This book will ultimately make the reader look at the next hotel they stay at in a new light. There is in under 200 pages a lot of ground covered here from the arts to war to the treatment of refugees. Featuring photographs, movie stills, paintings and even abstract art exhibitions the author shows the diversity of its usage and place in society and explores the concept of “occupancy.” I particular liked the chapter involving the hotel's place in cinema history which included one of my favourite films the great German silent movie The Last Laugh (1924) as well as such classics as Lost in Translation and Grand Hotel.

In addition to the arts we see how the hotel has played a vital role in conflict whether being taken over by military forces or used as a sanctuary by war correspondents. In fact one can say that in all modern conflicts a hotel will usually feature in some capacity whether it is Iraq, Bosnia or the Lebanon. The final chapter looks out how refugees have been accommodated in hotels and the repercussions and reactions that this has engendered.

If you are looking for a thought provoking scholarly examination of a modern structure that can be both elitist and democratic, welcoming and hostile then this could be well worth a read. I certainly found it intellectually stimulating.