Wi-Fi

[zbenye]

I'm wondering why hotels that have a high-speed Internet connection are not in a hurry to install wireless hotspots. I'm thinking it can't cost more that a couple of thousands of Dollars to place a few hotspots around the hotel.

Take, for example, the San Francisco Hyatt Regency. They have high-speed Internet in the conference rooms downstairs, but nothing in guest rooms. In 2003, you still have to use the phone line to connect.

And these days that many laptops come with wireless capabilities built in, hotels with wired high-speed Internet in guest rooms could provide Wi-Fi too, to eliminate the need for guests to carry NICs and cables.

[WillTravel]

So far, Starwood execs do not sound too pleased with their forays into this area:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/06/17/...starwifi_1.html

From that article:

Starwood has fitted several of its hotels with full wireless access -- a pricey proposition, Cohen said, because spotty access only annoys customers. Most of those properties are still in a test phase, offering visitors free access in exchange for feedback. Soon, Starwood intends to begin charging those taking advantage of its hotels' networks. Access fees for coverage in corporate meeting rooms are a particularly high-margin opportunity for the hotels, Cohen noted.

But fees from hotel guests are unlikely to cover the cost of deploying and maintaining a Wi-Fi infrastructure, he said, so Starwood is also experimenting with several initiatives it hopes will lead to operational cost savings.

Marriott has some WI-FI hotels (and the article mentions Omni was about to start offering WLAN) :

http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/...5,00.html?f=x68

Fairmont recently announced wireless access would be available in all their public areas:

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-942339.html

[thesqueegeekid]

I have many Amerisuites stays this summer and not one has high-speed wired or wireless. Last weekend, I was given one of their "taking care of business" suites and I mean, how can I take care of business without the net???

I am guessing that the third-party service providers like Wayport pick up some of the installation costs...???

[thereuare]

Personally i would love it if wi-fi was offered throughout a hotel, but i can see a few reasons why a hotel would not jump at installing it just yet:

-there is a movement going on right now from switching to 802.11b to 802.11g(?) which is supposed to be much faster. Hotels may want to wait for the new standard to be ubiquitous before the install a new system

-the system still does fail unexpectedly (it is technology) and this would just irritate customers that were expecting the wi-fi service. As well, who would fix it when it goes down? I don't think you could easily train a hotel employee how to re-boot systems and troubleshoot the situation, outsourcing every repair would be an expensive proposition, as would hiring an employee to handle the technology aspect inside the hotel (another added expense)

-lastly there could be some security issues. As everyone on the same wireless system would be on the same network, the hotel would have to take precautions to make sure that nobody was able to hack into someone else's system while they're both on the network

Just my speculation and thoughts.

[bturner13]

We had FREE Wi-Fi last week on the Exec Floor at the Holiday Inn--Altamonte Springs Florida (Orlando) and found it to be nearly useless. It was so glitchy, flakey and dropping out so often that we reverted back to the standby dialup. The hotel has had lots of complaints about it. The building construction and metal doors might be the problem. The tech support folks were near useless!

We have all our computers at home on a wireless network and love it.

I was just at a Coffee Shop that has FREE Wi-Fi in Asheville and there was a girl sending out her's business' email from the cafe using their net! :)

[Welldone Rumproast]

I'm writing this message from a Starbuck's in Ft. Lauderdale using the HotSpot wireless service - greatest thing since sliced halvah!! :)

[bturner13]

Welldone, Is your access FREE or is there a fee at that Starbucks? :)

[Welldone Rumproast]

bturner13 - the T-Mobile HotSpot service is a paid service. My main reason to have it is for Wi-Fi access while travelling - the AA Admirals Clubs have HotSpots in many of their locations, as do Borders Books and of course 1000's of Starbucks (came in very handy in Las Vegas last week)

It's $29.99 per month for unlimited use (with a year commitment, the plan I have). $39.99 monthly for unlimited month-to-month, and they also have "pay-as-you-go" plans.

I also got 3K AAdvantage miles for signing up :o

I can't get DSL at home (BellSouth = ANTICHRIST :) so when I'm not at work I just head over to Starbucks (less than a mile from home) and have some decaf or (today) some of their black iced tea :)

[Welldone Rumproast]

There was a good article in today's New York Times about high speed access (including wireless):

Hotels' High-Speed Internet Often Has a Catch

http://nytimes.com/2003/07/22/business/22INTE.html

[zbenye]

Thank you Rumproast, good article.

At all the hotels I've stayed at, that offered free high-speed Internet, I never had any problem connecting. Some are just plug in and go, others make you click through an introduction page that poses no problem at all. And the connection has always been of very high speed. No congestion or capacity issues.

I don't know about the quality of service at hotels that charge for it, as I've never tried it. I certainly will NOT pay $10 to use their service. As always, it's the hotels that nickel-and-dime guests for anything (usually 3* and up) that also charge for Internet. And those are the expensive hotels to begin with. I never understood what draws people to expensive hotels that offer nothing more than a good 2.5*, yet cost three times as much. OK, some provide a robe and Q-Tips.

I also wouldn't consider $30/month for T-Mobile's service (Starbucks etc). It may be worthwhile in some places, but in the big cities there are plenty of free hotspots.

[Welldone Rumproast]

zbenye - To me it sounded like the woman in the article may have been having VPN client problems - all of the high-speed locations I have used so far have been pretty mych plug-and-go (essentially open the browser and log in for example at Wyndham, you immediately get a screen with a place to enter your Wyndham By Request number and password). I've never encountered a need to install a software client (and frankly I wouldn't - I'm VERY wary of installing third-party software of any kind, much less from untrusted media) :)

Frankly, I hope that the Wyndham model is copied by more frequent-stay programs. Given the choice between unlimited free long-distance voice calls and highspeed access, versus points and sometimes denied upgrading benefits, I'd pick the telecom options every time.

