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Printed Bibles Replaced with Kindles in U.K. Hotel

In the rooms at the Hotel Indigo in Newcastle, U.K., you will no longer find the familiar Gideons Bible in the bedside table—instead you’ll find an electronic version of the Bible loaded on a Kindle eReader. As reported in by CNN, the program began as a project of the Intercontinental Hotels Group and was designed to allow guests not only to catch up on their Scripture but to download any books they like from the Kindle store during their stay. Other hotels may follow Hotel Indigo’s lead if the project is successful.

This project is not associated with Gideons International, but they are supportive of the program. “Anything to put the Bible in people’s hands is a good thing,” commented Gideons spokesman Ken Stephens. “It is a fascinating idea, and I’m sure somehow, some way, its time will come for us.” But Gideons has no immediate plans to implement the Kindle project themselves; their paper books are simply more economical for distribution on such a large scale.

Naturally, patrons who take the Kindle home with them after their stay will be charged for it. Guests downloading other books to the devices are charged to their rooms, and the books are purchased on the hotel’s account, so the guest cannot take the book with them when they leave.