A hotel pet peeve
Apr 18, 2012, 9:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 51
A hotel pet peeve
So I'm staying at the Houston Marriott Energy Corridor last night. I get in late (around 11:15) and get up to my room ready to relax enjoy a glass of wine and watch a little tv before I go to bed. I turn on the TV and I look around and I cannot find a channel lineup guide.
I call down and the desk clerk tells me they don't have one.
Is it so crazy for me to expect a TV lineup guide. I don't live in Houston so I don't know where all the channels are and each Marriott is different with which channels they offer and which channels they don't. It really is something pretty basic that I think the majority of guests would appreciate.
Am I being overly critical here?
I call down and the desk clerk tells me they don't have one.
Is it so crazy for me to expect a TV lineup guide. I don't live in Houston so I don't know where all the channels are and each Marriott is different with which channels they offer and which channels they don't. It really is something pretty basic that I think the majority of guests would appreciate.
Am I being overly critical here?
Apr 18, 2012, 9:35 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ATL
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Delta Kryptonium Medallion, National Executive
Posts: 1,889
No, it bugs me too. If there isn't a separate card located near the TV, I sometimes find a notebook in the desk or nightstand that has hotel information, including a TV channel lineup. Ideally, there would be a static display of the channel listings as soon as you turn the TV on.
For television listings, I downloaded the TV Guide app for my iPad. It's a bit of a pain since you don't know who the cable provider is when staying in a hotel but at least it gives me a general idea of what's on.
(And completely off-topic, this is post #1,000 for me!)
For television listings, I downloaded the TV Guide app for my iPad. It's a bit of a pain since you don't know who the cable provider is when staying in a hotel but at least it gives me a general idea of what's on.
(And completely off-topic, this is post #1,000 for me!)
Apr 18, 2012, 9:48 am
#3
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Off-topic:
CONGRATULATIONS!!
On-topic:
I prefer having a TV guide available as well. It's really a hit or miss thing. The hotel I'm staying at now has one (including which channels are HD!), but I've stayed at others where you have to cycle through all the channels to figure out which ones are which.
On a separate note, I was staying in & doing room service last night because I was tired. I knew a couple of shows I watch/record on my dvr were on, so figured I'd watch those. But because they're programmed into my dvr, I couldn't remember which of the 3 main networks they were on & had to cycle through those to find them. Even having the TV guide didn't help w/ that
Cheers.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
On-topic:
I prefer having a TV guide available as well. It's really a hit or miss thing. The hotel I'm staying at now has one (including which channels are HD!), but I've stayed at others where you have to cycle through all the channels to figure out which ones are which.
On a separate note, I was staying in & doing room service last night because I was tired. I knew a couple of shows I watch/record on my dvr were on, so figured I'd watch those. But because they're programmed into my dvr, I couldn't remember which of the 3 main networks they were on & had to cycle through those to find them. Even having the TV guide didn't help w/ that
Cheers.
Apr 18, 2012, 9:58 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
OP, yours issue is one of those things that screams "This hotel doesn't understand guests." It's an easy, cheap basic that nobody notices, but many people notice when it's missing.
Two Words: Sling. Box.
No more having to worry about what is on which channel. No more being forced to watch CNN or Today because the hotel doesn't have MSNBC. As far as I'm concerned, Joe is always with me between six and nine. No more jonesing on a Sunday night because the hotel didn't choose AMC. Don Draper and Joan Holloway can always be my Sunday night companions.
Two Words: Sling. Box.
No more having to worry about what is on which channel. No more being forced to watch CNN or Today because the hotel doesn't have MSNBC. As far as I'm concerned, Joe is always with me between six and nine. No more jonesing on a Sunday night because the hotel didn't choose AMC. Don Draper and Joan Holloway can always be my Sunday night companions.
Apr 18, 2012, 11:02 am
#5
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Well for those who don't do or want to do SlingBox* , having a tv guide in the room would be good 
Cheers.
* Let's not sidetrack the thread w/ a Slingbox pro/con conversation.
Cheers.
* Let's not sidetrack the thread w/ a Slingbox pro/con conversation.
