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hotel posts

Malibu Beach Inn lets you request room service via iPhone / iPod touch

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2008 @ 6:09PM

Take one look at the room rates at the Malibu Beach Inn, and you'll fully understand why you'll be treated to a loaner iPod touch for the duration of your stay. For those who already own an iPhone / iPod touch, they'll be given access to a web application that was built for the Safari browser to give guests all sorts of remote capabilities. For instance, ordering up room service, setting a wake up call, requesting luggage, renting a limo and flipping the door placard to "Do Not Disturb" no longer requires any strenuous work; instead, users can simply hit a few buttons and be on their way. The hotel chose a web app in order to avoid the Apple certification process and to make it available on other hot devices in the near future. But then again, if you can swing this place, you've probably got a butler handling the front-desk inquiries, anyway.

[Via Fashion Funky, thanks Daisy]

Blackberry detox offered at Chicago-area hotel

by Stan Horaczek posted Jun 8th 2006 @ 9:21AM

We've heard plenty about the negative effects of Blackberry dependence -- eye damage, thumb damage, the complete loss of interpersonal communication skills -- but Chicago hotel general manager Rick Ueno is helping his guests kick their high-tech habit. Upon check-in to the Sheraton Chicago, you can surrender your precious handheld -- we're assuming any type of life-stealing smartphone is eligible -- where a non-robotic clerk will keep it under lock and key until you break down and ask for it back. It was Ueno's own addiction that sparked the idea for the free program, so he understands how hard it is to go cold turkey, even if you're only out of touch from the time you check in until you fire up the in-room WiFi connection.

[Thanks Alex N]