Marriott, Renaissance Test Tech-Free Vacations

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA12 years ago

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Remember when a vacation meant reading a book, dozing on the beach or playing a game? Well, Marriott and Renaissance Hotels are going old school with their technology-free “Braincation Zones” at eight hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico.

A response to a survey showing that 50 percent of guests checked their emails several times a day while on vacation, the hotels offer technology-free games, entertainment and activities. Think Scrabble on a board instead of Words with Friends.

Meanwhile, the Four Seasons Costa Rica takes away guests’ phones for 24 hours and returns them with a list of activities guests can do without technology. Lake Placid Lodge’s “Check-In to Check-Out” package takes it even further by requiring guests to check all electronic devices upon arrival.

Read more (but not if you are on vacation) at abcnews.go.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.