THE VALUE OF THE HOTEL BUS.
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How an American Hotel Proprietor Attracts and Retains Patronage by Using Motor Vehicles.
1-V7ItING many years of experience 11 in hotel management in America. Mr. R. W. Childs, manager of the Multnomah Hotel, Portland, Ore., has horned that the old maxim, "First impressions are lasting," applies particularly to this highly developed sphere of activity. With the marked advancement in motorbus efficiency the management decided that the time had arrived
when it could extend its service by offering additional facilities to patrons in the form of transport in a special type of bus to and from the railway terminals.
It was obviously necessary that the class of bus used, which in the majority of cases represented the hotel's first Contact with the patron, should be not only unusually attractive and luxurious, but extremely dependable, as one of the chief functions of the vehicle would be the maintenance of a schedule to conform with the arrival and departure of trains.
Careful consideration was given to every factor concerned with the operation of a passenger-carrying vehicle of this type Accordingly, a Mack bus chassis was purchased, the whedlbase of which was decreased from 16 sft. 4 ins. to 15 ft. in order to facilitate parking at the hotel and depot One feature Which appealed to the management was the fact that semi-pneumatic tyres could be used, inasmuch as rubber shock insulators ensured maximum riding comfort, and thus the hazards of a blow-out avoided at a time when Serious inconvenience might be caused the passengers by any delay in making connection with the railway.
The body and side panels were made in one piece without moulding to give the appearance of a sedan. The interior finish is of walnut veneer, a pleasing effect being secured by the use of light and dark shades. One of the features is the use of separate seats for all passengers. These are constructed of Oregon willow, and are upholstered in genuine hand-buffed blue leather cushions. The whole appearance of the bus compares favourably with that of the high-class private car.
Speaking of the equipment, Mr. Childs says :—" Few people realize that hotels are the modern city gate, and the great majority of travellers judge a city by the treatment and service they get at these modern gateways. As the Multnomah is one of the largest hotels on the Pacific coast, our new bus, together with a duplicate that has been ordered, will be kept busy transporting guests to and from the station. On special occasions people will be taken on sight-seeing tours over the Columbia River highway. Thus the vehicle will have its full raced of employment.