Marriott to Halt Automatic Newspaper Delivery to Rooms

Marriott International on June 1 will discontinue automatic newspaper delivery to guest rooms at U.S. hotels. Marriott said guest demand for the service had declined 25 percent.

Full-service hotels (Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance) will give guests a choice at check-in whether to receive USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, a local paper or no paper. Or, Marriott Rewards members will be able to update their online profiles and receive their preferred newspaper automatically.

Effective April 20, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn, Spring Hill Suites, Residence Inn and Towne Place Suites hotels will offer free newspapers in their lobbies.

Based on preliminary data, Marriott projects that newspaper distribution will be reduced by about 50,000 papers daily or 18 million papers annually. Twenty-five years ago, Marriott was the first major chain to launch a broad newspaper delivery program to U.S. hotel rooms.