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TEXAS HOTEL NEWS
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Through San Antonio to Monterrey.
Old Spanish Trail Director Writes of Promotion of Travel to Mexico with San Antonio as Starting Point—Interesting Facts About Monterrey and Environs.
Mexico City. The AAA and the OST hot li receive many travelerson 1 heir \\ay, and the reactions of those people, when they Hud they cannot drive through, is very distressing.
The border cities give a wrong impression of Mexico. The visit to Monterrey will be a delightful surprise.
By H'arkal Ayhics.
Two weeks ago an important group traveled by bus to Monterrey, Mexico, where they conferred with t tie ollicials of the Monterrey Chamber of Commerce and of tlio Mexiean-Ameriean Automobile Association (AAA) to facilitate tlie travel movement through San Antonio and South Texas to Monterrey with 1 tie cooperation of 1 lie nation-wide otlices and connections of the American Automobile Assoeiat ion, t lie Greyhound Bus Company and the Old Spanish Trail.
The party included ollicials and representatives of tlie national and tlie local
SMITH S IIOLLYWC OD STUDIO
HARRAL AYRES j For his work in developing t lie Old Spanish Trail and its Spanish historical background he was decorated by 1 lie King of Spain as a Knight Commander in tlie Royal Order of Isabella Catolica, the Spanish order commemorating the life and work of Queen Isabella. Sir. Avres was one of the party on the Monterrey, Mexico, trip and engaged -with lhe others in focusing travel attention on Texas. The Spanish con-deeoration cross shows in I lie photo.
AAA, the Greyhound 1ms company, tlie Old Spanish Trail, t lie Baker hotels, and th&Laredo Chamber of Commerce. At Monterrey, oliieials, citizens, hotels, restaurants and others joined in planning for tiie comfort and proper care of all visitors.
At Laredo the Chamber of Commerce will give complete aid respecting border regulations. These regulations naturally prevail on both sides of Ihe border. The
Laredo Chamber happily combines botli American and Mexican service. Commercial intercourse there is close, so they are in a position to Help American travelers in many ways.
TheAAAollice in San Antonio (San Antonio Automobile League) lias been moved to a fine location at ihe Gunter Hotel arcade and is being expanded into a travel headquarters of world-wide service, and kept open night and day.
The Gunter Hotel maintainsa Mexican information bureau to servo International 1 ravel and Ihe Old Spanish Trail contacts wi'li all travel organizations and its travel literature is distributed by them all over the continent. The OST headquarters lias been at the Gunter Hotel so long its address is known everywhere—letters of inquiry about this Southern country come to them even from foreign countries,
This shows that an international clearing-house for travel information and service is already well rooted in Sail Antonio.
Millions Are Traveling.
Millions of people a'e traveling somewhere all flie time. Many go to Europe. These present moves are intended as aids in turning a travel tide towards Texas, and all Texas will benefit.
Three hotels at Monterrey are being made ready for tlie best class of travel. One, the. new Conde Monterrey, will be ready this summer. The Colonial will be ready before summer: it is pleasingly Mexican type, nicely located, and provided with all conveniences. Tiie Anoint is being refurnished and improved: it is now an inviting hostelry of old Spanish type, tiie remodeling not interfering with present accommodations.
Travelers to Monterrey will find a paved road of 30S miles from San Antonio. Monterrey has 136,000 population and is an industrial, cultural and historical city. The surrounding mountains and valleys are beautiful and devoted to agricultural and Industrial pursuits. A stay of a week for visits to surrounding places will be well repaid in scenic and educational values. Many Mexicans in Monterrey speak English.
Laredo is tiie largest port of entry on tiie border.
A drive through to Mexico City will not lie comfortable nor desirable for a year or so yet. It is U33 miles from Monterrey.- Much careless publicity has been put out from San Antonio that) leads people to believe they can drive to
Relations of Hotels
and Hotel Periodicals
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:The editor of Keeler’s Pacific Coast Hotel Weeklyiwas in conversatfion the ol her day with tlie manager of an important hotel,iwhen llie latter said: “1 have been trying for some tiine/tq make Mr.t It—, owner of this hotel, realize tiie importance to hotels of advertising in hotel papers.‘ fie is a jceeji business man, but had never been so placed before so that his pa.tronage came/in an important way from people in his own line of business. Cine grocer docs not himself pa'ionize :i.' fellow-grocer, nor does he’,recommend him.'to anyjih'e else. Not so i,n tiie hotel biisfiness w ion conducted on a high plane. Much o jits business comps lib it from tier ilies because hotelm.cn send it. \ I /
“A short time since I se it) a couple of people to a hotel in anotli|rmart*of tiie coast, and in a few days thereafter there calife from that hotel jotje family who have beeji slaying in myl house nearly twol months and,are paying *200 limont h, besides what they spend for flieir meals. ' In t'iiis ctf^e it was t he result ?of my immediate effort to1, promote! good (feeling outlie part of another hp‘e\ manager. Somatimes-i-I know from /experience—if is tile hotel paper which creates 1 lie needed coni act. For instance,' a; hotel-man ill another part of 1 lie coiy.tijv u-ads j of myl house just as he is Called on for a suggestion a'e to where a dc,.afi ing guest shall stop, aii(l the useful;- suggestion is j inadejfrom w hich at t his £nd of t lid line ! 1 and my house benefit. ’ The hotel ; newspaper kieps th^ hotel boys in jdose louelkyvit h one another. Jjltjalso enables 1 lie readersJof llie hotel paper to form a fairly good’ judgment ot» a hotel they have never Veen, and eveifof the man in charge, whom lie inajy have nojver met.
“In my view,” said the gentleman, “we have three important instruments to help bring; business frail I afar.! One
is correspondence, another' is association, and Hie jhird 'is ’ paper, and the'liitter.jif we use is working alii lie t line. “—Kelli r’s Pacific Coast Hotel Wei\kly.; i f |
he hotel lie |iotel it aright.
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