"Conservative" groups ask FBI to investigate PPV porn in Hotel Rooms

[SirFozzie]

I love their reasons, because Joe Average on a trip can order porn on his hotel TV, the area around a hotel is a red-light district, and unsafe.

It seems to keep these folks up at night, knowing someone somewhere can watch people making whoopie without feeling ashamed.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America's hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern as conservative activists rev up a protest campaign aimed at triggering a federal crackdown.

A coalition of 13 conservative groups -- including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America -- took out full-page ads in some editions of USA Today earlier this month urging the Justice Department and FBI to investigate whether some of the pay-per-view movies widely available in hotels violate federal and state obscenity laws.

The coalition also is trying to draw attention to CleanHotels.com, a directory of hotels and motels nationwide that pledge to exclude adult offerings from their in-room entertainment service.

Though porn is now cheaply and readily accessible on the Internet, and through many other outlets, the activists chose to target the hotel industry in part because of the well-known brands of corporations that cater to family vacationers as well as business travelers.

"These are places that you take your family -- these are respectable institutions," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Anything that brings porn into the mainstream is a concern. It just desensitizes people."

Precise statistics on in-room adult entertainment are hard to come by. By some estimates, adult movies are available in roughly 40 percent of the nation's hotels, representing more than 1.5 million rooms. Industry analysts suggest that these adult offerings generate 60 to 80 percent of total in-room entertainment revenue -- several hundred million dollars a year.

The recent newspaper ad mentioned no hotel companies by name because of legal concerns, but it did target the two major suppliers of in-room adult movies -- South Dakota-based LodgeNet and Denver-based OnCommand, a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp. The ad accused both companies of distributing hardcore pornography to their hotel clients, and it provided a link to a list of X-rated movie titles.

Spokesmen for OnCommand and Liberty Media declined to comment on the ad, and LodgeNet's spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment. However, top spokespeople for two of the biggest hotel chains, Hilton and Marriott, defended the policies that make adult movies widely available at their affiliated hotels.

Both Kathy Shepard of Hilton and Roger Conner of Marriott said the bulk of their hotels are operated by franchise-holders who make their own decisions about in-room programming. They made clear, however, that their companies consider adult movies to be an acceptable option because they can be ignored or blocked out by guests not wishing to view them.

"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."

The leader of the campaign against in-room porn is Phil Burress, a self-described former porn addict who heads the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values.

Burress and his allies have had some success regionally, pressuring about 15 Ohio and Kentucky hotels to stop offering adult movies. But he says a nationwide pressure campaign would be difficult because nearly all the big hotel chains have similar policies -- porn is available at some but not all of their affiliates.

Though unable to cite specific cases, Burress contended that the availability of in-room porn is making hotels more dangerous.

"As more and more of these (hardcore) titles become available, we're going to have sexual abuse cases coming out of the hotels," he said. "Hotels are just as dangerous as environments around strip joints and porn stores."

Burress said he was "cautiously optimistic" that Justice Department officials -- whom he and other anti-porn leaders confer with periodically -- would seriously consider investigating hotel-based pornography.

Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said federal authorities are committed to toughening enforcement of obscenity laws, but he declined to comment on specific targets for investigations.

LodgeNet and OnCommand together provide in-room entertainment to more than 1.8 million hotel room in North America -- with customers that include Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Marriott and Ramada.

The standard in-room packages offered by LodgeNet and OnCommand include adult movies, but they have tried to accommodate hotels preferring a no-porn alternative, according to Shannon Sedgwick Davis, executive director of an association of hotels which don't offer adult movies to guests.

One problem, she said, is that the big hotel chains often have negotiated bulk contracts with the video suppliers that include the adult movies and can be expensive to cancel.

[st.cronin]

The actual legality of porn remains unresolved, am I right?

[Kodos]

As long as they don't feature underage people, why on earth would they be illegal?

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

The actual legality of porn remains unresolved, am I right?

Actually, it's pretty much settled, except for various things, (underage, beastiality, certain other sexual acts)

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Kodos

As long as they don't feature underage people, why on earth would they be illegal?

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court has never said that porn is protected by the 1st amendment - so laws against it could, theoretically, be enforced.

[Crim]

I ask you, what's the point of staying in a hotel without porn?!?

