Perhaps the most high-profile hotel to open in New York this year is treating guests to newspapers – without the paper and ink.
The Park Hyatt luxury hotel is giving its affluent guests free, unlimited access to a digital newspaper and magazine service via a special program called PressReader. People can access articles from more than 3,000 local, regional and global publications from their laptops, tablets or smartphones.
A guest can read an article from The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Business Traveller, The Guardian, Men’s Health, Harper’s Bazaar and other publications, digital news and magazine provider PressReader said in its press release. A guest can also turn on audio narration to listen to an article.
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Given my years as an old-school reporter for USA TODAY, Miami Herald, Fresno Bee and San Francisco Examiner, the decline of the print newspaper as a hotel amenity is something I’ve been watching for years and track closely. The Park Hyatt is the flagship hotel for the publicly held Hyatt Hotels corporation, so its decisions are clearly worth watching.
It’s worth noting that fans of print still have a shot of receiving a printed newspaper. Many of the hotels going with digital access are still offering printed versions for guests who prefer them.
Still, if you crave the feel of print every morning no matter where you are, check out the Q&A I did with a senior executive of a small hotel group about why they’re leaning towards digital newspapers instead of print.
Readers: Would you rather read a printed Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA TODAY or some other newspaper that’s waiting for you outside your hotel room door in the hallway, articles that you access from whatever websites you usually use, or publications from PressReader described above? Why?
