Flashing Neon > A Sign + A Story with A Happy Ending About Hospitality

Remarkable, as noted here in the New Urban Downtown Mesa with saving The Diving Lady and neon-inspired mural art just off Main Street, sometimes it takes a different point-of-view from someone like Paul Lucas who wrote this article that appeared on Bloomberg .
It starts off like Rod Sterling introducing a new episode of The Twilight Zone, but quickly veers into a historical context.
The classic “(No) Vacancy” sign may soon become another victim of shifting travel habits and market forces.

"You’ve been driving for a good chunk of the day, you’re pulling into an unfamiliar town, and you need a place to stay for the night. Happily, there’s a comforting sight just ahead—a motel with an illuminated “Vacancy” sign, the “No” thankfully darkened.

The “(No) Vacancy” sign, a beacon of hospitality and/or disappointment, has greeted road-weary American travelers for generations. But just as paper maps and toll booth clerks increasingly seem quaint relics of the analog age, the classic “(No) Vacancy” sign may soon become another victim of shifting travel habits and market forces.

First, some quick historical context. . .

The digital revolution isn’t the only threat to vacancy indicators. Another factor is the dwindling number of independent mom-and-pop motels and the corresponding growth of chains such as Days Inn and Super 8....“They want you to walk in not knowing whether a room is available. So if they’re full, they can send you to another one of their properties in the vicinity and keep the business in-house. It’s a strategic decision.”

In addition, Rogers said, omitting vacancy indicators allows for overbooking (“If it’s late and you’re fully booked, but someone with a reservation hasn’t shown up, you can sell the same room twice”) and gives managers wiggle room when sizing up questionable customers. "If people come in asking for a room, and you think they look like trouble—rowdy college students, say—if you have ‘Vacancy’ out there, you’re kind of obligated to give them a room,” he said. “Without the sign, you can just say, ‘Sorry, we’re full,’ even if you’re not. That’s why you’re seeing fewer and fewer of these signs. They’re figuring out that they’re better off without them.”

HAPPY ENDING: It’s worth noting, however, that not everyone in the lodging industry is all that concerned about the current state of vacancy indicators or the prospect of their demise. Several motel owners contacted for this article seemed disinterested in the topic. One responded by asking, “What the hell kind of story to write is that?” and then hanging up. Which just goes to show that hospitality is where you find it, no matter which sign, if any, is illuminated out front.
[images are those published with original article]

Sounds a lot like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz