That's an economic reality. That's because sex films are both popular and profitable. For a porn flick, only 20 percent to 25 percent goes to the studio. The hotel gets its regular cut. Hotel operator Rohr figures his company pockets about 10 percent of the purchase price after expenses.
Hotels constantly write off a percentage of the purchases for guests who dispute their bills.
Moreover, hotels also absorb the credit card fees, typically 2 percent of the price, for the purchases. Vivid Entertainment Inc. of Sherman Oaks, Calif., the adult film company that provides more content for hotels than any single provider of any type, often sells the rights to its movie for a flat fee rather than a percentage of the profits, said Bill Asher, Vivid's president. Though hotels account for less than 2 percent of Vivid's revenue, they are an important marketing tool. A traveler, for example, might see a movie with a porn star such as Jenna Jameson or Kobe Tai and decide to rent movies with the same stars for his home, or purchase more of their movies on his next business trip. LodgeNet looks to be in the black within two to three years, said Dalton.