Man Checks Into Marriott Bonvoy. Then He Notices His TV Remote Has A Netflix Button—There’s Just One Problem: ‘Anti-Consumer’

A man noticed that the remote in his Marriott room had a red Netflix button near the top and the Marriott Bonvoy logo printed at the other end. When he pressed it and tried to sign in to the account he already pays for at home, Netflix told him the television was not part of his household and offered him two ways out: start a second subscription, or move his household to the hotel.

Luniticgamer (@luniticgamer) posted a video about it that so far has drawn more than 5,468 views. “I am in a hotel. Marriott, Bonvoy, beautiful hotel. Gorgeous. It has a remote. The remote has the Netflix button. I’m excited,” he says in the TikTok. His caption asks for reposts and calls the company “anti-consumer.”

His attempt to log in brought up a screen reading, “Your TV isn’t part of the Netflix Household for this account,” with an invitation to create an account on plans starting at $8.99 a month. “I hit my Netflix button. It’s asking me to join. I don’t want to join. I want to log in,” he says. A second screen in the video asks, “Did we get it wrong? You have options,” and shows a single button beneath it: Update Netflix Household.

He says he took it up with the company but got nowhere. “I’m going to put the chat that I just had with Netflix where they said there is nothing they can do,” he says. As he understood it, the choice was to “create a whole new account for myself and pay for it separately” or “cancel my entire household’s plan and make this hotel my household, which means no one at home where the household is can actually watch Netflix.”

Then he tried the rest of the menu on the same television, which also offered Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Pluto TV and Pandora. “Same QR stuff. And wouldn’t you know it, works without an issue,” he says. His verdict on the subscription he pays for was: “Do better, Netflix.”

What Netflix’s Own Rules Say

Netflix has instructions online detailing how to use the service on a hotel TV that lists Marriott International among the chains where it’s available in select locations. The instructions it gives are the ones he says he followed: “Press the Netflix button on the remote,” then sign in. A separate page on using Netflix away from home is just as encouraging, telling members they can “sign into a new TV, like at a hotel or a holiday rental.”

However, there is another rule that supersedes these instructions. A Netflix Household is “a collection of devices connected to the internet at the main place where you watch Netflix,” and the company works out which devices qualify “based on IP address, device IDs, and account activity.” A hotel in another city fails the test.

The Button He Didn’t Get

Netflix’s help page for that exact error message describes a third option. Under a heading titled “I’m Traveling or Watch Temporarily,” it tells members that when a TV is blocked at “a hotel or at a friend’s house,” they can select “I’m Traveling” to request a four-digit temporary access code, which is emailed to the account owner.

The same page explains why that option may not be visible. “If you no longer see the ‘I’m Traveling’ option, it means you have reached the limit of temporary access code requests for that TV.” An account problem, such as an invalid email on file, can also remove it. Netflix ties the missing button to the television’s own history of code requests rather than to the guest holding the remote.

Guests who experience this regularly can get around it—for a price. An extra member slot costs $7.99 a month with ads or $9.99 without a separate login, and offers what Netflix calls “freedom to watch Netflix outside the home.” The U.S. prices Netflix lists are $8.99 for Standard with ads, $19.99 for Standard without ads, and $26.99 for Premium. Standard allows you to watch on two devices simultaneously; Premium on four, per Netflix.

‘All My Other Streaming Platforms Work Fine’

The comments featured stories from travelers who said they’d experienced the same problem. “I travel for work. I canceled Netflix because of this. All my other streaming platforms work fine,” wrote randomdan95. Lovemygreatlife takes hardware instead: “We bring our Roku with us and plug it into the HDMI and use the wireless connection and can watch any app. Hulu will ask ‘are you in a dorm or hotel.’ I don’t know why Netflix is so strange.”

One popular suggestion—casting from a phone—will likely run afoul of another Netflix rule. housewivesvault wrote, “Netflix blocked mirroring and casting a while back.”

Netflix’s casting page confirms that, stating that “using AirPlay with iPhone and iPad is not supported with Netflix,” with a cast-compatible list limited to older Chromecasts, Google Nest Hub displays and select Vizio and Compal sets.

Itsjustcaramel_ summed it all up with an obvious question: “What is the point of the hotel offering that option if Netflix is against it? They should at least offer a 72 hour pass for when you travel.”

BoardingArea reached out to Luniticgamer via TikTok direct message, and to Netflix and Marriott by email. We’ll be sure to update this if they respond.

@luniticgamer Please repost this! Netflix is anti consumer. Hotels need a better plan. That plan is prime or YouTube #netflix #marriott #amazonprime #youtube @Netflix @Marriott Bonvoy @Amazon @YouTube ♬ original sound – Luniticgamer