PHOENIX (CBS5) -
When it comes to who is watching what on television in hotels, it's not NCIS or CSI that's popular. Rather porn is getting a big chunk of viewers' attention.
"My understanding is that of all movies rented in hotel rooms, some 80 to 90 percent of them are of adult content," said Mark Kernes, a senior editor at Adult Video News, the main trade magazine for the adult film industry.
Kernes said he is not surprised of porn's popularity.
"Most adults watch pornography. They enjoy it," Kernes said
However, there is now a new push to ban porn in hotels from two notable scholars - a Christian professor from Princeton University, and a Muslim teacher from Zaytuna College.
The men call pornography "degrading, dehumanizing and corrupting" and are asking hoteliers by letter to pull the plug, "even it means forgoing profit."
One local hotel has already made that decision. As the general manager at the Ritz-Carlton off of Camelback Road, Grant Dipman said he had to decide whether to offer pay-per-view porn to his guests.
"We had the option to make decisions on what movies were in the room, and we felt it wasn't necessary to have adult only movies," he said.
Dipman said the decision mainly came down to what would make his guests feel more comfortable.
"I don't want to be about being the moral police. From our standpoint it was the right thing to do," he explained.
Kernes said however he does not believe other hotel chains will also ban porn because of its profitability.
"This is certainly not the first time this has been tried," Kernes said. "This isn't new."
Copyright 2012 KPHO (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
