DIGITAL DETOX: U.S. hotel chain offers discount to families who stay off their phones
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Forget doing it for the ‘gram.
A U.S. hotel chain wants travellers to put their phones away and just enjoy their vacation – weird concept, right?
Wyndham hotels, which operates Ramada, Days Inn, the Howard Johnson, Travelodge and other brands, will launch a discount program later this month for families who agree to lock up their cell phones.
The hotel chain told Travel + Leisure they found 54% of children believe their parents check their phones “too often” while 32% said they feel “unimportant” when their parents are distracted by their devices.
“We saw parents hopping on a quick conference call in the lobby, and some hotels have had to order extra pool chairs because guests are swimming less and swiping more, eschewing dips in the pool for iPad time on pool loungers,” said Noelle Nicolai, who developed the initiative, in an interview with the magazine.
Guests will be asked to throw their cell phones into a lock box with a timer. Their Twitter followers will have to wait until the timer expires for updates.
The hotel chain will offer a 5% discount to guests who participate in the “Reconnected” program at select Wyndham Grand hotels in the U.S. The program will be available Feb. 23 to Sept. 3.
Guests will also receive a blanket fort and Instax camera in their “Reconnected” package. The hotel hopes guests will hang out in the fort and order snacks from their special “Bedtime Brigade” room service menu.
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