With the cheapness of sterling against the dollar promising to
bring American tourists to this country next year in unprecedented numbers, the state of the hotel industry becomes a question of national importance. If that is recognised, as it ought to be, the question of action by the Government on a national scale should be considered. The combined effect of the cost of replacements, in which purchase-tax figures largely, and the financial burdens imposed by the Catering Act is such as to force prices to a height which makes a stay at a good hotel a formidable matter for a family of three or four persons. Rich Americans can no doubt well afford it, but college professors and professional men of one kind or another, who should be particularly welcome guests, are not necessarily rich, and it is in the national interest that good accommodation should be available to them at reasonable cost. The suggestion of the con- struction of special "motels "—hideous word—at a low rate for motorists may or may not bear fruit. But in America it is (or used ,to be) possible to get decent, if modest, accommodation almost any- where at a recognised charge of a dollar a night. Long motor tours are thus made an attractive proposition.
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