Hotels Pressured To Halt Porn

(AP)  Pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America's hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern as conservative activists rev up a protest campaign aimed at triggering a federal crackdown.

A coalition of 13 conservative groups — including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America — took out full-page ads in some editions of USA Today earlier this month urging the Justice Department and FBI to investigate whether some of the pay-per-view movies widely available in hotels violate federal and state obscenity laws.

The coalition also is trying to draw attention to CleanHotels.com, a directory of hotels and motels nationwide that pledge to exclude adult offerings from their in-room entertainment service.

Though porn is now cheaply and readily accessible on the Internet, and through many other outlets, the activists chose to target the hotel industry in part because of the well-known brands of corporations that cater to family vacationers as well as business travelers.

"These are places that you take your family — these are respectable institutions," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Anything that brings porn into the mainstream is a concern. It just desensitizes people."

Precise statistics on in-room adult entertainment are hard to come by. By some estimates, adult movies are available in roughly 40 percent of the nation's hotels, representing more than 1.5 million rooms. Industry analysts suggest that these adult offerings generate 60 to 80 percent of total in-room entertainment revenue — several hundred million dollars a year.

The recent newspaper ad mentioned no hotel companies by name because of legal concerns, but it did target the two major suppliers of in-room adult movies — South Dakota-based LodgeNet and Denver-based OnCommand, a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp. The ad accused both companies of distributing hardcore pornography to their hotel clients, and it provided a link to a list of X-rated movie titles.

Spokesmen for OnCommand and Liberty Media declined to comment on the ad, and LodgeNet's spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment. However, top spokespeople for two of the biggest hotel chains, Hilton and Marriott, defended the policies that make adult movies widely available at their affiliated hotels.

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[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

[robertvg1-2009]

thats a good thing for the conservatives to look at being that a report from a christian website found that 50% male and
20% female conservatives are addicted to porn. researching yourself is good---and to help stop places from dealing porn will probably help you conservatives over come your addiction.

I don't know how it's possible to disagree with both sides, but somehow I do.

The hotel chains are extremely insulting and quite out of step with middle America when they make statements like %u201CIn their zest to have their personal morals prevail, they're eliminating choice for others.%u201D Calling a desire to not have your kids pop on the TV to an ad for ppv porn "really ultraconservative" takes on almost a sneering tone.

At the same time, %u201CHotels are just as dangerous as environments around strip joints and porn stores.%u201D shows real fear-mongering at work. Not only are hotels a million shades of dangerous, there are a number of "porn stores" that are quite safe, well-lit, and frequented by people simply looking to spice up their marriage (I'm refering to stores that sell toys, lotions, clothes, games, etc.)

How about hotels limit the availability to those who request it at check-in? A representative said %u201CThis is a business matter." That means we can speak with our dollars, and they can make their financial decisions. I love the website mentioned and will use it as a guide in deciding where to go next time I travel... not because I'm "afraid" of porn but because I don't want myself or my family exposed to even advertising for it.

[KOOLSTUF]

Just as "Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder", so
is "Pornography" -- and especially here, where the
exploitation of children or absence of parental
controls is NOT in focus. When will these "Do-
Gooders" learn to face the reality their inability
to deal with normal sexuality is a distortion and perversion of an undeniable basic humanality ???
And accept that they must have no empowerment to infringe and deny the majority its preferences ~~~

THEY would be worthy of pity for being radically
myopic, if not such an annoyingly contant threat!