Marriott Installing LCD HDTVs in All Guest Rooms

Marriott International said today that its Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts brands will feature 32-inch LCD HDTVs in all guest rooms by 2009, with approximately a quarter of those installed by the end of this year. In addition to the LCD display, guests will also have access to a digital connectivity panel that will enable them to plug in their iPods, notebook computers, PDAs and other devices into the LCD display.

Among the initial hotels to receive the upgrade are San Francisco Moscone Center; the New York Marriott Marquis; the Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square; the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.; the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center; the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa, Phoenix; the Camelback Inn, a JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Scottsdale; the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel in New Orleans; and the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter.

In the hyper-competitive hotel business, this is a great move by Marriott to distinguish itself from its rivals. As a traveler, would offering an HDTV in your room influence where you stay?