s the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty. I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bath-room shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me?
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you,
Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don’t want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here. All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily (sic). I don’t know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don’t know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess:
On shelf under medicine cabinet – 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
On Kleenex dispenser – 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.
On bedroom dresser – 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
Inside medicine cabinet – 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
In shower soap dish – 6 Camay, very moist.
On northeast corner of tub – 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.
On northwest corner of tub – 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.
S. Berman
ROOM SERVICE
FWIW, I can’t tell if the Room Service joke has aged poorly, or it’s simply a self-aware nod to the people doing the real, hard work in our industry, and diligently working as part of a greater team working towards a common goal. Immigrants have powered out industry for*EVER*, and in these times of wage issues and staffing complexity, many of us believe immigration reform is the key to the future of operating our future in hospitality. That being said, this is from a different era, and feel free to let me know your thoughts.
IRD: Morny, rune sore-bees.
Guest: Oh sorry, I thought I dialed room service.
IRD: Rye. Rune sore-bees. Morny. Jewish to odor sunteen?
Guest: Yes, order something. This is room thirteen oh-five. I want . . .
IRD: Okay, torino-fie. Yes plea?
Guest: I’d like some bacon and eggs.
IRD: Ow July then?
Guest: What?
IRD: Aches. Ow July then? Pry, boy, pooch . . . ?
Guest: Oh, the eggs! How do I like them! Sorry, Scrambled, please.
IRD: Ow July thee baycome? Crease?
Guest: Crisp will be fine.
IRD: Okay. An Santos?
Guest: What?
IRD: Santo. July Santos?
Guest: Uh . . . I don’t know . . . I don’t think so.
IRD: No? Judo one toes?
Guest: Look, I really feel bad about this, but I just don’t know what judo-one-toes means. I’m sorry . . .
IRD: Toes! Toes! Why Jew Don Juan toes? Ow bow eenlish mopping we bother?
Guest: English muffin! I’ve got it! Toast! You were saying toast! Fine. An English muffin will be fine.
IRD: We bother?
Guest: No. Just put the bother on the side.
IRD: Wad?
Guest: I’m sorry. I meant butter. Butter on the side.
IRD: Copy?
Guest: I feel terrible about this but . . .
IRD: Copy. Copy, tea, mill . . .
Guest: Coffee!! Yes, coffee please. And that’s all.
IRD: One Minnie. Ass rune torino-fie, strangle-aches, crease baycome, tossy eenlish mopping we bother honey sigh, and copy. Rye?
Guest: Whatever you say.
IRD: Okay. Tenjewberrymud.
Guest: You’re welcome.
THANK YOU SHELLEY BERMAN.
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