Hotels and Family Values

It has been some time since we have discussed family values on this Blog. This article is written to inform readers about a new front in the war against pornography.

On August 8, 2006 the Campaign for Corporate Responsibility, a coalition of thirteen conservative groups, took out a full page ad in USA Today, calling for the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether "adult" videos being sold in hotels by OnCommand and LodgeNet violate long-established Federal* and State laws regarding distribution of obscene material.

Not surprisingly, the ad touched off defensive responses. In an article that appeared on cnn.com, Kathy Shepard of Hilton and Roger Conner of Marriott were quoted defending the policy of offering the material via pay-per view. "Really ultraconservative groups try to target the hotels in their zest to eliminate porn," Shepard said. "In their zest to have their personal morals prevail, they're eliminating choice for others." Conner said none of the programming offered by Marriott is illegal, and he depicted adult movies as a standard part of today's hotel business. "In-room movies are a revenue stream," he said. "This is a business matter."

Aaron Goldstein, in his piece on AmericanDaily.com, states that "pornography doesn't rape people; people rape people, as though pornography is intrinsically neutral and the user either puts it to a good or bad use. If you understand that pornography is inherently evil, that it debases, objectifies and victimizes women, that it can be addictive, is involved in the destruction of marriages and is often connected with the perpetration of sex crimes, you can choose to stay at a hotel that does not offer pay-per-view porn. If you routinely stay at Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Marriott, or Ramada hotels, you should know that not only are these chains major clients of LodgeNet and OnCommand, they are operated as franchises. Call the particular location at which you are planning to stay and ask if such films are offerd there. If you do not get a satisfactory answer, try www.CleanHotels.com for an alternative. These hotels do not offer pay-per-view pornography.

If hotel managers consider offering such films as part of the hotel's amenties as simply a "business matter," irrespective of the social consequences, perhaps they will understand that there are people who cannot do business with them under those circumstances. Those hotel managers that want to provide a truly "family-friendly" environment by not offering such films should get a visit from us.

*USC, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 71, Sections 1465-1466