By the 1920s, the name Gideon had become synonymous with the free Bible distribution. Whenever new hotels would open in town, a member of the organization would meet with the managers and present them with a free copy of the Bible. Other religious groups, like the Mormons, began offering hotels their own religious literature to compete in the nightstand drawer. In 2006, almost every single hotel (95 percent) put a Bible in their bedside drawer. Related: Why You Should Think Twice Before Using a Hotel Hair Dryer Most major hotel franchises allow individual hotel owners to decide whether or not to stock their drawers with religious scripture.

And as more hotel chains aim to attract Millennial travelers, they are taking Bibles out of their rooms. They’re also one of the most highly-targeted marketing demographics. Some hotels began stocking the texts of multiple religions. Related: What You Need to Know About Your Hotel Room Kettle Gideon International — the group responsible for distributing electric water heater Suppliers Gideon’s Bibles — was only formed in 1899 (when two Christian salesmen ended up sharing a hotel room). When Marriott opened its new Moxy and Edition hotels, they decided they wouldn’t put religious books in the room because the “books don’t fit the personality of the brands,” a spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times. Millennials are the least religious generation in American history.

They would then offer to furnish every room of the hotel with a copy. Today that number is only 79 percent. And although ditching hotel Bibles may seem like a youthful move, the concept of the in-drawer Bible is actually only about a century old. Over the past decade, about 15 percent of hotels have stopped providing in-room religious materials. Bibles are disappearing from hotel drawers around the country, according to a survey from STR, a hospitality analytics company..October 31, 2017 If Rocky Raccoon were to check into his room today, there’s a lesser chance that he would find Gideon’s Bible. Now there’s a new, Millennial-focused amenity that comes standard: about 98 percent of hotels now offer in-room Wi-Fi. And it wasn’t until 1908 that they began providing hotels with Bibles. So those that miss the bedside Bible can now instead browse a digital version of whichever scripture they prefer