Business travelers looking for an expense-account friendly way to unwind after a hard day on the road may want to skip new Marriott hotels if their tastes turn to “sophisticated” entertainment. The chain has announced that the in-room entertainment systems in those hotels won’t offer adult video-on-demand options.

USA Today reports that video-on-demand revenues are in decline, as more guests provide their own entertainment on laptops or portable DVD players. Given that environment, some chains would rather be seen as family-friendly than a source for in-room porn.

Hotels have seen revenue from providing pay-per-view movies in rooms shrink. Business travelers have been increasingly checking into hotels with their own entertainment, whether Netflix DVDs, iPod Touch, laptop or Slingbox.

“Changing technology and how guests access entertainment has reduced the revenue hotels and their owners derive from in-room movies, including adult content,” Marriott says. …

As movies of all kinds become less of a moneymaker for hotels, more hotels may make similar decisions, says Joe McInerney, CEO of industry group American Hotel and Lodging Association.

“It is a hotel’s prerogative, as well as a business decision, regarding what services it provides to its guests, including those striving to enhance their family-friendly image,” he says.

One other chain, Omni, went porn-free in 1999. “The ownership decided that it was not a way that we wanted to make money,” a spokesman told USA Today.

Marriott says no to adult movies in new hotels [USATODAY.com]

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