Hotel Chain Replaces Porn Channels With Interactive Art
What’s the Latest Development?
Travelers who like a little televised porn with their hotel accommodations will soon have one less chain to patronize: Nordic Choice, which operates 171 hotels in five northern European countries, has begun replacing its pay-TV porn channels with “art on demand.” The first hotel to get the treatment, Oslo-based The Thief, has in each room an interactive TV with which guests can select one of nine works of modern video art. The walls are also furnished with original art in an effort to “redefine hotel art to be something unique,” says Nordic Choice CEO Petter Stordalen. So far the reaction from guests has been positive.
What’s the Big Idea?
Besides being one of Norway’s richest men, and an avid art collector, Stordalen has a long history of passionate activism and philanthropy. His participation in UNICEF’s campaign against child sexual exploitation was what led to the revamp in entertainment offerings: “The porn industry contributes to trafficking, so I see it as a natural part of having a social responsibility to send out a clear signal that Nordic Hotels doesn’t support or condone this…We were the first hotel chain in the world to ban smoking and people thought we were crazy. Now it’s totally normal for public spaces to be smoke-free.“
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