Why Do Hotels Have Bibles?
As you unpack your suitcase in a hotel room, you may notice a Bible tucked quietly into a bedside drawer, often stamped with the words “Placed by the Gideons.” For more than a century, these books have been a familiar sight for travelers, particularly in the United States. Gideons International, a Christian evangelical organization founded in the United States in 1899, began placing Bibles in hotel rooms in 1908, starting with a 25-room Montana hotel. The effort soon expanded into a global mission. The Gideons believed that travelers away from home might turn to scripture for comfort, guidance, and spiritual reflection.
The custom spread rapidly, because the Gideons—and other similar organizations—supplied and replaced the Bibles free of charge, making the arrangement simple and appealing for hotel owners. Some proprietors welcomed the Bibles as a way to support the Gideons’ Christian mission, while others viewed them as lending an air of respectability and morality to their establishments. Since its founding, the organization claims to have placed more than 2.5 billion Bibles and New Testaments through hotels and other ministries, with editions available in about 90 languages across some 190 countries. Although most Gideon Bibles have traditionally been printed in the King James Version, more recent distributions have also included the New King James Version and the English Standard Version.
In recent decades Bibles tucked into hotel drawers have become less ubiquitous. Some hotels no longer provide religious texts, while others include scriptures from multiple faiths or offer them only upon request. Critics argue that placing a single religious text in all rooms does not reflect the diversity of modern travelers. Even so, millions of hotel Bibles remain in circulation, and the practice continues as a lasting example of the intersection of religion, travel, and public culture.
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