Marriott to Drop Automatic Newspaper Delivery to Guests

April 13, 2009

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Beginning June 1, Marriott’s full-service hotels are shifting to a free newspaper delivery system based on customer preference.

The company says that guest demand for newspaper delivery at more than 2,600 hotels in the U.S. has declined by about 25 percent.

Marriott Rewards members will be able to update their online profiles and receive their preferred newspaper automatically. Guests who are not Rewards members will be asked for their preference – a choice between USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the local paper, or no paper – at check-in.

And Marriott is not alone, reDesign reports that at the Four Seasons in Austin, if you want a newspaper, “you have to put a hang tag on your door before 1 a.m.”

Based on preliminary data, Marriott projects that newspaper distribution will be reduced by about 50,000 papers daily or 18 million papers annually, thereby avoiding 10,350 tons of carbon emissions (calculated by Conservation International assuming an estimate of .5 pounds per paper). USA Today and Wall Street Journal will be affected most. Cost-savings, if any, will vary based on consumption at individual hotels.

MediaBistro’s FishBowl DC reports that the USAToday cuts will decrease circulation of the newspaper by a single digit percentage and that other content distribution projects with Marriott are in the works. But Chicago Daily Herald says USA Today’s circulation loss could be three percent.

Lower budget offers Marriot Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites hotels will have papers available in the lobby.

Other hotels have been promoting recycling programs.

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