Problem
Hotels tend to charge a lot for phone calls from their rooms. Cell phones endangered this nice little "monopoly" business to the point that average telephone profit per available room at hotels in the United States fell from $637 in 2000 to $152 in 2003 (Christopher Elliott, "Mystery of the Cellphone That Doesn't Work at the Hotel," New York Times, September 7, 2004, C6). But now many travelers complain that their cell phones don't work in hotels. Though hotels deny that they are doing anything so nefarious as blocking signals, Netline Communications Technologies in Tel Aviv says that it has sold hundreds of cell phone jammers to hotels around the world. A Federal Communications Commission rule prohibits cell phone jammers, but it is unenforced. By one estimate, a device that could block all cell phone transmissions would cost $25,000 for a small hotel and $35,000 to $50,000 for a big chain hotel. Assume that the blocker lasts for one year. Under what conditions (in terms of profit per room, number of rooms, and so forth) would it pay for a hotel to install a jammer, assuming the law permits it? Explain your answer.
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.