Home is a Hotel explores the lives of residents in San Francisco’s Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels, where skyrocketing housing costs force many to call cramped rooms home. Through the lens of a newly single mom, a blind songwriter facing eviction, a co-parenting couple in recovery, a young artist, and a mother searching for her daughter, the film unveils the harsh realities of life within these stop-gap housing solutions.
Despite paying over $900 a month for a single room, residents endure struggles such as insect infestations, shared bathrooms, and hostile landlords. Over six years, the documentary follows their struggles, revealing the cyclical nature of poverty and its impact on younger generations. With tenderly framed shots of San Francisco, the film juxtaposes the city's wealth with the plight of its marginalized residents, offering poignant commentary on inequality. Through heartfelt storytelling, Home is a Hotel humanizes the housing crisis, urging viewers to confront the challenges of those living on society's margins.
Home is a Hotel is a fantastic documentary through and through. Every story is given an equal amount of focus as we follow SRO occupants through their day-to-day lives over several years leading up to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While edited to be especially heartwarming at times, it isn’t so much as to affect the sheer honesty of the filmmaking.
Home is a Hotel has an incredible intersectional lens, making this documentary about so much. It will fit into any collection about social issues or college libraries serving large sociology and public service departments. By focusing on the individuals who are forced to live in this hastily created ‘solution’ to robust public services and social safety nets, Home is a Hotel easily keeps itself centered without overwhelming the audience. This outstanding documentary is a masterclass in fly-on-the-wall documentation: At several points, you’ll forget that the camera and its operator are even there. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice.
Where does this documentary belong on public or academic library shelves?
Given the themes and focus of "Home is a Hotel," this documentary would fit well on public library shelves in several categories:
Social Issues: The documentary explores the realities of life in Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels and addresses broader themes of poverty, inequality, and the housing crisis. It would be a valuable addition to any film collection dealing with societal challenges.
Sociology and Public Services: As the film provides an in-depth look at the lives of marginalized individuals and the social issues they face, it is a perfect resource for those students studying or interested in sociology, public policy, and community services.
Documentary Films: Given its style and approach, the documentary would also fit well in a general collection of documentary films, particularly those with a strong social commentary component.
Urban Studies and Housing: Because Home is a Hotel delves into the implications of urban development and housing costs, it can be categorized under urban studies or housing-related collections.