Free hotel wifi: a must-have?
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at 10:06 by MartynSinclair.
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BusinessTravellerKeymasterDo wifi charges influence your decision when choosing a hotel?
Do you see free wifi as a necessity or a luxury that should be awarded to loyalty scheme members?
Are you happy so long as there is free wifi in the hotel’s public areas?
When a hotel brand charges over £10 for wifi, does it affect your impression of that brand?
And when you are offered the choice to pay more for more bandwidth, do you do so?
27 Jun 2012
at 10:07
LuganoPirateParticipantI find it totally wrong that a hotel, where you could be paying €350 or more a night, then charges up to €30 for 24 hour access. Worse, you can pay €10 for an hours access, use it 5 mins get distracted on the phone and then find your hour has expired, even though you’ve not used an hour.
I now look to book hotels that give free Internet access in my room. This can be free due to hotel policy or through a loyalty scheme such as LHW or HH Gold. I will not pay for access anymore neither am I interested in going down to the lobby to log on.
I’ve given up staying in a few of my regular haunts due to them charging for Internet access.
27 Jun 2012
at 11:22
capetonianmParticipantIt’s never influenced my choice of hotel although I suppose all things being equal (they never are!) I’d possibly opt for a hotel that did have free internet.
I’d rather have a good quality paid internet connection than a lousy free one. I don’t mind paying a reasonable charge for this, I suppose up to about £5 a day for a fast reliable connection, but I resent being made to pay for a bad one.
I don’t really see why all hotels should provide it free, as it’s not of interest to everybody, and those who don’t use it shouldn’t have to subsidise it.
Since I acquired a ‘dongle’ it’s been of even less interest to me and I no longer even try to use the hotel’s access.
27 Jun 2012
at 11:25
ChrisBuda82ParticipantFree Wi-fi and internet access is must have,
I payed a lot of times for internet and the internet has not work and informed the Hotel desk but just got Laughed at saying it not there prob it done by out side company! But if you do read the T&C they can get away with it.
I won’t buy the internet access in hotels any more due to it not working or the speed is slower than 56k, But where it has been free it been working right.
I think it is very hard to avoid staying hotels where you don’t get free net, ass 99% do make you play for it. They can”t get you on the phone bills so they going to get you on some think !
27 Jun 2012
at 11:27
MartynSinclairParticipantThe excuse by the hotels is that the costs for the instalaltion needs to be covered, which is the same excuse used to justify exorbitant telephone charges.
Its a similar discussion to the “who should pay for the bagage trolleys” the users or everyone.
Personally, I only stay at spg hotels where wifi charges are free (for me) otherwise I use a sim card for data through a dedicated computer slot (no dongle required).
27 Jun 2012
at 12:31
esselleParticipantIf it is free and drops out now and again, it can be forgiven, but if you pay for it and it is less than perfect then it is time to reach for the blood pressure tablets.
In similar vain, stayed in a top Amsterdam hotel last week, several humdred euros a night, and by the Nespresso machine and my four capsules was a little notice saying that, if I ran out, housekeeping would be happy to top up my supply for a small charge…………………
27 Jun 2012
at 12:52
InquisitiveParticipantFor my business trip, company pays for Internet cost, however I find it almost criminal for hotels charging £10 or €10 per hour for Internet. When on business trip, I normally spent 1-2 hours in the evening on Internet, hence taking a full day rate also not beneficial.
Even as the cost is paid by company, I prefer hotels that provide free Internet service.
Interestingly, I find large hotel chain still charging for Internet, whereas small hotels (where I stay during vacation) provides free wifi! Hence it is not a question of infrastructure cost, but about intention.
27 Jun 2012
at 14:33
capetonianmParticipantby the Nespresso machine and my four capsules was a little notice saying that, if I ran out, housekeeping would be happy to top up my supply for a small charge…………………
I stayed in a hotel recently where I was supplied with two teabags (I don’t drink coffee) and 2 of those little ‘milkstix’.
As I drink at least 4 cups of tea a day I asked at reception for more and you’d have thought I was asking the receptionist to join me in the room for a bit of horizontal sport, from the way she reacted. The answer was an outright no, and I was told – at 11 o’clock at night – that I could walk to the shops (in the pissing rain) to buy a box of tea bags!
I contacted housekeeping in the morning and was told: “you should have asked the receptionist….”
Contrary to this, I sometimes stay at Premier Inns in UK and I find that when I’ve asked for extra teabags and milk, they give a generous handful and do so with a smile and with good grace.
They also give 30 minutes of free wifi a day.
27 Jun 2012
at 15:13
JordanDParticipantI prefer free internet, and point blank refuse to pay for it, using a data stick to connect over the 3G network rather than pay vast sums.
What I still fathom to understand is how the “Demand and Supply” (that way round) culture of internet use means that charges are the norm in the UK/EU environment, but go to the backwaters of Peru, as I did last October, and you find every small hotel, motel and lodge has wifi internet, all for free. Had my iPhone with me and was able to log in at every overnight halt.
If they can do it and not claim a need to pay for “infrastructure costs”, you do wonder what is stopping the big boys …
27 Jun 2012
at 15:37
Stowage222ParticipantThere are so many ways to obtain free wifi when travelling I find it astonishing that hotels still think they can get away with charging. Goodness, even McDonalds offers this service FOC!
If the hotel does not offer in-room wifi/internet I don’t stay there.
BT should not review any hotel where this basic service is not provided to guests. If no one pays they’ll have to offer it or bookings certainly will suffer.
27 Jun 2012
at 15:40 -
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