Manhattan club offers cheap lodging for 'Those Who Serve'

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Wagers
  • Air Force Print News
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (AFPN) --  A vacation to New York City is just plain expensive. After taking a three-hour no-frills flight, then shelling out $45 for a taxi ride from the airport into the city, the last thing you want to do is to pay $200 to $300 each night for a room.

For servicemembers and their families, there is a way around it. The Soldiers', Sailors', Marines' and Airmen’s Club, located in the picturesque Murray Hill section of midtown Manhattan, offers lodging more affordable than most youth hostels. At the same time, it delivers the warmth and hospitality you would only find at your grandmother's house. And it is close to the Theater District, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall and affordable restaurants.

“Where else can you possibly stay in Manhattan for $25 a night per person? There just isn’t any place,” said Peter LeBeau, executive director of the historic 79-bed facility. 

“We call it a club but there are no members or dues. We’re simply an association of people who have served, who care about the military mission and care about what we do,” he said.

The SSMA Club, originally dubbed the Servicemen's Club, was founded in 1919 to accommodate servicemen returning from overseas duty in World War I. Cornelia Barnes Rogers, who served with the American forces in France in 1918 as a civilian ambulance driver, and Theodore Roosevelt Jr.'s wife, Eleanor, who also served in France with the American Red Cross, teamed with Gen. John J. Pershing to raise the money that started the club.

That philanthropic spirit has served as the club's lifeline -- keeping it alive for nearly nine decades as a nonprofit organization that receives no financial support from federal, state or local government. Due to the club’s commitment to keep costs low for its patrons while bearing the burden of ever-increasing operating costs, the SSMA club incurs an annual deficit of nearly $350,000. 

“We’re a bare-bones operation because we have to be," Mr. LeBeau said. "But as long as there are people and organizations who are willing to support what we do, we’re gonna stay alive for another 87 years.” 

The club is a safe place to sleep while visiting the Big Apple. Guests can either have their own room or they might have to share a room with other guests. 

"If you come during the week we will accommodate you with your own room, but if you come on the weekend we usually pair people up," Mr. LeBeau said. "You don't come to New York to stay in a hotel room, do you? You come to see the sights and it is definitely a way to meet some interesting people."

The club has hosted more than 2.5 million guests. It offers a library with two Internet stations, several large event rooms, a television room and a dining room with a microwave oven and toaster grill. While this may sound great, guests need to know it is not the Waldorf or the Ritz.

"The club rents beds, not rooms," Mr. LeBeau said. "We have 21 rooms with two beds to accommodate couples and six rooms with three beds. We also have one room with four beds and a room with six beds to accommodate families or groups."

All beds at the SSMA Club are singles.

Families with small children have to do some planning because the club doesn't offer cribs or additional beds for use in rooms. Also, there are separate communal bathrooms and showers for men and women.

For most patrons like Master Sgt. Brad Dillon, who visited the city with his wife, Connie, the SSMA Club is the perfect place to stay.

“The rooms are small, but it’s a great place to hang your head at night while seeing the sights during the day,” said Sergeant Dillon, a recruiter based in Syracuse, N.Y. “If you want to be pampered then I suggest spending more money for a fancier hotel.”

The couple was in town to see their daughter’s musical performance at the USS Intrepid's Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Because of the care and dedication of Mr. LeBeau and his staff, combined with the lavishly decorated interior that boasts unique original artwork and rare historical photographs of former presidents and key military leaders -- often framed with signed correspondence -- patrons feel at home.

“It’s like coming to stay with a big family of brothers and sisters,” said Eva Graumann-Taylor, the wife of retired Master Sgt. Leon Taylor of Kensington, Md. “Today we went to Ground Zero after checking out of the club. The staff offered to store our suitcases for the afternoon in a secure place so we wouldn’t be burdened with carrying them. I thought it was a nice gesture.”

Mr. LeBeau, a 59-year-old Vietnam veteran and member of the New York Army National Guard, says his experiences have influenced his dedication to the hotel’s mission of serving those who have served the country.

“I tell these kids today that when I came home from the Vietnam War, we weren’t welcomed home -- and we’re here today to make sure that doesn’t happen again,”  he said.