H yatt Corporation is in the process of phasing out offering on-demand adult video entertainment from rooms in its 618 hotel and resort properties in 51 countries worldwide; and adult content will not be introduced to any new hotel properties operating under any of the brands of Hyatt.
Hyatt Corporation is the latest hotel company to discontinue offering on-demand adult entertainment from its rooms. Hilton Worldwide had announced back in August of 2015 that the lodging company would eliminate offering on-demand adult video entertainment from approximately 715,000 rooms in its hotel and resort properties worldwide effective immediately.
As I reported back on Sunday, January 23, 2011, Marriott International implemented an official policy to remove adult content from new hotel rooms. There were questions back then as to why Marriott International would eliminate an option for hotel guests which was known to be lucrative. Suppositions included religious or political reasons; but with the advent of the frequent guest loyalty programs of more lodging corporations — such as Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards and Hyatt Gold Passport — offering free Internet access to guests, could the reason also be that the option of offering adult content for a fee may not be nearly as lucrative as in the past?
Revenues Decreased Significantly
According to a report from PKF Hospitality Research, that is apparently the chief reason for this trend. Decreasing revenue from movie rentals in rooms at hotel and resort properties — to the tune of $107.00 per year per available hotel room in 2014, which is less than a third of the $339.00 per year per available hotel room in 2000 — is the result of hotel guests accessing adult content on their portable electronic devices instead.
LodgeNet Interactive Corporation — a leading provider of on-demand entertainment in hotel rooms — filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, as it reportedly had not earned an annual profit since 2006. It quickly emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy when it was acquired by a global investment firm called Colony Capital; and the company has since changed its name to Sonifi Solitions Incorporated.
Safety and Morality
Another reason is pressure from people and advocacy groups — such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which was formerly known as Morality In Media — who are adamantly opposed to hotel properties offering such entertainment and continuously actively campaign against it.
“With this step, Hyatt is proving itself to be a leader among corporations that value a positive and safe environment for their consumers,” said Patrick Trueman, President and CEO of NCOSE. “Hyatt was eager to work with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation after we reached out to the corporation to share concerns about the neurological and psychological harms of pornography. By removing on-demand pornography, Hyatt is also taking a stand against prostitution and sex trafficking, which are crimes that often takes place in hotels. Pornography not only increases the demand for prostitution and sex trafficking, but sex trafficking victims are also often used in, and trained how to perform sexually by pornography. NCOSE is grateful to Hyatt for its policy change and commitment to oppose sexual exploitation.”
NCOSE encourages all to tweet @HyattTweets to thank the corporation for its policy change.
Interestingly, Hilton Worldwide remains on the Dirty Dozen list — which currently includes the Department of Justice of the United States, the American Library Association and Facebook — of the national organization which advocates against pornography by highlighting the links to sex trafficking, violence against women, child abuse, addiction and more, which announced this past August that the lodging company would be removed from the list.
Summary
If you had not seen a public announcement pertaining to Hyatt Corporation, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International or Omni Hotels & Resorts implementing a policy eliminating adult content from their hotel rooms worldwide, it is most likely by design, as lodging companies seem to be loathe to create a marketing message resulting from the official policy changes.
Time will tell as to whether or not the trend of eliminating on-demand adult content from hotel rooms will continue with other lodging companies which have not implemented this policy as of yet…
…and after that, what is next? “Next, the hotels will begin locking the backs of the TVs”, predicted reader Kent C. “Some places already do, but most don’t. Watch that change.”
Is Kent C. correct?
Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
