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PaperclipPerfector  14hr ago (text post)   636 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026

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I came across the link to a Facebook page for Vanished Florida. I see a lot of hotels in Miami even back to 1910-1920. How did hotels work in 1920?

My understanding of the transportation system in 1920 is a northerner going to Miami the trip would take days. I don’t think you could drive a car from NYC to Miami in 1920. So maybe railroad or boat? I’m guessing a 2-day trip that was fairly expensive?

A modern hotel is essentially transients that stay on average probably 2-3 days. Would a hotel in 1920 in a place like Miami be much longer stays? For the obvious reason that you’re not traveling to a place that takes 4-5 days travel time round trip to stay for a day or two.

If my assumptions are correct it would be interesting staying in a fancy hotel in a vacation destination where everyone is staying month. There would be value in meeting other guests.

Here’s the link. https://www.facebook.com/share/1UKPu8znC9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Definitely longer stays. You can see it in a lot of period fiction. Some of that comes down to social class but it applied to labor too.

Prior to rail access, you had coaching inns for travel and boarding houses for longer stays. I think this shaded a little more smoothly from “staying” to “renting.” You had flophouses (where nobody would stay for long if they could help it) all the way up through factory town lodgings or urban apartments. The big hotels take off once railways concentrate a lot more traffic in one spot.

I’m pretty sure individuals used to offer rooms more, too. Some of the quirks of Remains of the Day come from the butler protagonist staying at various private homes which operate more like a bed and breakfast. This is as he’s making a multi-day trip across…England.

I’m pretty sure individuals used to offer rooms more, too. Some of the quirks of Remains of the Day come from the butler protagonist staying at various private homes which operate more like a bed and breakfast. This is as he’s making a multi-day trip across…England.

So... AirBnBs?

Yes, but with a particularly gormless, class-driven sort of trust.

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