Behind the Scenes in a Hotel

"Behind the Scenes in a Hotel" by Consumers' League of New York City is a detailed look at the lives of women working in hotels in the early 1900s. The book acts like a complete report, showing how hotels grew from small businesses to big ones, which made managing workers harder. It mainly talks about the tough situations for women employees, like their long work hours, low pay, and where they lived. It shares what the Consumers' League found in their 1921 research, including real stories from women who worked in different hotel jobs such as cleaning, serving food, and helping in the kitchen. The book uncovers problems like very long shifts, little pay, and bad living situations, often using the workers' own words to describe their day-to-day troubles. It also points out how the tipping system makes things worse because it makes income uncertain and keeps workers unhappy. Finally, the book suggests changes to the rules to make work better in hotels, like shorter hours, better living places, and getting rid of tipping, showing why serious changes were needed in a major American industry.