[BrianD]

Does anyone actually pay for PPV porn in hotels? I thought that was what the high speed internet connections were for.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by BrianD

Does anyone actually pay for PPV porn in hotels? I thought that was what the high speed internet connections were for.

from what ive heard, many many people do

[Ksyrup]

Have hotel PPV porn movies changed in the past 10-15 years? Because I have only ordered 1 hotel porn movie, a long time ago, and it was a fucking ripoff. They didn't actually show any porn; just boobs and hairy asses. They took legit pornos and cut out all of the graphic scenes. So basically what you had was a Skinimax flick with even worse acting than normal. If I hadn't been so embarrassed about ordering it in the first place, I would have complained.

But maybe things have changed in the last decade...?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Have hotel PPV porn movies changed in the past 10-15 years? Because I have only ordered 1 hotel porn movie, a long time ago, and it was a fucking ripoff. They didn't actually show any porn; just boobs and hairy asses. They took legit pornos and cut out all of the graphic scenes. So basically what you had was a Skinimax flick with either worse acting than normal. If I hadn't been so embarrassed about ordering it in the first place, I would have complained.

But maybe things have changed in the last decade...?

Clever misdirection.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Clever misdirection.

Apparently I misdirected myself beyond comprehension of your post.

[Galaxy]

Most hotels require you to be 18 to 21 and have a credit card to book a room. What's next, stop selling hotel rooms to people who have sex in the rooms?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Apparently I misdirected myself beyond comprehension of your post.

Like we are to believe you are beyond comprehending the state of porn in hotels today.

[Ksyrup]

Back then, I didn't have a laptop and my own stash.

[Galaxy]

Also,
A major bulk of the travelers are businessmen or businesswoman, without the families or partners. Does having porn in the room help fill the sexual nerves and keep them from maybe, calling an escort?

[Ksyrup]

"These are places that you take your family -- these are respectable institutions," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Anything that brings porn into the mainstream is a concern. It just desensitizes people."


How ironic, then, that I've become desensitized to the constant bitching about "family values."

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

"These are places that you take your family -- these are respectable institutions," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Anything that brings porn into the mainstream is a concern. It just desensitizes people."


How ironic, then, that I've become desensitized to the constant bitching about "family values."

It's not like every hotel has it- "Precise statistics on in-room adult entertainment are hard to come by. By some estimates, adult movies are available in roughly 40 percent of the nation's hotels, representing more than 1.5 million rooms. Industry analysts suggest that these adult offerings generate 60 to 80 percent of total in-room entertainment revenue -- several hundred million dollars a year.

If one is that sensitive to that material, check to see if the hotel has it or not. Plus, the article also says they can block the option out as well.

[bulletsponge]

Im a conservative and all, but if you cant get porn and w*nk in a private room by yourself than you might as well move to North Korea

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Back then, I didn't have a laptop and my own stash.

Well ok then.

[BrianD]

Industry analysts suggest that these adult offerings generate 60 to 80 percent of total in-room entertainment revenue -- several hundred million dollars a year.

What else counts as in-room entertainment revenue? About the only thing I can think of is the old video games that are sometimes available. Does a hotel offer any other in-room entertainment? Not hard to imagine that porn offers most of the revenue if that is the only entertainment offered.

[SirFozzie]

Pay Per View Movies.
Some hotels have mini bars
Old Video Games
Some count in room dining as in room entertainment

[Ksyrup]

Those $6.00 bottles of water 10% of guests accidentally drink before they realize they have to pay.

[BrianD]

I guess I wouldn't have thought of mini-bars or room-service as entertainment, but maybe they are.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by BrianD

I guess I wouldn't have thought of mini-bars or room-service as entertainment, but maybe they are.

I think, as Fozzie mentioned first in that list, other PPV movies (movies that aren't porn) would be the second largest source of in-room entertainment revenue.

I haven't checked out a hotel's PPV offerings in a while, but there are likely more (or an equal number) of non-porn movies available on PPV as there are porn movies. It's just that no one wants to sit in their hotel room alone and watch "Gladiator" while they could be sitting in their hotel room alone watching "Throbbin' Hood."

[spleen1015]

Just more people wanting someone else to do their parenting for them.

[JediKooter]

With all the other things that are going on in the world today, they pick porn in hotel rooms. They must feel that cancer, homeless people, crime, and a cornucopia of other problems that exist in the world are far less important than porn in hotel rooms.

This is why there should be a tax for being stupid.

[SirFozzie]

These groups are fighting a losing battle, really. They're saying that anything that makes porn mainstream is BADBADBADBAD.

Free hint, it already is.. I thought I saw something that said the Adult Industry is making nearly as much from movies through various distribution channels as the non-blue industry.

