Check in your PDA at the door please

March 24th 2008

Remember the "BlackBerry Check-In Program"? Sure you do, it was a genius publicity stunt that the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers launched exactly one year ago. True, it was great publicity, but according to the hotel, some patrons actually took advantage of the program and put a stop to their "CrackBerry" habit of theirs-well at least for a couple of days.

To celebrate the program's anniversary, the first guest to hand over their PDA for two days won a free three-night stay and dinner at the hotel's steak house. Guests checking in their PDAs this year receive a walking map to truly see the city, as opposed to being on their electronic leash in a hunched over CrackBerry position.

The program was an initiative of Rick Ueno, the hotel's general manager and a recovering BlackBerry addict.