Apr 18, 2012, 11:26 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: United 1K, MR Plat, SPG Plat
Posts: 804
A Channel Guide would definitely be helpful, a TV Guide probably not so much. The locations of the TV stations is determined by Lodgnet or other providers when programming the TV for the FS hotels with pay per view movies. So while NBC in Houston may be channel 2 locally, it will probably be something else on the hotel's TV station line-up and will probably differ from hotel to hotel.
Regards,
RIP...
Regards,
RIP...
Apr 18, 2012, 11:35 am
#7
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LodgeNet and other hotel TV services usually provides a Channel Guide online via their menu with direct channel access from there. Some TVs also provide a channel guide via a button on the remote. Still no excuse for the hotel to not provide a channel guide showing the station and network association. It doesn't need to be anything fancy like laminated or including station/network logos, just a simple sheet that's easily updated and reprinted when needed.
What hotel does not a some form of word processor software today?
What hotel does not a some form of word processor software today?
Apr 18, 2012, 11:59 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Gulf Coast/Ventura County/Somewhere in between
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While we're on the subject of TV, am I the only one who finds the CY tv system annoying? The one where it goes directly to a menu, then you have to find the "TV" button by scrolling around, etc. I'm not as young as I used to be and only have so many clicks left in me...
Apr 18, 2012, 1:51 pm
#9
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I have stayed at that hotel a few times and it bothers me too.
Great hotel otherwise.
Great hotel otherwise.
Apr 18, 2012, 2:10 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 2011
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Posts: 102
It REALLY annoys me when the channel numbers in the fitness center are different from the room and I spend the first 5 minutes of my workout finding what I wanted to watch on tv. Even more annoying is when the fitness center only has about 5 channels (this means you, Hartford Marriott Farmington)!
Apr 18, 2012, 2:11 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Posts: 953
i like a channel guide too...makes me NUTS when i do not have one.....
(i am old school..i also like an actual newspaper made out of PAPER....)
(i am old school..i also like an actual newspaper made out of PAPER....)
Apr 18, 2012, 2:16 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Programs: Marriott Silver
Posts: 133
Even more annoying are hotels that have channel guides... but channel guides that are just dead wrong. I've had this happen at a quite a few of the lower end Marriotts (Fairfields, Courtyards) in small towns that can't be bothered with updating such paperwork more than once every decade.
Apr 18, 2012, 3:14 pm
#13
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Even more annoying are hotels that have channel guides... but channel guides that are just dead wrong. I've had this happen at a quite a few of the lower end Marriotts (Fairfields, Courtyards) in small towns that can't be bothered with updating such paperwork more than once every decade.
Apr 18, 2012, 4:16 pm
#14
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OP, yours issue is one of those things that screams "This hotel doesn't understand guests." It's an easy, cheap basic that nobody notices, but many people notice when it's missing.
Two Words: Sling. Box.
No more having to worry about what is on which channel. No more being forced to watch CNN or Today because the hotel doesn't have MSNBC. As far as I'm concerned, Joe is always with me between six and nine. No more jonesing on a Sunday night because the hotel didn't choose AMC. Don Draper and Joan Holloway can always be my Sunday night companions.
Two Words: Sling. Box.
No more having to worry about what is on which channel. No more being forced to watch CNN or Today because the hotel doesn't have MSNBC. As far as I'm concerned, Joe is always with me between six and nine. No more jonesing on a Sunday night because the hotel didn't choose AMC. Don Draper and Joan Holloway can always be my Sunday night companions.
Apr 18, 2012, 7:25 pm
#15
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I also go a little crazy when there's a TV in the bathroom, but it doesn't get all channels and the ones it does get are located at different numbers than they are on the main (bedroom) TV. It's not a matter of network versus cable or only main cable stations being available, but rather it seems to be an idiosyncratic selection on the TV in the bathroom.
I've also noticed a surprising number of suites with two TVs where only some channels are available on one of the TVs. Currently, I'm in a place that has HBO in the living room but not the bedroom. Don't they pay their cable bill?
I've also noticed a surprising number of suites with two TVs where only some channels are available on one of the TVs. Currently, I'm in a place that has HBO in the living room but not the bedroom. Don't they pay their cable bill?