Perhaps unsurprisingly, more and more hotels are happy to show off their spookier side as a result. “They ditched the [premise of], ‘Oh, people may be scared,’ and said, ‘Wow, people will come and I can market it, so we’re a haunted hotel,’” said Melchiorri. The inspiration for Stephen King’s novel-turned-film “The Shining,” the 420-room grande dame, whose imposing facade is nearly as dramatic as its Rocky Mountains backdrop, is arguably the world’s most famous haunted hotel. From a messaging and marketing perspective, hotels should share their ghost stories or spooky lore “in a way that they don’t surprise anyone,” Orr said. “My experience is, whether they will admit it or not, most hotels have something that goes bump in the night,” Hunnings said.

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Persons: Brian Hunnings, you’re, “, Anthony Melchiorri, ”, Katherine Orr, Elizabeth Harlow, Stephen King's, Helen H, Richardson, ’ earshot, ’, ’ ”, Stephen King’s, Stephen King Suite, –, Steve Azar, Vincent Alban, Hunnings, ” Hunnings, ” Steven Azar, Gifford, Azar, Don’t, ” Azar, Kumar Sriskandan, ” Orr, chambermaid Sallie White, Orr Organizations: CNN, Red Cliffs, CNN Travel, Hotels of America, Hospitality, Hyatt, Marriott, Denver Post, National Retail Federation, Stanley Film Center, Boston Globe, Cliffs, of Film, Western Heritage, “ Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Alamo Locations: Red, Moab , Utah, Colorado, Estes Park , Colorado, Gifford, Provincetown, Moab, Provincetown , Massachusetts, San Antonio , Texas