Wine, cheese and Jacob Tomsky's book "Heads in Beds" - A Reckless Hotel Memoir!
Details
We invite you to an engaging evening of wine, cheese and lively conversation around Jacob Tomsky's Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, a rollicking, eye-opening, fantastically indiscreet memoir of a life spent (and misspent) in the hotel industry.
From Goodreads:
Jacob Tomsky never intended to go into the hotel business. As a new college graduate, armed only with a philosophy degree and a singular lack of career direction, he became a valet parker for a large luxury hotel in New Orleans. Yet, rising fast through the ranks, he ended up working in “hospitality” for more than a decade, doing everything from supervising the housekeeping department to manning the front desk at an upscale Manhattan hotel. He’s checked you in, checked you out, separated your white panties from the white bed sheets, parked your car, tasted your room-service meals, cleaned your toilet, denied you a late checkout, given you a wake-up call, eaten M&M's out of your minibar, laughed at your jokes, and taken your money. In Heads in Beds he pulls back the curtain to expose the crazy and compelling reality of a multi-billion-dollar industry we think we know.
Heads in Beds is a funny, authentic, and irreverent chronicle of the highs and lows of hotel life, told by a keenly observant insider who’s seen it all. Prepare to be amused, shocked, and amazed as he spills the unwritten code of the bellhops, the antics that go on in the valet parking garage, the housekeeping department’s dirty little secrets—not to mention the shameless activities of the guests, who are rarely on their best behavior. Prepare to be moved, too, by his candor about what it’s like to toil in a highly demanding service industry at the luxury level, where people expect to get what they pay for (and often a whole lot more). Employees are poorly paid and frequently abused by coworkers and guests alike, and maintaining a semblance of sanity is a daily challenge.
Along his journey Tomsky also reveals the secrets of the industry, offering easy ways to get what you need from your hotel without any hassle. This book (and a timely proffered twenty-dollar bill) will help you score late checkouts and upgrades, get free stuff galore, and make that pay-per-view charge magically disappear. Thanks to him you’ll know how to get the very best service from any business that makes its money from putting heads in beds. Or, at the very least, you will keep the bellmen from taking your luggage into the camera-free back office and bashing it against the wall repeatedly.
As always, please feel free to join even if you have not finished the book - no stress :-)
All attendees are asked to please bring one of the following:
- A bottle of wine
- Cheese and Crackers
- An alternate beverage or nosh of your choice
Host will provide glasses, wine opener, plates & napkins.
To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends.
📚 Exciting Updates for 2026 Book Club! 📚
Starting in January 2026, we’ll be implementing a new system for book recommendations that will make our reading selections even more collaborative and engaging!
Book Recommendations:
From January through October, members can submit book recommendations at each meeting, via email, text or Meetup DM.
All suggestions will be added to a shared Google Sheet, which will include links to Goodreads and other pertinent information for each book.
LINK to 2027 BOOK LIST
Voting for 2027 Reads:
Our voting for next year’s book selections will take place during the November 2026 meeting. Members in attendance will have the opportunity to cast 12 votes for their favorite picks. If you’re unable to attend the November meeting, you can still participate! Simply submit 6 votes via email, text, or DM through Meetup before the start of the November meeting.
Announcement of Selections:
The chosen books for 2027 will be revealed at the end of the November meeting.
We’re excited about this new process and can’t wait to see the amazing book recommendations you all have! Happy reading, and see you at the next meeting! 📖✨
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO ATTEND WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join us. In the event you do not communicate and are a no-show, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
If you are unable to join us in January, we hope you'll remain interested and join us for an evening in the future. Looking forward to wine & cheese with you soon - happy reading!