Groups target hotels selling in-room porn

NEW YORK [AP] -- Pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America's hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern as conservative activists rev up a campaign aimed at triggering a federal crackdown.

A coalition of 13 groups -- including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America -- took out ads in USA Today urging the Justice Department and FBI to investigate whether some of the pay-per-view movies available in hotels violate obscenity laws.

Though porn is now cheaply and readily accessible on the Internet, the activists chose to target the hotel industry in part because of the well-known corporations that cater to vacationers and business travelers.

Precise statistics on in-room adult entertainment are hard to come by. By some estimates, adult movies are available in roughly 40 percent of the nation's hotels, representing more than 1.5 million rooms. Industry analysts suggest that these adult offerings generate several hundred million dollars a year.

The ad mentioned no hotel companies by name because of legal concerns but it did target the two main suppliers of in-room adult movies -- South Dakota-based LodgeNet and Denver-based On Command, a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.

Spokesmen for On Command and Liberty Media declined to comment on the ad, and LodgeNet's spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment. However, officials for two of the biggest hotel chains, Hilton and Marriott, defended the policies that make adult movies widely available.

The leader of the campaign against in-room porn is Phil Burress, a self-described former porn addict who heads the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values.

Burress and his allies have had some success regionally, pressuring about 15 Ohio and Kentucky hotels to stop offering adult movies. But he says a national campaign would be difficult because nearly all the big hotel chains have similar policies -- porn is available at some but not all of their affiliates.

Though unable to cite specific cases, Burress contended that the availability of in-room porn is making hotels more dangerous and will result in more sexual abuse cases