Marriott to change its newspaper policy

If you want a free newspaper at a Marriott hotel, you’ll have to ask for it from now on.

Bethesda-based Marriott International Inc. says it is reducing distribution of free guest newspapers, citing a 25 percent decline in demand by customers at its 2,600 U.S. hotels.

“I visit more than 250 hotels a year, and more often than not I am stepping over unclaimed newspapers as I walk down the hallway,” said CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr. in a statement. “This new program is more guest-focused.”

Starting June 1, Marriott’s full-service hotels will ask guests at check-in if they would like a complimentary morning paper. Members of its rewards program can automatically get their preferred paper by changing their online profile.

Starting next week, free newspapers will only be available in the lobby at non full-service hotels like Courtyard and Residence Inn. Marriott guests will be able to choose USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, or the local paper.

Marriott, which started offering guests free copies of USA Today 25 years ago, says it expects to reduce newspaper distribution by 50,000 papers a day, or 18 million papers a year.

 

It's sort of guest focused because they save money, get the clutter out of the hallway and save time.

 

That's a shame ... USA Today is nice to have handy in case you run out of toilet paper in your room.

 

As long as they're still providing it, I don't see the problem.

He's right about the unclaimed papers. There always seems to be a lot of them.

 

I've always wondered why they give EVERYONE a newspaper. When I'm on vacation, I'm not at the hotel, reading a newspaper. I might take it to a coffee shop for breakfast, but even then I'm not spending that amount of time on it.

Maybe if I'm at a hotel long-term, I'd read them in the evening. I dunno.

Seemed like an awful big waste of money, to me.

 

Because the people grabbing it on their way out the door to catch a plane loved having it right there, and Marriott has been all about the business traveler.

But, from reading this story, the business traveler who are all platinum members already can just click a box on the Web site and still get their papers, so it's really no lose for them.

 

I do grab the USA Today when I'm on the road. I don't read very much of it, but I do read it over breakfast or when I get back to the room.

In Canada, it's usually the Globe and Mail at the doorsteps (in Québec, I get the Globe and Mail and La Presse). I do make a point to read it when I can, because it's a great read. The hotel in which I'm staying as I write this doesn't leave them at the door; there's a stack on the table (of both the Globe and the local rag) by the elevators.

 

So do the USAT circ numbers take a hit with this move?
I'm pretty sure every paper placed in a hotel room is considered paid (sponsored) circ.

 

Somehow I can see the folks running McPaper not thrilled about this move.

Too freaking bad.

 

USA Today has already lost circulation because of the travel slowdown. This won't help.

http://online.wSportsJournalists.com/article/SB123854670808076289.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

This is really bad news for USA Today - Marriott has what a quarter of the business traveler hotel market?