I was in Las Vegas last week and continue to be surprised that so many hotel rooms in a city that hosts huge tech conventions like Comdex and the CES have nothing in the rooms beyond dial-up. My room at the Bellagio had a RJ-45 port on the wall but I called to ask if it was active and they told me there is no connectivity - that the jacks were installed "for future expansion" (this in a hotel built in '98) - makes you wonder...

The paid T-Mobile HotSpot service is useful for me because of my travel patterns, about 95% on AA and the Admirals Club service is very conveinent. Plus, as I'm limited to dial-up at home, easy access to many local Starbucks and Borders locations makes for a nice high-speed option (thank god for decaf)! FLL is still limited in free hotspots - I'll see how it is when the time comes to renew the T-Mobile commitment next year.

Here's another HotSpot finder site Click Here

[thesqueegeekid]

I am at the Hilton Cherry Hill, NJ (next to Philly) and they still have not gotten around to offering high speed. The rooms have been renovated beautifully though .... brand spanking new!

I finally caved in and signed up for AOL's free 45 day trial dial-up service. I have not 'dialed up' since 2001 but all my hotels for the rest of the summer have no high-speed access.

Here, I have to sign off every 29 minutes as the hotel charges $0.85 for the first 30 minutes and than $0.10 for each additional minute. AOL offers 1-800 service but they charge a $6/hour premium for it.

I also looked into Starbuck's hot spots service thanks to posts on this board (which offers a 9.95 daily rate or $6.00 per hour pay as you go but I need night-time access to work!!!

Funny, my aol free trial is supposed to have the "no pop-ups" and I just got one!!!

[zbenye]

Totally off topic, but squeegee, you gotta go to the Library II restaurant not far from Cherry Hill. In a township called Berlin just past Voorhees. If I remember correctly it's on route 73. The most amazing filet mignon!

And that's a really bad deal you got at that Hilton there... $.85 for 30 minutes... yikes! I hope you're not there for too many nights.

[thesqueegeekid]

Zbenye I just google searched it and will check it out.

LIBRARY II RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

306 Route 73

Kirkwood

(856) 424-0198

I am here for 5 nights...

I read in the paper today that Chick's Deli in Cherry hill ... hidden away in an alley behind route 70 and Virginia Ave. won for the best Philly steaks and for the first time beat out all the in-Philly places. I am definitely going to try that one too.

My normal place for steaks is Longhorn's but that is just because a steak and salad is only $12.99.

[thereuare]

I didn't know this but just saw an advertisement that Courtyard hotels offer FREE hi-speed internet access. I went to their website and sure enough:

Courtyard leads in high-speed Internet availability and offers free online access in guestrooms, at participating hotels.

Hopefully an increasing number of hotels will continue to offer this service and not charge $10/day for it :) (or worse, charge per minute for local calls over xx minutes).

[Nautica3]

I didn't know this but just saw an advertisement that Courtyard hotels offer FREE hi-speed internet access. I went to their website and sure enough:

Courtyard leads in high-speed Internet availability and offers free online access in guestrooms, at participating hotels.

Yup! They'd added High-speed Internet access to the one here in West Des Moines the last time I stayed there. Granted, I couldn't get it to work much, but that was due to issues w/ my laptop.

The Sheraton Four Points (where I stayed last week) also had free High Speed Internet, but again I had laptop issues. Strangely enough, they also offered PAY High-Speed Internet service through the TV, with a wireless keyboard. $10/day for that. I suppose if you don't have a laptop for the free access....

Glad to see this happening more often.

The Country Inn & Suites up here offers High-Speed Internet access for $10/day in *some* of their rooms, but a couple of guys I know have simply asked for a room w/ it available when they check in on their Priceline reservations, and have gotten it. I haven't tried that. With my luck, the front desk clerk would be a stickler for protocol and deny me. :)

Nautica

[thereuare]

Heard today that T-mobile has signed a contract with Hyatt hotels to outfit them all with internet access (phased in by the end of next year). Access cost will be ~$10/day.. but free if already a T-mobile subscriber.

[gleff]

It's interesting that plenty of mid-level chains offer free WiFi while higher end properties generally charge (though there are exceptions).

Many folks seem to think that it's a way to gouge people willing to pay $200+/night for a room (if they'll pay that they'll pay more) and others are offended (If I'm already paying $200, why nickel and dime me another $10).

But the hotels have another take on this.

The Hilton Garden Inn chain and similar competing brands are populated primarily by business travelers tring to work as efficiently as possible, a very high percentage of their guests want and use the service.

Higher end properties believe that their guests are less likely to use and value the service, so the investment that goes into free WiFi makes less sense for them. They're probably able to offer a pay service where the costs to them are low (the per-day fees likely accrue to the outside vendor setting up the service). They choose not to make the capital outlay for something their guests aren't going to value, or so the thinking goes. It wouldn't get enough bang for the buck.

[BLI-Flyer]

I agree with the comment about mid-priced hotels offering better WiFi access. Most of the Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield Inns I've stayed at this year offer free WiFi, most of the more expensive chains charge for it. Even worse is the price difference between in-room and conference room access. I did a presentation in New Orleans recently that required a live Internet hook-up. High speed access in the guest room was $9.95/day. The hotel wanted $700 (that's SEVEN HUNDRED) per day for high speed access in the conference room. I opted for dial-up access, but even that was $100/day.