Hotel WiFi grows up
posted Oct 1st 2004 1:33AM
Check in. Go to your hotel room. Get online.
Or, more likely, try to get online. Call the front desk. "No WiFi access, sir. We can get you a phone cable so
you can plug into your data port." Great. While it's still rare to find a hotel that offers high-speed access, it's
even more rare to find one that offers WiFi access. Enter Starwood Hotels. The mavens that they are, Starwood have
started offering not only WiFi access in rooms, but also local hotel-based blogs for guests. Now you can get online on
your cushy hotel bed and find out who serves the best oysters within a mile radius. Or pizza shooters, if you're
somewhere less civilized (not that there's anything wrong with pizza shooters). The point is that the blog is created
by hotel guests like yourself from the past and present, and nothing beats the experience of real people. Future
services are planned like streaming music and other online entertainment.
Sheesh. Maybe I'm just a good hotel researcher, but I've had WiFi in every hotel I've been in for more than a year (I'm a Gold Elite flyer too.)
Heck, I'm even sitting in Germany right now on WiFi at the Radisson SAS.
Not sure why it would be hard to find broadband at a hotel these days either. Every Coutyard, Motel 6 and HoJos on interstates even offer it now.
A hotel based blog, however, is possibly the least interesting things I've ever come across.
I just spent a few days in Starwood's W in NYC, and they charged $17 per 24 hours of connection, which I thought was outrageous (that, and the fact that coverage was spotty on the edges of my room).
But I was happy to note on checkout I didn't see any charges for internet use and then it dawned on me -- how on earth can the hotel figure out which room used the wireless internet access if everyone is sharing the same router? Hopefully my neighbor in the next room didn't get billed for my $17 days, but then again they did play HBO movies at full volume until midnight so it serves them right.
I am stuck over in Leeds, UK for multiple months for work, and only two hotels in the entire city have any kind of in-room internet access at all. Others may have wifi or public terminals in the lobby or lounge, but nothing in-room. While most places I see in the US are increasingly offering some form of broadband for free or a low fee. Wifi is increasingly picking up the slack due to the low cost of implementing it (no cables to run, etc). I look forward to returning to the states, where broadband is plentiful and fast.
same deal... i have had internet wi-fi in hotels for a good 2 years now. and if no wi-fi... definitely broadband... which is easy enough to make into wi-fi for friends in nearby rooms using Internet Sharing.
all hotels charge a ridiculous price for daily internet... but a few sweeten the deal with heavily discounted weekly rates (i think this is the best)or free long distance. a *few* offer it for free... but so far that is pretty rare... or is such a spotty connection it is clear why it is free.
Here in Estonia most hotels and also many pubs, restaurants etc. have free WiFi access.
when i first started traveling for work a year ago, i stayed in hotels a lot, never had a problem getting free broadband (never seen wifi). i have not been to a hotel that hasn't had some form of free broadband in at least two years. that includes san diego, phoenix, madison, milwaukee, dc, and tokyo. i've never looked for a hotel that had free internet, and i thought it was a given. where are these hotels without free internet?
I publish HotelChatter, which attempts to chronicle such hotel stories as this one. If y’all get a chance, check it out, and if you are so compelled submit a hotel story or two. Here is what we hear about the current state of WiFi at different hotels (big names):
Doing Wireless Wrong:
Hyatt’s, Marriott’s, and some ICH, properties all have been known to charge for WiFi access, usually through partnerships with Tmobile or some other WiFi provider.
Doing Wireless Right:
Residence Inn (by Marriott), Kimpton properties, and W (Starwood) lobbies, don’t charge for WiFi. This doesn’t mean some of these hotels are not charging for in room access, I know first hand that W NY does charge for in room access, however, the GM told me they are going WiFi in the rooms by 05 (we shall see).
As far as the “in room blog”… sounds like marketing speak to me. It will probably just be a redirect to some sort of sad “Starwood” page, but hey, as long as we can all get WiFi in these hotels we can all type in a different domain right?
Just bring an Airport Express, and voil?you have Wi-Fi. This worked for me in Denver. Was it Denver? I don't know...it was a Starwood that only had (blech) Ethernet.
Oh, and it's easier to use and understand (sorta like Bush in a debate-- sorry!), though the Express is multi-platform, if you just have a PowerBook.
Nothing is more infuriating (ok, maybe some things are) than when you ask the clerk/reservationist if the hotel offers high-speed internet access and they say "yes, it does", but when you get to the room, you only find a "dataport" on the phone, and when you call the front desk to complain, they think that a "dataport" is the same thing as high-speed internet access.
These days i find this site who i really don't know if is finnished or no. http://rome.hotelsk.net
I'm a hotel owner and i'm not sure if they present guarantee . Someone know anything about ?
I am in Leeds at Radisson. The Internet is a paid service at 14 Pounds/ day. And it expensive to say the least. It does not work in rooms. There are constant problems.
I am on the verge of leaving this hotel for something that has a reliable connection. However I believe now that I am suddenly getting a free wifi access from someone nearby. After spending 4 hours to download my mail today I have finally given up and going to get another hote.
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Wifi access should definitely be free. Its could be a differentiator to some and lead to incremental sales.
On another note, what do you think about a hotel-specific online community? A forum to meet and exchange ideas? I know sites such as Hotel Chatter provide this service, but would it a hotel-specific one make sense to you, especially if complete candidness were not only allowed, but appreciated?