Hotels traditionally have Bibles because a Christian group called The Gideons International began donating them to hotels in the early 1900s as a way to offer spiritual comfort and spread their faith to travelers.

Why Do Hotels Have Bibles? (Quick Scoop)

Short answer

Most hotels have (or used to have) Bibles because Gideons International made it their mission to place free Bibles in every room, and over time this became a hospitality tradition meant to provide comfort and familiarity to guests.

How the tradition started

In 1899, a group of evangelical Christian businessmen formed The Gideons International, initially as a fellowship of traveling salesmen.

By 1908, they decided to start placing Bibles in hotel rooms so that travelers away from home could easily access scripture.

They approached hotels and offered to supply enough Bibles for every room at no cost, which made it easy for hotel owners to say yes.

By the 1920s the practice had spread widely across the United States and then to other countries, becoming part of hotel culture rather than just a religious project.

“Hotel Bibles” are often called “Gideon Bibles” because they’re usually supplied by The Gideons International, not by the hotel itself.

Why hotels liked having Bibles

Over time, several practical and cultural reasons kept the tradition going:

  • Spiritual comfort: Many guests found the Bible comforting when traveling, especially during stressful trips, illness, or loneliness.
  • Sense of familiarity: For Christian guests, opening a drawer and seeing a Bible felt like a small piece of home in an unfamiliar place.
  • Hospitality image: Hotels liked being seen as caring about guests’ emotional and spiritual well‑being, not just their physical comfort.
  • Free and easy: Gideons donate the Bibles and handle distribution, so hotels don’t pay for them; local Gideon members coordinate with properties and deliver the books.
  • Wider outreach: Gideons also place Bibles in hospitals, jails, and military bases, so hotels fit into a broader effort to reach people “on the road” in life.

In many cases, guests who feel they really need the Bible are quietly allowed (and even encouraged by Gideons) to take it with them, with the expectation that it will eventually be replaced.

Why you see fewer Bibles now

The tradition is changing, especially in the last couple of decades:

  • Decline in religious materials: One industry survey showed that the share of U.S. hotels with religious materials in rooms dropped from about 95% in 2006 to around 79% by 2017.
  • More secular, more diverse guests: As societies become more religiously diverse and more secular, some hotels remove Bibles to avoid implying a preference for one faith or to keep rooms “neutral.”
  • Brand choices: Some chains (like certain lifestyle or boutique brands aimed at younger travelers) choose not to stock Bibles at all, while more traditional brands still do.
  • Digital alternatives: With smartphones and hotel Wi‑Fi, guests can easily access religious texts online or via apps, reducing the perceived need for a printed book in the drawer.

So today you’ll see a mix: some hotels still have Gideon Bibles in every room, some have a few available at the front desk, and others skip them completely.

Other religious (or no) books

Because guests now come from many faiths and backgrounds, some hotels have adapted the idea:

  • Multiple texts: In some places, you might find a Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Book of Mormon, or other texts alongside (or instead of) a Bible.
  • On‑request only: Certain hotels keep religious books at reception and provide them only if guests ask, which they see as a more inclusive approach.
  • Digital menus: Emerging tech ideas include offering religious texts via in‑room tablets, apps, or TV menus in multiple languages, so guests can choose what they want privately.

This shift reflects a move from “one standard Bible for everyone” to “options if you want them,” while still keeping the original idea of offering spiritual or reflective reading to travelers.

Forum and “trending” angle

On forums and Q&A sites, people still ask “why do hotels have Bibles?” or “am I allowed to take one?” because the practice feels a bit old‑school compared to modern, minimalist or tech‑heavy hotel design.

Common themes in those discussions include:

  • Curiosity about Gideons and how the books get there.
  • Debates about whether religious materials belong in a neutral commercial space.
  • Jokes about guests only noticing the Bible when they’re bored and the Wi‑Fi is slow.
  • Practical questions about whether taking the Bible is “stealing” or actually expected.

While it’s not “breaking news,” the topic comes up regularly whenever people talk about hotel culture, religion in public spaces, or nostalgia for the old‑school motel experience.

TL;DR: Hotels have Bibles mainly because Gideons International began donating them over 100 years ago as a free service, and it became a hospitality tradition meant to give travelers spiritual comfort, though many modern hotels are quietly phasing them out or replacing them with more diverse or digital options.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.