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Hotel Guide—U.S. Newspapers (Effective April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010)

Other Paid, Single Copy

Other paid, single copies are newspapers included with a guest’s room charge where the guest is given an opportunity to decline receipt and receive a refund from the hotel.

In this scenario, the refund amount offered to the guest must be a qualifying price of at least one cent, net of all considerations.

When the newspaper is included with a guest’s room charge, the program must be executed in accordance with the following guidelines:

  1. The consumer must receive notification that the newspaper is included with the room charge and an opportunity to receive a refund if it is declined. This notification must occur in one of the following ways (Examples):
    • On the registration form.
    • On the key card holder.
    • On a sticker affixed to the top of each day’s newspaper.
  2. The notification must state the refund amount.
    • The refund amount must be at least one cent, net of considerations.
    • The guest refund instructions must be clear and simple.
  3. The newspaper must be delivered to the guest’s room.
  4. The newspaper delivered must be the current issue.

When a guest declines delivery and a refund is issued, any copies distributed to the hotel for that guest are considered returns and must be excluded from paid circulation.

NOTE:
The price paid by the hotel to the newspaper is considered a wholesale rate. Wholesale rates are not used to determine qualifying prices for paid circulation. They are reviewed by the audit staff to evaluate the risk a hotel may not have accurately communicated circulation sales to the newspaper.



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