Wayfarer Hotel's no-questions policy

The Wayfarer Hotel's no-questions policy made the lodging house available to men and women alike, asking no explanations of its guests while offering little beyond inexpensive nightly board. Its openness was inseparable from its austerity: the house promised nothing, and lodgers were expected to tolerate the shortcomings that came with its very small tariff.

Policy and practical terms

The policy was firm: the Wayfarer Hotel did not discriminate between the sexes, did not question its lodgers, and promised them nothing. It charged only the smallest possible tariff for a night's board. The arrangement offered access on minimal terms rather than comfort or assurances; as the narration observes, a guest accepting such a low price would naturally be prepared to put up with a great deal.

Appearance and thrift

The establishment could easily be mistaken for a male-only lodging house. Its sign showed a jaunty male traveler with a bundle but contained no words, while a brass spittoon on the veranda, a lean-to privy in the alley, and a lack of drapes reinforced its austere appearance. These details, however, signified economy, not a restriction on women. Lydia Wells, a current resident with a strong instinct for thrift, had reasoned that the low cost justified the conditions. When Aubert Gascoigne crossed from the Gridiron Hotel to visit her, the policy's practical setting was thus introduced through the contrast between the house's masculine-looking exterior and its actual openness to lodgers of either sex.