The hotel Bible is getting an update. It's getting the e-reader treatment and going digital.
Every room of the 148-room Hotel Indigo in Newcastle, UK now has an Amazon Kindle where the bible once was. However, the timeless holy book can be found preloaded on the modern e-reader. The hotel is the first to offer the service.
Those who follow other religions can also download any other religious text for £5 ($7.50) or less while staying at the hotel. Those who want a little more reading material than the holy book can purchase regular works of fiction. The download costs are added to hotel bills, the Telegraph reports.
The city of Newcastle is big on literary heritage. The city's library is the biggest outside of London as it carries over 150,000 books. The city was also a large English print center during the 18th century. So locals may not appreciate the digitalization of the Holy Bible in the hotel.
For those who are uneasy about the replacement of the paper copy of the bible, they're not alone. The hotel itself is just trying out the new system to see what guests think. The trial lasts until July 16. The hotel will then decide if the Kindle will stay or go and will consider expanding the service to the hotel chain's 44 hotels around the world if is successful.
Adam Munday, the hotel's general manager explained to the Telegraph, "in the 18th Century, Newcastle was one of the largest print centers in Britain and we're in Grainger Town, close to the Literary and Philosophical Society. We wanted to reflect this literary history in a very contemporary way, so are offering guests the use of cutting-edge Kindles pre-loaded with The Bible, instead of the more traditional hardcopy Gideon's Bible that they would expect to find in a hotel."
A bibles are a common stolen item from hotels, some may be wondering how the hotels plan to prevent theft of the pricey device. There is no mention of how the hotel plans to prevent theft, but Gizmodo speculates that guest's credit cards will be charged if the device goes missing.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
