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Marriott to Add Wi-Fi in 400 Hotels
matt writes "InfoWorld reports: Marriott aims to provide WLAN (wireless LAN) access at 400 hotels in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., the company said. It will collaborate with wireless service provider STSN to offer the service in hotel lobbies, meeting rooms, restaurants and other public spaces, complementing its current in-room high-speed access."
I don't feel terribly bright. I am at a hotel right now, and the first thing I did was get on the hotel highspeed internet connection provided by Arescom. They seem to have an interesting system here. Every other hotel that I have stayed at has either provided a RJ-45 jack on the wall (e.g. Wayport) or a special box connected to the phone system (e.g. STSN). Here, they actually provide a DSL modem in every room. Well, just as I posted that comment, I looked up at my menu bar and noticed that an 802.11b network was at full signal strength. Turns out that they do provide a wireless network for in room use that was not mentioned anywhere in the hotel information. As I am on the 4th floor and have full signal strength, I know it can't be bleed through from the lobby, so this is quite interesting. I have never stayed at a hotel that provides such access, and I have to say, I like it.
My advice: Skip the "High speed internet access" at the MGM Grand in Vegas: $10 a night for WebTV. F'in wonderful... We cancled after the first day and settled for dial up.
> Just add a GPS, and your employer will know you're at the bar instead of the conference room.
Once stayed in a Hotel, "back in the analogue days" and was having trouble with the TV reception. Pulled out the TV and found the screws at the back that tuned the posts for the channels.
Soon discovered that I was getting interference with the set top box from the room next door, after all it was probably only a couple of feet away and the cables were low quality.
A little fiddling and pretty soon I could tune in to S.T.B. next door with "reasonable" quality and see exactly what he was watching. Back To The Future III over and over and the first free minutes of the pron channels.
Can't think what made me think of this in a discussion of hotel WIFI...
Marriott has ofcourse a site of his own, with a news section, including the press release about the wireless access.
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I just stayed in that same hotel 2 weeks ago (eisenhower blvd). Their deal is now $9.95 with all local and US long distance included for 245 hours (12pm to 12pm).
Enjoy!
I worked at getting wireless to work in dorm rooms and apartment buildings, and never arrived at a perfect, cost-effective solution. Concrete floors and walls make some effective shielding. We ended up putting a separate access point and radiax antenna in the middle of the ceiling for each floor. Coverage is good but not great, and this was both labor-intensive and costly.
You could put an access point in every other room, but even at $100 for a cheap one, the cost would mount quickly. If you passed this on to the guests, they would be likely to choose wired access for a fraction of the cost.