Long the subject of jokes in movies and sitcoms, in-room adult movies may be harder to find at hotels in the future. Hoteliers aren’t suddenly pushing a family-values campaign, however, there just doesn’t seem to be as much money in dirty movies these days.

Marriott International recently announced that it would not be offering adult content as part of its in-room entertainment in any of the brand’s newly built properties. The company plans to extend this policy to all of its established locations over the next few years. What prompted the change?  Not, apparently, a concern for what guests are watching.

In a statement to Hotel Check-in, a Marriott spokesperson said that, “It is our practice to keep adult content out of the reach of children and unavailable to any adult who chooses not to view it. We have strong controls in place that allow guests to block these materials.” So it appears that neither political nor customer pressure had any impact on the decision.

LodgeNet, the company that supplies Marriott with its in-room entertainment, says that revenues have been declining in recent years. The reduced profits are contributed to lower hotel occupancy rates as well as a change in consumer habits: People bring their laptops for most of their entertainment needs.

The Marriott statement goes on to say, “Changing technology and how guests access entertainment has reduced the revenue hotels and their owners derive from in-room movies, including adult content. We are working with in-room entertainment providers and technology vendors to transition to the next generation of in-room entertainment. This new platform of Internet-based video-on-demand will facilitate our exit from the traditional hotel video systems that included adult content in the menu selection, and will also provide guests greater choice and control over what they watch across our system.”

In other words, it’s all about the money, and sex doesn’t seem to be selling as well as it used to.

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mobile computing heaven

The race is on.

The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco’s Union Square is among the first hoteliers to sign up with LodgeNet Interactive Corporation to implement its Mobile Internet Devices and integrate them into their own hospitality system.

In English, this means Westin guests can order in-room dining, book a spa appointment, make golf reservations, sign up for their reward program points and even change the in-room temperature and electricity controls through their iPhones and Blackberries. Basically, guests’ smart phones replace the concierge function, which will no doubt trigger a rebuttal from the National Concierge Association. But let’s face it: the name of the game has always been “be relevant or be run over.”

The project is in the pilot stages this summer; LodgeNet says it should roll out more test markets between now and the end of 2009. Anyone who wants to see this technology in action can stop by the company’s booth at HITEC at the Anaheim Convention Center June 23 – 25.

It’s a smart move for anyone who read the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s 2008 study on customer satisfaction. A whopping 82 percent of guests say they care most about their wi-fi services, even over in-room entertainment systems and airline check-in kiosks.

Which could explain why Omni Hotels — the first luxury hotel brand to give guests free wireless access in their rooms — is focusing more on the basics. It signed with BelAir Networks to upgrade its network design to accommodate mobile computing. “With nearly 50 percent of our guests using wi-fi and their bandwidth demands continuing to accelerate, we sought a high-performance network partner” says Richard Tudgay, Omni’s IT veep.

Photography: Westin St. Francis