Looks like a coalition of Christian groups are putting the pressure on Marriott International to keep its hotel TVs porn-free (article here). Since the chain doesn’t actually own or operate most of the hotels that fall under its brands, the company’s not really able to do a heck of a lot about it, I would think. From the article:

So far, Marriott has agreed only to talk with LodgeNet and hotel owners about one issue: adding safeguards to keep children from seeing sex movies. Now, parents can block adult programs with the remote control or call the front desk to do it.

One option promoted by the coalition: make guests ask for access to porn movies instead of requiring them to opt out.

A coalition leader, the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, said his group will consider taking action if Marriott doesn’t agree to curtail pay-per-view porn by Aug. 15.

I’m wondering, why Marriott? I would assume most hotels had pay-per-view porn, though it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about and definitely not something I’ve researched. But the article does cite some that don’t, including the Omni chain, which is says cut out the hardcore back in 1999. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I wonder if there are conservative groups for which in-room porn accessibility is a meeting deal-breaker?

Thanks to Dan at the MeCo listserv for the pointer!

Who knew? I sure didn’t: InterContinental Hotels once was Bass Brewery (which BTW makes some fabulous ale, if you like that sort of thing). From Mental Floss (which is full of fun and crazy tidbits like this):

in 1989, the British government put the kibosh on breweries owning too many of their own pubs in the U.K. In response, the brewers of Bass started to grow their hotel business. In 1988, Bass started acquiring Holiday Inn’s international operations, then bought up the domestic hotels in 1990. The move did so well that Bass actually got out of the beer business by divesting itself of its brewing operation and trademarks in 2000 and switched its name to Six Continents PLC, which later morphed into InterContinental Hotels Group, which currently owns all Holiday Inns.

Here’s an interesting post from Paul Johnson at A Luxury Travel Blog that reflects on a possible trend of some hotels looking to downgrade their star status. He mentions this article about hotels in Berlin that believe their five-star status is hurting them when it comes to pharmaceutical meeting business.

I’ve been hearing this for several years now from vendors I talk with at our Pharmaceutical Meeting Planners Forum, and my guess is that it’s not going to go away any time soon. I just am surprised to hear that it’s so prevalent in Europe, where the rules are laxer when it comes to wining, dining, and housing docs than they are here in the U.S.

Thanks to Patti Shock for the pointer.

That’s what PKF Hospitality Research’s latest analysis shows, anyway. From the article:

According to a PKF econometric analysis, a 1% decline in the number of airline seats flown within the U.S. results in a 0.39% decline in demand at the nation’s hotels. If airline capacity falls 10% (an expected drop after the busy summer travel season), then lodging demand would fall 3.9%, said PKF.

“To put this in perspective, the decline in lodging demand experienced in 2001 was just 3.3%,” said Mark Woodworth, PKF’s president.

I’m thinking this has much more to do with leisure travel/vacationers than meeting attendees, though.

Yet another reason to join the (free) Meetings Community, also known as MeCo: The Meetings Rooms for Resale bulletin board.

Here’s how MeCo listserv moderator Jim Louis announced the new development to the listserv this morning:

We have a place now on The Meetings Community website that planners can now post information on rooms that they need to sell because of some cut back to avoid attrition and cancellation penalties. This service is now here and is completely FREE! Like everything we do at MeCo we try to offer services to our members at no charge to them. Also the posts from the Hotel Rooms for ReSale message board are posted to the MeCo Google group! So the over 2100 members of the MeCo Google group would be notified every time someone posts to the Rooms for ReSale board! This service is to help meeting planners who have run into situations were the contract was signed and the program changed size. Or if you are running into a lower room pickup than your organization expected due to the changes in the economy. Even if your program is canceled this may help you find a program that will help fill some if not all of your hotel rooms.

To view the board go to www.meetingscommunity.com and select Hotel Rooms for ReSale.

Then select the message board Hotel Rooms for ReSale. [Or use this direct link]

To post a message you need to have a Meetings Community Website Account. This is different from the Google group account. To get an account you can do so by using this link or register on the main page below the user name and password. If you don’t remember if you have an account try signing up again it will only allow you one account per email address.

Once you are logged in you just need to click on “New Thread”

Please post the following information:

* Property & Location
* Number and Types of Rooms Available
* Hotel Dates
* Your contact name and number (so other meeting managers on the list may reach you to discuss the possibility of utilizing some of your contracted room block)

Click on submit and it’s done!
MeCo is not responsible for the accuracy of any post made on the message board.

Once again, two thumbs up to MeCo for providing this service, and for free, no less. I hope people take full advantage of it. Good job, guys.

The future has arrived: Take a look at the hotel room of tomorrow, brought to you by MSNBC. I love the idea of having an in-room Wii to play with, and an alarm clock that not only works but is cool as well? Who could say no to that?

It’s called Hotel Guest from Heck (OK, the real name is a little more graphic), and here’s what it’s about:

This is a site for hoteliers, restaurateurs and those in the service and hospitality industry. It’s about time we had some place WE could review guests, sound off…and just take solace in the fact that we all have bad days where we have to deal with these characters.

So far, it doesn’t look like they have many takers, but I’m sure that’ll change. After all, there are enough sites out there where people can complain about hotels (and say nice things, of course), and turnabout is fair play. Here’s hoping they don’t start up a sister site called “Meeting Planners from H*!!.”

Just found this on the Times list of 50 best Web sites: Tripkick.com which lets you choose hotel rooms by criteria much like SeatGuru helps you pick out the best seat on your plane. You can search for a quiet room, or one with a great view, or one on a specific floor. Anyway, I haven’t used it (and it doesn’t seem to have my hotel for ECEF in its database yet), but I’ll try it again for my next trip. I like the concept.

According to the AH&LA Green Assessment Survey, here are the top 10 green things hotels are doing well, and
the top 10 green things hotels can improve on:

The top 10 green things hotels are doing well:

1. Offering linen reuse program
2. Recycling paper
3. Using compact fluorescents in guestrooms
4. Using compact fluorescents in public spaces
5. Offering towel reuse program
6. Training maintenance staff on conservation and energy procedures
7. Recycling cardboard
8. Water conserving retrofits for showers
9. Recycling program in administrative areas
10. Tracking energy and water consumption on a monthly basis

The top 10 green things hotels can improve on:

1. Having occupancy sensor controls for the thermostat in guestrooms
2. Recycling food waste
3. Using indoor paints that are low or zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) or Green Seal Certified
4. Using T8 lamps in corridors
5. Giving preferential treatment to vendors/suppliers who offer recycled products
6. Using daily cleaning chemicals that have a MSDS health rating of “1” or less and/or Green Seal Certified
7. T8 lamps in back of house
8. Tracking generation of solid waste on a monthly basis
9. Recycling program in guest rooms
10. Recycling program in recreational areas

The main problem with this survey, IMHO, is that it just asks hotels if they have these programs/procedures in place–it doesn’t ask them if they measure how well they are working. For example, my favorite is the linen and towel reuse program, which most everyone has, but seldom actually is adhered to, in my experience, anyway. They could be training their staff, but are they measuring whether or not the staff is acting on what they learn? Some of these items are more black-and-white, but without measurement, it’s hard for me to agree that hotels are or are not doing well in the grayer areas.

They’re in: Hotel Chatter’s list of the best WiFi hotels of 2008.