Marriott Begins To Phase Out The Newspaper

Many hotels are phasing out the Bible in hotel rooms and phone books have been disappearing too. The latest paper to leave is the morning newspaper outside your door. Marriott International Inc. will be changing their newspaper program. Guests can choose if they want USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, a local paper or no paper at all. Marriot Reward members can select their newspaper preference in their online profiles and other guests will be asked when they check in.

The Marriott hotels participating will be Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. Other hotels under the Marriott umbrella including Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites hotels will offer free newspapers in their lobbies. The new program will cut distribution by an estimated 18 million papers a year.

The move will cut down on waste and expense but it's bad news for newspapers, especially USA Today which has long been the paper you are most likely to see when you open your hotel room door. Most people these days are getting their news from their laptops, smartphones or the television before they even head down to breakfast so this may not be a noticeable change for many.