Dear Bill Marriott Jr.,
I hope you are having a great day. I frequently stay at your hotels (according to my Marriott account – 850 times and counting) and truly enjoy the friendliness of your staff, cleanliness and safety of your hotels and generally, the overall experience. I was thinking about what you could do to make my experience a little bit more special. What could you do to really impress me and make your hotel in some ways feel a little bit more like home?
With that said I actually came up with something. I don’t watch a ton of TV shows, but I do enjoy some current shows like Vegas and really enjoy the NBA playoffs. Because of my travel schedule, I tend to miss shows and would love for you to offer me a chance to DVR some shows after I check into my room. I know I can watch some, if not all, of the shows on my computer but for many reasons, I wouldn’t enjoy that experience. I do have HBO Go, but again, I don’t want to watch it on my computer or iPhone – the screen and volume doesn’t work for me. I don’t pretend to be a technology guru or even to know what is involved in making my request a reality, but I am hoping the smart members of your team can and will make this happen.
Thanks for listening and enjoy the summer with your family.
Merrill Dubrow
PS. I would gladly pay for this type of service
- Do you think this is a good idea?
- Is this something you would pay for?
- Do you watch your shows on your computer when you are traveling?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Jeffrey Adler says:
There is a relatively simple cable you can use to hook up your laptop and use the tv as a monitor. Hotels do not provide it, so you have to carry your own. Most people do not do this.
I think the reason the hotels are not providing these cables and are not providing a DVR has to do with the business model for outsourcing the media content and hardware. The investment is huge upfront, and the outsourced contracts rely heavily upon recouping the investment with overpriced in-room movies – and people will pay the price because they are a captive audience.
I suspect the model could adapt to DVRs, but I am not sure the demand would be there. Like you, I still prefer the tv, but there is a whole generation now watching the NBA playoffs on smartphones.
roger austin says:
When I am travelling I don’t watch that much TV so it would not be a big deal to me. I usually just pick up some Fox news and Sports Center and I am good.
susan says:
Rarely turn on the tv when I travel. Treat the hotel room as the quiet/decompress zone so watching tv not something of interest.
I have simple basic needs — most hotels still dont have enough outlets to recharge all our stuff — hate getting on hands and knees/moving furniture to get to outlets. Also if they could just replace burnt out light bulbs — cant tell you how many times the light next to the bed doesnt work — this goes for Marriots, Hiltons, Starwood, Hyatts.
Dave Guenthner says:
Merrill, I’m curious if any of the social listening teams at Marriott or a competitor of theirs will reach out to you to retain/win your business. Making public one’s own account history, particularly as prolific as yours, potentially could drive a bidding war for your patronage. Imagine if individuals could sign favorable forward-looking contracts with hospitality providers much like corporations might. Something to ponder.
Matt Gershner says:
Let the TV junkie jump in here.
Okay – depending on what kind of laptop you have, it’s either an HDMI cable (which I carry with me), or a standard VGA cable. Certain hotels have little, easily accessible boxes to make the hookup easy (I love Hyatt Place for this reason – although Aloft has it too).
Some of the upgraded hotels actually have a selection of recent shows you can watch on demand, at no cost. This is a better solution than pre-selecting DVR of shows as it makes a central repository and doesn’t have to worry about storage space for guests that cancel, or neglect to delete when done – as storage isn’t free. The bad news is that LodgeNet is expensive and hotels don’t upgrade frequently. (http://www.lodgenet.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/S1547VOD_ValueSheetUpdateFIN100510.pdf)
Of course, you may not get your latest episodes of obscure shows, but it’s a big step ahead.
candace says:
Jeff is right about the cable. That would be the easiest route for Marriott and for us. Put the cable in the room just as you once did for dial up internet. I’d hook it up to my computer and be able to watch my Hulu, Netflix or HBO go programs on the “real” screen. . And that wouldn’t limit me to the Marriott selection.
I love raising the bar for places that make me happy — a girl can always be happier!
Marc McDonough says:
Hi Merrill,
I too spend much of my time in hotels, substitute Hilton for Marriott and cut the #’s in 1/2 and you have me. I have a few favorite shows and have taken the plunge to subscribe to a few online services that allow me to access those shows on the computer. As Jeff mentions there is a cable that can be purchased and hooked into the hotel TV which makes the evening’s entertainment far more…..entertaining. They can cost under $20, mine is a Belkin, bought the brand mostly because I like saying the word; Belkin.
For the cost of one night’s DVR rental you can set yourself free and keep the Marriott’s $20 poorer. Good luck & safe travels.
Best,
Marc
Bob Graham says:
Hi Merrill,
I know from your Facebook posts that you are having DirecTV installed. You can sign up for a service called DirecTV Anywhere that will allow you access you home DVR files from anywhere and view them on your computer. (I have been meaning to sign up for this, but haven’t been traveling much lately). Service (last time I checked) is free, but you have to purchase a box ($150). Use this service with the cord that Jeff mentioned above and you will have what you wished for. And you don’t have to rely on Bill to do it for you.