I'm guessing that you're probably staying at mostly non-US hotels & the room layout may be different since you're also probably staying in mostly full-service Marriotts.

I pretty much only travel in the US & Canada for work & rarely, if ever, do I ever stay at a full-service hotel - 99% of the time, I'm in a Courtyard, SpringHill, or Residence Inn, which the occassional Fairfield tossed into the mix & have only had 2 TownPlace Suites stays ever. In all of these hotels, the TV is easily viewed from the desk or the bed & I usually work on my bed with the wireless (free at these hotels in the US) internet & plug into the outlet near the bed (which can occassionaly be hard to find as sometimes I have to move the nighttable & unplug a lamp - but in newer hotels, it's usually built into the bed's headboard lighting). I rarely, if ever, sit up & usually lie down & work...