For a reader, there is nothing worse than finishing a book mid-trip and having nothing else to read.
If you stay at one of the luxury hotels offering Bedside Reading, though, you'll never have to worry about that again.
The brainchild of Jane Ubell Meyer, Bedside Reading matches up books and hotels so guests are welcomed into their room with a stack of new titles that they can even bring home with them.
Personally, I would never leave.
Here's what Ubell Meyer had to say about this unique program, and why you'll only want to stay in hotels that offer Bedside Reading from now on.
As an avid reader, I love everything about this idea! How did you come up with it?
I am also an avid reader and a “book-ie.” I am always reading one or two books at a time and I am the one all of my friends come to and ask, “What should I read next?”
It started in 2002 when I created a gifting program in the Hamptons. I worked with hotels to give away highly curated gift bags to their guests. The Hamptons is “the place” during summer, and brands, authors and publishers were excited to their get their snacks, products or books in the hands of influencers to create word-of-mouth buzz around town.
Then, in 2005, I met with one of the executives of the Mandarin Oriental and presented the idea of placing advance copies and bestselling books by the bedside in each room in their hotel. It was a great success. Guests loved discovering books in their rooms that were free to take home.
Unfortunately, though, I had to put that program on hold because my Madison & Mulholland celebrity gifting business was keeping me on the road almost every month. We were one of the original companies to host celebrity gifting lounges and create ultra-luxury gift bags for Hollywood’s film, music and TV award nominees and winners. We were doing ten events every year and were just too busy to continue Bedside Reading.
However, there comes a point in business and life, when you have to examine what really makes you happy. I reminded myself of my passion for books and reading and, this year, I reached back out to my friends at the Mandarin Oriental New York as well as some of the world’s top publishers. Bedside Reading was now officially born and our first two books were from New York Times bestselling authors, Salman Rushdie, with The Golden House, and Kelly Corrigan’s Tell Me More. What a great way to start the program!
What was the initial reaction from hotels?
A few days after delivering the books to the Mandarin Oriental New York, I received a call from the hotel telling me the books were flying out of the rooms and asking if we could send more books immediately. Guests loved Bedside Reading so much they were even mentioning it on the hotel’s surveys. It was then I knew I had something special on my hands.
How do you choose your hotels?
It's based on a variety of categories including exclusivity, price-point, luxury, demographic, clientele etc. We now have four different programs: Bedside Reading, Bedside Reading Hamptons (which stemmed from the original Hampton Gift Bag), Bedside Reading Business and, launching this summer, Bedside Reading Beach.
What’s the process like – are books put in every room? How many books are put there?
Each month new books are placed in every room/suite. Each hotel decides how many books they want to put on the bedside, ranging from one to three.
The hotel then provides signage clearly indicating that the books are absolutely free for the guests to take home. No crazy mini-bar charges, we promise! Our amazing hotel partners also promote the program on social media, newsletter and through PR efforts.
You have an amazing selection of books from literary fiction and romance to thrillers and biographies. It kind of looks like my own bedside table! How do you choose which books to feature?
Each book is hand-selected by our team of avid readers and then submitted for approval to each hotel partner. We try to provide enough books to the hotels each month so they can replenish the rooms with the same book as needed.
We are always searching for books that resonate with one of our team members, plus we work very closely with top publishers including HarperCollins, Macmillan, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House and, of course independent publishers like GoRead.com as well as directly with authors and speaker’s bureaus..
Do all the hotels get the same books?
Each hotel in the program will receive its own curated selection of books. Some books will be at a variety of hotels and some at just one.
Can you match books with guests?
We work closely with each of our hotel partners to understand their clientele so we can provide a sampling of books that their guests will appreciate.
If guests have already read the books on their bedside, can they call down and request different ones?
Most of our books have not even come out yet. In fact we place advance copies in many of our hotels, so it's unlikely they will have read the book.
Just to clarify again because people will think this is too good to be true: guests get to bring the books home at no charge?
Books are 100% free, no charge. We want the guests to add the books to their own libraries or pass them along. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to promote books, and the guests staying at these hotels are influencers, VIP’s, celebrities and C-Suite executives. We know they are readers and we wanted to create a unique guest amenity that they would really appreciate. I love to quote Lin Manuel Miranda’s words in Hamilton, “I want to be in the room where it happens.” Well, our books are in the rooms where it happens!
What have been guests’ reactions?
Guests are loving Bedside Reading! I just met someone at the airport last week who stayed at one of our hotel partners and loved the books. It was a huge moment for me.
How many hotels are you in now?
We are currently in seven hotels: Acqualina Resort & Spa, Mandarin Oriental New York, Mandarin Oriental DC, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica, The Simpson House Inn in Santa Barbara, and we’ll be adding two more by the end of the summer. We are also researching potential hotels in Toronto.
Is the program expanding?
Yes! We are launching Bedside Reading Beach this summer at Dream Inn in Santa Cruz -- a beautiful luxury hotel on the beach.
Also, Acqualina is expanding our program and starting a children’s Bedside Reading program, where they will be reading out loud to children who are guests at the hotel.
Coming in the fall we are expanding our Bedside Reading Business program. We know business leaders read business books, and we want to cater to their needs. We will be focusing on expanding into the five-star business hotel world with books by Dr. Jeffrey Magee, Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves, Patrick Lencioni, Stephen Shapiro, Natasha Hazlett, Fred Kofman, Kevin Kruse, Daniel Coyle, Leah Weiss, PhD, Dianne Collins, Fredrik Eklund, Kevin Brown and others.
AND anyone can enter to win our Bedside Reading monthly book collection. We choose one winner each month and we ship for free.
