The hotel business is coming back strong, as occupancy increases and room rates rise. That means a return to amenity wars, as hotels try to lure guests with perks. But it's not only about fancy beds and Wi-Fi. Our Savvy Traveler, Rudy Maxa, tells us turning your room into a gym may be the newest trend.

In the '80s, health clubs and work-out rooms began popping up in hotels. But you had to be Madonna to get a hotel to wheel an exercise bike into your VIP suite.

Not any more. Beginning this month, some hotel chains--including Hilton, Marriott and Westin--are bringing the health club to your room by offering videos and equipment.

But not all of us are looking forward to this great leap forward. In fact, great leaps may not play well with the guest on the floor below you, either.

But that's not stopping Marriott from providing upon request--and at no extra charge--a portable device called a BodyRev. Along with a work-out video, the BodyRev is said to provide a full-body workout in 15 minutes. Hilton gets physical on February first with resistance tubes and hand weights. By March, Westin will have two guest rooms in each of its hotels outfitted with exercise equipment.

Oh, great.

Do you really want to work out in your hotel room? Now, I'll do the occasional sit up if I'm feeling guilty. But even on business trips, I think of my hotel room as a refuge from reality. A place where the distractions of my own home don't exist. The thought of a set of weights sitting in my hotel room, rebuking me for my slothfulness, isn't appealing.

And I'm probably not the only one. You see, most people don't use the hotel gym. Oh, they think they'll use it, and they often choose a hotel based on perks they never use, such as health club. But my guess is few guests will take advantage of the free weights and the BodyRev.

Me? The offer of a yoga mat sounds just about right. You can take a nap on a yoga mat, can't you?

From St. Paul, I'm Rudy Maxa for Marketplace.

January 26, 2005