Look at the shows on Showtime/HBO etcetera.. it's here. deal with it.

[JPhillips]

Much of the in-room porn can be traced back to large mainstream corporations. One of the big secets with this kind of stuff is that corporations like GM own the companies distributing the porn.

[Celeval]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I haven't checked out a hotel's PPV offerings in a while, but there are likely more (or an equal number) of non-porn movies available on PPV as there are porn movies. It's just that no one wants to sit in their hotel room alone and watch "Gladiator" while they could be sitting in their hotel room alone watching "Throbbin' Hood."

As someone who has been doing enough business traveling lately - there are tons of non-porn movies available at most of the hotels I've been at. The standard now-out-on-DVD types, but there've been a handful of still-in-theatres selections as well. If they were $6 each instead of $13 and $14, it'd probably be a reasonable thing to do from time to time.

I know this post is begging to be parodied. Ha-ha-ha.

[GrantDawg]

These people are going to be really pissed if they win only to realize the room costs triple to make up for lost income.

[sovereignstar]

One of my fondest hotel memories deals with porn. Probably around 10-12 in age and my guess would be that my parents were at a nearby banquet while I was alone in the room watching TV. I don't know how exactly, but I was able to preview the porn movies for a few minutes. It was not some watered-down skin flick. It was hardcore porn and a *lot* more than I had ever seen up to that point. I've been a little afraid of vaginas ever since.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

One of my fondest hotel memories deals with porn. Probably around 10-12 in age and my guess would be that my parents were at a nearby banquet while I was alone in the room watching TV. I don't know how exactly, but I was able to preview the porn movies for a few minutes. It was not some watered-down skin flick. It was hardcore porn and a *lot* more than I had ever seen up to that point. I've been a little afraid of vaginas ever since.

poor Sovereighstar, dont you know a vagina a day keeps the doctor away. unless you get a real skanky one, then its a doctor visit a day.

[Bad-example]

They can have my porn when they take it from my cold, dead, sticky fingers.

[Bubba Wheels]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Much of the in-room porn can be traced back to large mainstream corporations. One of the big secets with this kind of stuff is that corporations like GM own the companies distributing the porn.

That is exactly why this country will suffer judgement. Soon. And I believe that God will judge this country thru its economy. CNBC had someone on it today predicting we are on 'the edge of depression." And he is far from the first to predict that.

Treating porn like any other commodity that can be bought and sold thru your local grocery/drug store/hotel room is mocking God and playing with fire.

[miked]

Originally Posted by Bubba Wheels

That is exactly why this country will suffer judgement. Soon. And I believe that God will judge this country thru its economy. CNBC had someone on it today predicting we are on 'the edge of depression." And he is far from the first to predict that.

Treating porn like any other commodity that can be bought and sold thru your local grocery/drug store/hotel room is mocking God and playing with fire.

So with all the tools at his/her disposal, God is going to bring recession upon us? What is your psychotic prediction for Vegas, which is moreso a mockery than in-room porn.

[Raiders Army]

The real thing they should be concerned about is how much the hotels charge for said porn. $12 a movie. My God. I can buy the DVD for $20.

[Bubba Wheels]

Originally Posted by miked

So with all the tools at his/her disposal, God is going to bring recession upon us? What is your psychotic prediction for Vegas, which is moreso a mockery than in-room porn.

You lack much wisdom, grasshopper. God has no need to bring a 'big bang' upon the U.S. to judge it. God is always much more subtle than non-believers and even many believers would like or want.

I make my prediction based on the fact that many believe the U.S. was created by God (thru circumstances and the founders) to evangelize the world thru its missionary works (those preaching the Gospel of Christ, not those trying to win 'hearts and minds' by political means.)

For most of its existance the U.S. has done just that. But today, with prayer outlawed in our public schools and at government functions, etc., the biggest export the U.S. sends out to the rest of the world is pornography. Very sad, and probably soon to be tragic for this country.

As for Vegas, its never the extremes that causes God to act, its the 'median' or the 'middle.' Porn in particular has infected middle America to the point that 'middle America' may be beyond recovering. Middle America, BTW, has historically been the 'salt of the earth.'

Interestingly, Time magazine this week has a great article on the Christian church growing by leaps and bounds in China. Despite opposition by the government thousands are being saved and coming to Christ daily. That in itself is a good reason to believe even the secular prophets predicting that the next century will belong to China.

[SirFozzie]

Well, who didn't see THIS coming?.. or more accurately, who didn't see HIM coming?

