You thought hotels were for tourists, didn't you?
Well, you are right. Tourists also go to hotels, but so do Israelis and not necessarily to visit those tourists.
Israelis use hotels for various purposes.
Conventions. There are probably more conventions in Israel per capita than in just about any other location in the world. Israelis love to go to conventions and they listen to lectures and see exhibitions about their field of interest.
Oh, sure, there are conventions all over that are made for specialized population groups, but in Israel this is much more common.
Interestingly, those conventions are often held with the attendance of speakers from abroad. This is seen as a way to boost the authoritativeness of the lecture and as a result, many of the lectures are in English. The Israelis don't seem to mind and everybody listens and they even ask questions respectfully in English.
That's right. Respectfully. When somebody speaks in English it seems to command respect.
Hotels are also used for vacationing and sometimes special rates are given to Israelis. The special rates are sometimes offset by the fact that Israelis have to pay VAT whereas foreigners don't and the fact that foreigners sometimes go to the hotel as part of a general tour package whereas Israelis have to pay for the hotel, but still the rates are still reasonable enough for some well to do Israelis to spend Jewish holidays or vacation time there as a special treat.
Another important use for hotels is for couples who go on dates. The dates are often held in the hotel lobby which means that you as a visitor may not be able to find an empty seat in the lobby. It's often filled with couples who are dating. That should be fine. You can now do your sociological study of Israelis and their dating patterns and contrast it with the dating patterns that you are familiar with back in your home.
You didn't come to the hotel to sit in the lobby anyhow, did you?
Those dates often lead to weddings.
Israelis are not yet as cynical about marriage as people from abroad, but that is certainly coming. Israeli weddings are typically very large, larger than those in many other countries. Everybody is invited and the loud band usually encourages the crowd to be as leibidek as could be.
Don't expect to find formality in Israeli weddings. There won't be any tuxedos. It's rare to find a assigned seating and so on. There is rarely a flowergirl or a bridesmaid. Indeed, it's a come as you are event with people dressed neatly but sometimes in army uniforms or worse.
What weddings lack in formality they compensate for in ruach-spirit.
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Keywords: Conference, Dating, Institutions, Wedding
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