"As we transition to this new platform, adult content will be off the menu for virtually all of our newly built hotels" said the Marriott official statement. "Over the next few years, this will be the policy across our system."
In seeking feedback about the decision from actual porn buyers on my own sites, one anonymously remarked "Who cares, none of the GOOD porn was available on hotel systems anyway and everyone already has mobile access now anyhow."
"Frankly, I was a little shocked by Marriott's stance and feel bad for the companies that will lose out on this decision" said Mitch Boucher, Director of Development for MyiPlayground.com, a leading provider of mobile traffic to optimized adult content sites. "On the other hand, new opportunities will arise in adult entertainment, as travelers who previously might have checked the hotel movie system will now have to revert to using their laptops, tablets, phones and other mobile devices. Therefore, consumer viewing and purchasing habits will be redirected in the favor of personal and discreet portable devices."
"The Marriott family is known as being very conservative, partly from their Mormon background," said C. Patrick Scholes, a senior gaming and hotel analyst with FBR Capital Markets according to The Washington Post.
Scholes and John Arabia, managing director of Green Street Advisors, went on to say the loss of revenue to Marriott would be minimal based on their speculation that in-room adult video has declined with the proliferation of new technology - which reasonably infers that mainstream financial analysts are also well aware of the growing impact that mobile porn is having on the hotel travel market.
"In reality very little will change. The same large providers who have had content on hotel systems are the ones that have been pursuing mobile porn all along as well" said David K. of PIMPROLL. "We expect our share of the market will continue to grow as fans are encouraged to get access to the complete catalog of our sites with their mobile devices using our proprietary technologies to enhance their user experience. Whether a traveler watches our content on their hotel television set, their tablet, laptop, smart-phone or any other device, we are there for them with the best quality adult material and the lowest pricing available. For us it has always been about satisfying our fans wherever they go, and no move by any hotel chain would ever change that."
So the questions remain: Did Marriott refuse past requests by conservative advocacy groups to drop adult movies from their hotels because there was too much money in the market for them to earn at the time? Have they now suddenly reversed course simply because mobile porn has eroded their in-house profits to the point where they aren't earning enough to make it economically sensible for them to continue putting up with the political backlash? If so, this development may be the best indicator yet of just how rapidly mobile porn is growing and how quickly the viewing habits of fans are evolving.