The Hotels series contains 2,526 items dating from the 1870s to the 2000s, with the majority from the 1920s to the 1960s. Boxes 64-102.

While there were inns that provided lodging in America, the first hotel in the present sense of the word was the Tremont House, opened in Boston in 1829. It set many “firsts” for the industry, notably the first hotel with indoor plumbing, toilets and baths. Hotels are places for public lodging which usually have multiple floors with stairs and or elevators. They generally have internal corridors which lead to the rooms.

This series contains four subseries as Margolies had organized them: Hotels by state; Hotels, miscellaneous; Hotels, letterhead; and Hotels, guidebooks.

The largest of these subseries is Hotels by State, containing 2,226 items. Some states are further divided by location, such Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast, or Catskills. There are also a few items from Canada. This collection is mostly brochures focusing on hotel lodging, either for a specific hotel, or available lodging in an area.

The Hotels, Miscellaneous subseries contains 39 items, including napkins and doilies, receipts, coasters, and registration cards, illustrating what people may have collected as a souvenir from a hotel stay.

The Hotels, Letterhead subseries includes 196 items, mostly hotel stationery and envelopes. Some of these items feature images of the property, and sometimes contain bills, reservation letters or correspondence.

The Hotels, Guidebooks subseries contains 65 guidebooks listing hotels from a particular company throughout the nation, or for a state or region of the country. Some Guidebooks, such as the Travelers Hotel Guide were produced annually, and can be compared from year to year.