Away from Home: Hotel Ephemera of French Indochina

As with any area with travelers for business and pleasure, various hotels appeared on the scene in French Indochina. Indeed, most were concentrated in the major cities, but even small towns could claim their local hotel or two.This exhibit surveys the range of hotels that served Indochina before the creation of the independent states of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The glimpse into the hotels is through a paper trail consisting of three basic categories:hotel stationeryhotel baggage labelspicture postcardsLarger hotels could afford to have personalized stationery printed for use by the hotel as well as guests. Typically, the stationery consisted of letter sheets and envelopes bearing the name of the hotel and its logo. Groups of hotels sharing common ownership took advantage of economy of scale by printing stationery that incorporated the names of several hotels. These stationery items could be used by any one of the hotels.Baggage labels would have helped in sorting the luggage of an arriving ship to facilitate getting the right bags to each hotel. But beyond their functionality, baggage labels were a cheap advertisement for the hotel. Guests who wanted to let their travels be known allowed hotel staff to affix labels to their luggage. Since the traveler’s baggage may be seen by a large number of potential customers, hotels sometimes created elaborate labels that far exceeded simply identifying the hotel. Bright colors with detailed scenes beaconed travelers to exotic destinations.Picture postcards were generally of two types: those that were scenic, as any notable building might be, and those freely distributed by the hotel for use by its guests. In the latter case, picture postcards represented another avenue for low-cost advertising by the hotel. Hotels hoped that messages home from tourists written on hotel postcards would stimulate follow-on business.A special problem exists for picture postcards. In French, the word “hotel” can mean a place that provides temporary lodging for people who are traveling, exactly the same as the word means in English. However, in French, the word can also apply to any substantial building. For example, “hotel de ville” means “city hall.” Because of the popularity of picture postcards, virtually every building in Indochinese cities appeared on them at one time or another. The caption correctly identified the building as a hotel of some sort, but it was not a place that offered temporary lodgings. Read more