A guest at a Hilton hotel in Santa Rosa, Calif., who was upset that he was billed 75 cents for a USA Today he assumed was free has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the hotel chain, saying he was deceived by a scheme that also hurts the environment.Gawker has more about the paper it calls "America's best angel-news source."
(Hi, Frank!)
So much for the hotel strategy. I wondered how long it would take before someone filed a complaint about unauthorized chaarges on their bills. I read my American Express religii
ReplyDeleteIf you read the fine print when you check in, you see that you agree to the newspaper. You can opt out. Another frivilous lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't it opt-in? That's how the minibar charges work, after all.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine WSJ is in this same boat. My guess is that Gannett's agreements are with the hotels, not the hotel customers, so Gannett is not liable for what the hotel chooses to charge their customers.
ReplyDeleteMost people are will to accept/pay for a Wall Street Journal left at their rooms because there is actual news in it (though Murdoch's manipulation of the editorial page is wounding the paper very badly).
ReplyDeleteUSAT is seen as a nuisance that some people actually step over on on as they leave the room.
I think back in 2009, Marriott dumped the USAT program. Looks like Hilton is getting ready to do the same. Used to be a good way to boost circ.
The hotel must charge for USAT to count it as ABC paid circulation (and its display ad rates are tied to paid circulation figures).
ReplyDeleteAs for people stepping over papers, that's true and that's why you see more and more hanging bags on door handles. It's not that people don't like USAT (c'mon it is a great format for many), but that they have roller bags and coffee in their hands when they leave the room.
This guy is hoping GCI sends him a check so he goes away. It will. He will. And, this too, is typical business and nothing sinister by GCI
I take my carry-ons out to the rental car, walk through a muddy puddle if I can find one on the way back to my room, and then leave two big dirty shoe prints on it.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend that for grins.
Really 1:19? That's why so many papers remain untouched? - because people have "roller bags and coffee in their hands when they leave the room". What a hoot.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere, USA Today "Founding" Sports Editor Henry M. "Diet Coke" Freeman is not smiling.
ReplyDeletereally 5:15 i didnt makr that up. ask IDEO. laugh all you want. i dont care. some people and hotels ike and buy usat. dont kid yourself, as it hasnt chsnged all that much, let aline for the worse.
ReplyDeleteSomeone send this loser 75 cents before he clogs up the legal systems with another ridiculous lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteUSAT has generated marketing scams for years. That's how they drove circulation, as it certainly wasn't the editorial quality that made them No. 1. Of course, the paper also hurts the environment and has been killing off brain cells of less intelligent readers for quite a while. In fact, quality control has plummeted so much in recent years, I am not sure why anyone would rely on this news source anymore.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait until he subpoenas Circ VP Brad Jones to find out if he's aware of any hotels across the country where they charge the guest for the paper and then don't deliver it to the guest! It's happening daily and has been for years. I wonder where you sign up for the class-action suit?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember when Brad Jones announced a 10% circulation increase? It was at Hunke's big reveal of his 300 Vice Presidents about a year or so ago. I knew we were in trouble right then....
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/3r5sks6
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links to the Forbes blog on this subject. It's good that the news is getting out there.
ReplyDelete10:59's URL takes you to a Forbes columnist's blog entry called, "How USA Today Slips $82 Million a Year Onto Your Hotel Bill."
ReplyDelete