The New York Times and Financial Times are teaming up to provide unlimited digital access to hotel guests in North and South America, reports Editor & Publisher. The goal of the hotel access program is to introduce new readers to the media outlets.The program began in May and is open to any hotel in North and South America. To join the program, hotels purchase a branded online portal that will give hotel guests unlimited access to the news organizations’ websites. Once an agreement has been reached, the hotel portal is set up in a matter of days. So far about a dozen hotels have expressed interest in participating.”Our hope is that once they have the kind of unlimited and seamless access they’d have as subscribers, they’ll want to continue that experience,” says Janet White, print circulation director for the Financial Times.Hannah Yang, executive director of education and corporate marketing for The New York Times, told Editor & Publisher that “the program presents a sizable revenue opportunity for The New York Times’ hotel segment.” Pricing is based on the hotel.The New York Times originally launched the program in 2012, but relaunched the program in partnership with Financial Times to “fuel growth,” according to Yang.”The New York Times has been available in select hotels for years, starting with the print newspaper and more recently with digital access,” Yang said in a press release about the deal. “Teaming up with a premier brand like the FT enhances the guest experience, allowing them to explore and discover the vast amount of digital content available on FT.com and NYTimes.com, which normally require a subscription for full access.”If the program is successful, similar digital access programs could be offered to smaller papers and other industries.”Our model is something we could potentially replicate with local newspapers. For example, perhaps a portal that provides unlimited access to NYTimes.com, FT.com, and a local, paid media outlet for hotels could appeal to guests,” Yang said.Insider Take:This digital access program is another way for publishers to reach new audiences with little risk, while creating an additional revenue stream to help offset costs. It seems that initial interest has been minimal to date, but the costs to The New York Times and Financial Times are also minimal. They’ll have to cover the cost of creating branded portals and marketing the new opportunity, but those costs will likely be recovered once hotels try the program.The program is also a way for the publishers to test different markets and different types of travelers. In addition to earning extra income, the publishers can gather data from guests who access the branded portals. We can’t predict if the program will be successful, but with very little to lose and much to gain, we love the innovation of such a program. It is something that other subscription companies might be able to emulate on a smaller scale.