The New York Times reports that conservatives are concerned that “pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America’s hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern”.
This site commented on the movie offerings in virtually every class of hotel via pay-per-view suppliers that are palpably pornographic. Yet many chains mandate the presence of pay-per-view offerings with little regard for the poor controls that go with the system. The NYT notes that “Precise statistics on in-room adult entertainment are hard to come by”. That that is unsurprising as neither hotel owners/operators nor the pay-per-view suppliers are forthcoming with information on the renting of pornographic movies. But, as any hotel owner/operator worth his/her salt knows, these movies are overwhelmingly the first choice of (almost always) male guests traveling alone. And most everyone knows, the majority of business travelers are male.
The claim by spokespersons for two major chains that “the bulk of their hotels are operated by franchise-holders who make their own decisions about in-room programming” is nothing short of disingenuous if not outright false – as franchisees have little choice given the duopoly that offers “in-room entertainment”. Given the content offered, it is a tad odd that taking up cudgels against this pernicious practice is limited to conservative groups.