[clintl]

When the US was created, Spain was already evangelizing the world. We've got a bunch of old missions here in California to prove it.

[JPhillips]

fact that many believe the U.S. was created by God (thru circumstances and the founders) to evangelize the world thru its missionary works (those preaching the Gospel of Christ, not those trying to win 'hearts and minds' by political means.)

WOW.

[miked]

How amusing, God created the US (through its founders nonetheless, who preached religious freedom) to convert the world. If there's such a concern for middle america and the "middle", how about the meth epidemic that's poisoning middle america? Just outside of Atlanta, where religion runs very high, is considered the meth capital of Atlanta (according to mt DEA buddy)...what's going on there and why is porn a bigger problem?

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Bubba Wheels

That is exactly why this country will suffer judgement. Soon. And I believe that God will judge this country thru its economy. CNBC had someone on it today predicting we are on 'the edge of depression." And he is far from the first to predict that.

Treating porn like any other commodity that can be bought and sold thru your local grocery/drug store/hotel room is mocking God and playing with fire.

Oh dear God. I don't believe God judges my watching of porn on the same level as your all around stupidity. Why does it bother you what the fuck other people want to do ? Is it affecting your life ?

[albionmoonlight]

The coalition also is trying to draw attention to CleanHotels.com, a directory of hotels and motels nationwide that pledge to exclude adult offerings from their in-room entertainment service.

This seems, to me, like the right solution. Provide consumers with a choice. Encourage like minded people to vote with their pocketbooks. As soon as your boycott makes it less profitable to show porn than not to show porn, hotels will stop showing porn.

What really pisses me off is that people are asking the Justice Department and the FBI to spend time and money going after this rather than going after (for lack of a better term) actual criminals.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Bubba Wheels

God is always much more subtle than non-believers and even many believers would like or want.

Exactly. Just like Sodom and Gomorrah. Very subtle.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Bubba Wheels

You lack much wisdom, grasshopper. God has no need to bring a 'big bang' upon the U.S. to judge it. God is always much more subtle than non-believers and even many believers would like or want.

I make my prediction based on the fact that many believe the U.S. was created by God (thru circumstances and the founders) to evangelize the world thru its missionary works (those preaching the Gospel of Christ, not those trying to win 'hearts and minds' by political means.)

For most of its existance the U.S. has done just that. But today, with prayer outlawed in our public schools and at government functions, etc., the biggest export the U.S. sends out to the rest of the world is pornography. Very sad, and probably soon to be tragic for this country.

As for Vegas, its never the extremes that causes God to act, its the 'median' or the 'middle.' Porn in particular has infected middle America to the point that 'middle America' may be beyond recovering. Middle America, BTW, has historically been the 'salt of the earth.'

Interestingly, Time magazine this week has a great article on the Christian church growing by leaps and bounds in China. Despite opposition by the government thousands are being saved and coming to Christ daily. That in itself is a good reason to believe even the secular prophets predicting that the next century will belong to China.

And on the 1,666,954,927,103th day God created the United States. After 4+ billion years he decided it was time to focus on the United States which just so happens to also be the place where Bubba Wheels and his preacher were born. Is it coincidence that God chose to wait so long to create the USA right where Bubba Wheels lives? Or is it some sort of divine plan to have a country with such an insignificant role in the history of the world be that important in judgement day?

Meanwhile over in Iran Bubba Wheels Muhammad is preaching about how God created Iran to spread the word of the Koran. And in Israel Budda Wheels-stein is talking about how Israel was created to spread to word of the Jews. And in Pakistan Bubba Wheels Abu is spreading the word of the Hindus.

They all agree...
Hotel porn, not war or famine or pestilence, is the breaking point that will bring the apocalypse.

[Galaxy]

So wait...God doesn't watch porn????????????????

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Oh dear God. I don't believe God judges my watching of porn on the same level as your all around stupidity. Why does it bother you what the fuck other people want to do ? Is it affecting your life ?

Because people who feel the need to stick a nose in the business of others just want them to be as miserable as them.

I never understood the people, from all religions, who have no tolerant and respect for the humanity and differences of others, yet preached that God is tolerant and loves all his children.

[Dutch]

I'm starting to get confused by the term 'activist' and 'extremist'.

[21C]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

The leader of the campaign against in-room porn is Phil Burress, a self-described former porn addict who heads the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values.

I'm surprised nobody picked up on this little snippet.

[caspanky]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

So wait...God doesn't watch porn????????????????

But, if God is the creator of everything, then didn't God create porn?