Ubiquitous Surveillance + Advertising?

[alexxkay]

I just got a robo-call ad from Marriott Hotels. I don't get many such calls, so this was unusual to start with. But then it occurred to me -- I was physically inside a Marriott for a few hours on Monday. Did some system note my presence (or at least the presence of my phone number), and therefore figure I was a reasonable marketing target?

Comments

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Many commercial establishments use your phones search for wi-fi to track your phone's visits to the store, movement through the store, and whether the phone is near a cash register when a purchase is made.

Sometimes stores respond differently to customers, if they are "near" a phone that shops often at that store.

If there is a database which maps wi-fi identifiers to phone numbers somewhere (and who thinks there isn't), that might explain the contact.

Could also be coincidence, or perhaps you used a credit card while visiting that hotel. Which is a simpler explanation.