Can you lock up your Blackberry for the duration of a hotel stay and live to tell the tale?
This was the challenge offered to business travelers addicted to staying in touch at all times, by Rick Ueno, general manager of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, with Sheraton’s ‘Blackberry Detox Challenge’ program.
Can anyone tell me what happened to it?
The idea was that addicts who turned in their Blackberry, PDA, or any device that can receive e-mail messages, at check-in to be locked up for the duration of their stay could get a complimentary upgrade and a walking map ‘to see the city, as opposed to being in head-down Blackberry position.’
Ueno, a former ‘Crackberry’ addict, who claimed to have been ‘PDA-free for two years,’ said: ‘Initially it was tough, but the only way to do it is go cold turkey, but two years’ later, there’s no going back,’ Ueno says. ‘All that I’d do would be check my e-mails every few seconds, which would then distract me; now I’m much more productive, more focused on my key priorities. When I have time, I’ll log on to my computer and check my e-mails. I run a hotel with 1200 rooms and 900 employees. I’m more accessible now, and doing it without a Blackberry, not being connected 24/7.’
Leonid Brezhnev is said to have used a cigarette case with a special lock that only opened at specified intervals to help him beat his nicotine addiction. Crackberry Anonymous might offer a similar device to ‘freeze’ your Blackberry for a specified time, blocking incoming (or outgoing) e-mail messages.
How do other handle Crackberry or general e-mail addition?