• Drink Specials
• Entertainment Discounts
• Spa Offers
• VIP offers and Front of the Line Access

When you are not staying at the hotel, they’ll text you:

• Special Room Rates
• Info on new events, shows, and upcoming concerts

This was a big Las Vegas hotel and it obviously benefits the larger resorts more than a small motel. What would a smaller place do? “Come to the office now, we reduced the prices on the vending machine for one hour!”

Will text messages become the new email spam? Most people are still charged for each text message. Around 0.20 a message on average. Many people have unlimited plans but we are still a long ways from that being the standard.

Like many offers there will be good and bad aspects of this. If they text you to come to a particular bar in the hotel for a special offer that you’ll like, that is cool. If a company can send you a great coupon that you just have to show on your phone to get, that is cool. If they text you about a Britney Spears concert and room rates every week when you won’t be back in that city for another year, that is not cool.

How do you stop the messages? In the referenced offer that I saw, they had a particular custom text message you send to them and they will stop messages coming to you. As this becomes a more common marketing tactic, perhaps a standard message should be accepted like unsubscribe is to email programs.

Whether they use that number and sell it partners for “related offers” remains to be seen but I’m pretty sure that is where we’re headed.

I can see some benefits to this practice and at least it is optional so far. What do you think?

I don’t want this to be about a particular case and it’s details but it is what got me thinking. Does having a cell phone make people think they are always safe and therefore make people think that they do not need to prepare as much when they go into the wilderness? People use them for GPS devices, for lights in the dark, and to call when they are lost.

Do I carry a cell phone? Usually, but I don’t expect it to work when I am out in nature. Coverage is getting better but it still doesn’t work in most of the places I find myself. I probably wouldn’t be calling 911 until I knew I was in real trouble. Most of these situations occur when a mountain or wilderness area hangs over a populated city like Santa Fe or Phoenix, Arizona. I mention Phoenix because I used to be in Arizona and remember all the people that would go up into the nearby mountains late in the day or without much water and have to be rescued.

It is not Disney World out there. Try standing at the top of the Grand Canyon right by the Bright Angel Trailhead and watch how many people start walking on it without any gear. It is quite amazing. They walk right by the signs telling about young top notch athletes that die there because they under estimate nature. I once watched an older couple looking for the wheel chair acess ramp for the trail.

If you go on a hike, you should be carrying water and snacks for at least a couple days. I Even when I’m walking near my own neighborhood, I keep a habit going and carry a small backpack. It always has water, a breakfast bar, trail mix, compass, a glowstick, waterproof matches and first aid in it, ready to go at all times.  I have it at home, in my car and my RV at all times. Even if you are just going on a trail or a day hike, you should plan on being out longer with some minimal supplies. People should have maps or know an area when they go out on the trails. With a GPS device, she could mark the trailhead and always have something to head back towards when lost. So GPS devices are better than cell phones but one should not rely on them completely either. Batteries and electronic devices fail. There is no shortage of books, map and outdoor gear in stores all over the world. Be prepared.

The cost and danger of people wandering around with cell phones, doing things they wouldn’t have done before they had the phone, is getting out of control. What do you think?