20 September 2003
Prison system to offer corporate lodging
Kind of a "get acquainted offer"
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- The Federal Bureau of Prisons, being squeezed in a
budget crunch, has converted 36 cells of the prison here to transient
accommodations for business travelers. In a program dubbed
"Incorporation to Incarceration," prison officials hope to make up for a
budget shortfall while at the same time offering businessmen the
opportunity to see what it feels like to spend a night or two under "The
Big Top."
Sgt. Frank Gilionne, a spokesman for the prison said that the
conversions will meet the immediate intersecting needs of both the
government and commercial market. "It will," said Gilionne, "provide additional
revenue to operate the prison system and at the same time give future inmates, who are still corporate officers,
the chance to get a feel of things to come, kind of a 'get acquainted
offer.'"
Corporate rates of will start at $178.55 per night and will include a
continental breakfast. For an additional $2.45 (the daily, per inmate
cost of meals), guests can also take their other daily meals with the general
prison population.
Initial marketing, to begin with advertising spreads in Business Week,
Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, and Hustler, will be directed at business travelers.
"But as the
program rolls out over the next 18 months, and if the demand is there,"
said Gilionne, "we may begin to market to leisure travelers as well.
After all, we have a well managed recreational program already in place."
According to Gilionne, a concierge service is planned to be added early
next, and soon afterward, the prison is expected to introduce
"Intermittent Inmate," a rewards program for frequent guests .While still under development, Travel Fox has
learned that some of the rewards that will be offered through the
Intermittent Inmate program are free stays at
other prisons both in the U.S. and Iraq. Also available at higher
reward levels will be such items as metal files, hack saws, and
self-tattoo kits.
Related Travel Fox scoops:
Related Err Travel columns:
© 2004 Applied Psychology
|
|
