The Jawdropping Cost of Unwanted Hotel Newspapers

[housewolf]

The Jawdropping Cost of Unwanted Hotel Newspapers
Adam Clark Estes 1:05 PM ET 1,393 Views Comment

Rodney Harmon's lawsuit against Hilton might seem silly at first. After staying in the Hilton Garden Inn Sonoma Airport this March, Rodney noticed that the hotel had charged him $0.75 for a copy of USA Today he neither wanted nor read. Small print on the Hilton paperwork indicated that unless hotel customers requested a refund, they would be charged for their seemingly complementary newspaper. "Mr. Harmon and this law firm believe there is more at stake than 75 cents," Harmon's lawyer Kirk J. Wolden told The New York Times. "It exemplifies the types of advantages that, unfortunately, we see companies taking of you and I and everyone else every day."

Well, Woldon wasn't kidding. Jeff Bercovici at Forbes did some research and found that half of USA Today's 1.78 million copies are sent to hotels daily. Newspaper analyst John Morton guesses that 90 percent of the charges on those 970,000 copies go unnoticed, and Bercovici sums up the financial impact:

more...
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/08/jawdropping-cost-unwanted-hotel-newspapers/40783/

[KamaAina]

1. So, in other words, NOBODY is actually reading McPaper

it's just another scam like the bottles of imported water they leave out there hoping you'll be dumb enough to drink one for $5. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[leveymg]

2. USA Today is a tick.

Burn it. If you try to flush it, it just seems to crawl back up.

In all seriousness, there must be some serious kickback money involved to keep this scheme alive.

[DFW]

3. My usual hotel in Brussels has USA Today...

...but they have never charged for it. There are stacks of them for free in the lobby.

And would somebody tell that lawyer to stop using teabagger grammar when making
statements to a national newspaper?

"It exemplifies the types of advantages that, unfortunately, we see companies taking of you and I......"

In English, that's "of you and ME," counselor. If you don't say "he took advantage of I," then
nor do you say someone "took advantage of you and I."

[onehandle]

4. I've gotten hundreds of these over the years. Never charged for it.

I will inspect my hotel bill closely for this unwanted charge.

[MADem]

5. Bravo, Rodney! I friken HATE "USA TODAY" in front of my door.

It's an absolute load of SHIT. The NATIONAL ENQUIRER is a more robust periodical...and that's not saying much.

[avaistheone1]

6. How tacky of the HIlton Corporation.

[thelordofhell]

7. The Gideons must be billionaires

Check your bill for a bible charge