This was published 8 years ago
Weird hotel service: US hotel ridiculed on social media for 'bedtime stories' service
By Oliver Smith
Dial '68' for stories: The phone at the MOXY Phoenix Tempe.Credit: ToxicSteve13/Reddit
A hotel in Arizona has been ridiculed on social media for offering guests the rather creepy option of "bedtime stories" on its in-room telephones.
The above photograph of a phone at the MOXY Phoenix Tempe, part of the Marriott chain, was posted on Reddit and has since gone viral, with more than 1.5 million views.
It invites sleepless guests to dial "68" to hear the stories - a bizarre alternative to standard offerings such as club sandwiches, laundry services and wake-up calls.
ToxicSteve13, the user who posted the picture, couldn't resist ringing the number, but claims he was told: "Someone must have had writer's block because we don't have a story for you".
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He explained that the hotel, Marriot's newest brand, is "geared towards millennials", adding that doors have the word "disturb" written on them, and rooms come with guitars.
"They are trying slightly too hard," he concludes.
Another user delivered the verdict: "So basically what a bunch of 40-50 year old marketing people thought 20-30 year olds want in a hotel."
"It's exactly what you expect an enormous corporate hotel chain to do as they start losing market share to independent hotels," opined another.
"Sounds like my personal hell," said a third.
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The idea of offering bedtime stories is actually not new: The Ace Hotels in London and Los Angeles provide the service. "We asked some of our favorite writers with some of the softest voices to read bedtime stories aloud to us," the hotel chain explains on its website. "We've recorded the readings and deposited them here for safekeeping. If you are visiting us at Ace Hotel London or Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, we're also broadcasting the stories bedside from the in-room radios."
It also not the first time Reddit has shed light on unusual hotel features. Last year a user hotel posted this picture of a hotel that provides guests with a rappel line for emergencies.
The Telegraph, London
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