At Pittsburgh hotel, guests surrender digital devices upon check-in

Participating guests of the hotel's weekend package must surrender any laptop, cell phone or other digital devices upon check-in for safekeeping.

Anyone who’s part of today’s “always-on” world knows that unplugging once in a while can be critical for one’s mental health. That’s surely a big part of the rationale behind Swedish telecom provider Telia’s “internet-free zones” this summer, not to mention the emphasis on offline board games at Toronto’s Snakes & Lattes café. Now, along similar lines, Marriott’s Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel offers a weekend package to help the “always-on” set unplug and recharge. Through to 25 September, the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel’s “Zen and the Art of Detox” package offers overstressed consumers a “chance to revive yourself from an over stimulated world,” in the hotel’s own words. Toward that end, the package not only offers accommodations in a deluxe king room, but participating guests must surrender any laptop, cell phone or other digital devices upon check-in for safekeeping until departure. To help make up for that temporary loss, the Renaissance stocks the rooms of participating guests with literary classics in place of the television, phone and docking station that would otherwise be there. Rates for the “Detox” weekend vary between USD 199 and USD 399 per night; also included are kayak lessons within a short walk from the hotel. It may well be that in the coming years, helping consumers unplug is as valuable a service as helping them plug in originally was. How can your brand help customers relax and recharge? Spotted by: R Steinberg