tdml68

Jerry, so the point you are saying is by putting anything indicating the cruise line is doing their best to make sure your room is clean is negative?

Your point is correct if you stay in your stateroom the entire time and not go out. If you have kids, well, you know they are not ever going to touch anything that's dirty and always remember to wash their hands

BTW, that's why the Cruise line has such a good reputation of being clean with ships having to turn around because of the Norovirus.

Maybe I didn't understand your point and my apologies if I did.

tdml68

Really?

tdml68

Here are a couple of studies that show how bad the problem is:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hotel-...tion-1.1160859

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti....html#comments

timfountain

I've got a much simpler solution. Since there is nothing on TV except adverts with the odd bit of programming somehow crammed in, I just don't watch any TV in hotels, or at home. Period. I did turn on a TV in a hotel a couple of years ago, sometime after 9/11, and found it to be exactly the same as the time I tried in the late 90's, namely full of mind-numbingly dull and unimaginative adverts. OP you are fixing the wrong problem, or polishing a turd, depending on how you look at things.....

blackdawn2

no thanks, I simply wash my hands and play in the dirt to keep my immune system healthy

DenverBrian

Skin prevents 99.999% of all infections, as it's designed to do.

It's "make do," not "make due." And even if hotels can make do, there are too many other factors, including the apparent fact that this unit will sit on a counter or desk unsecured. I'm sure some will begin to walk out of the room.

If you're using electricity to work, you are increasing the carbon footprint.

WWGuy

I disagree. I frequent Hilton brand hotels and finding convenient and/or available plugs for phone, tablet, and laptop is a regular problem. As it is I already have to carry a 6' extension cord with multi-plug adapter in my bag.

What data do you have to support this? I'm a frequent traveller (Hilton Diamond) and don't watch TV when travelling. The TV remote control, list of local TV stations, and HBO movie guide are just items to clear out of my way to make room for my personal items. To me this device would just be another useless item consuming space and an electrical outlet. Whether I use it or not the costs of procurement, maintenance, and replacement will inevitably be passed on to me... so I'm not in favor of this amenity.

pinniped

Meh...I could take it or leave it. I have skin and an immune system. I usually don't turn the TV on or otherwise touch the remote, but the thing doesn't gross me out or anything.

I'm with WWGuy though on the electrical outlets. This is often an issue in hotels, even at brands that claim to have modern designs and cater to business travelers. If this little gadget is taking up a plug that I need, I'll unplug it.

dj506

But unplugging it after you've checked in would not defeat its purpose. By the time you check in, the remote has been sanitized. You unplug it while you occupy the room so that you can use the outlet. Since it will only be you (and your germs) that touch the remote until you check out, it actually has accomplished its mission. Once you check out, housekeeping plugs it back in and it sanitizes the remote for the next guest.

pinniped

Yeah, I know. But I can see housekeepers hating this thing after a while if it's used in a hotel where guests are always unplugging it for their own devices.

I guess I just don't care a whole lot about germs on the remote. It makes me wonder what's in it for the hotel to buy these things.

pittpanther

It doesn't "gross you out" because you're happily staying ignorant, and don't know (and don't want to know) what the previous guest in your room did with that remote. If you knew exactly what the previous guest did with his hands right before he touched the remote, would you still be so cavalier? I think not.

fevercity

Leave it to the Onion:

Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television

DenverBrian

Do you know exactly where your key card has been before the desk clerk hands it over to you? Exactly who has touched all the buttons on the elevator before you? Exactly how many sick people have handled the door lever before you enter the room? Good God, man, how many people have slept in the bed and done all sorts of interesting things before you?

If you're obsessing over the remote and "happily staying ignorant" over all the hundreds of other touch points that you contact during a hotel stay, then you're the one being cavalier.

Or maybe...just maybe...common sense tells us that short of sticking the remote in your mouth and sucking on it like a two-year-old, you're probably not going to become ill from handling it. (And probably not even then!)

mandolino

There might be some value in this device if it also charged the remote. For the few times I do watch TV in a hotel room , it's surprising how often the batteries in the remote are flat.

As for the socket/outlet problem, have it coming out of the TV socket. Those of us who don't watch TV much often unplug the TV anyway.

gobluetwo

Getting off topic here, but why unplug the TV as opposed to just not turning it on? If it is to use the socket, I'd think it'd be a bit inconvenient, as they're normally pretty far back behind a cabinet or stand and difficult to reach. I would think that carrying around something like THIS or THIS or even THIS would be more convenient, imo.

Back on topic, I could see the OPs idea working for several properties and being attractive to travelers. There are those who aren't paranoid enough to wipe everything down, but appreciate the extra effort taken (especially after seeing those expose shows runnign around with black lights in hotels). I can't see this being put in system-wide anywhere, but can certainly see independent hotel operators or franchisees making use of this in their portfolios.