HotelChatter's Annual Hotel Wi-Fi Report 2010

Ant writes with this excerpt from an annual review of wireless access for hotel guests: "This year marks HotelChatter's sixth annual hotel Wi-Fi report. Over the years we've documented the progression of hotel Wi-Fi, from blatant disregard, to price-gouging for Wi-Fi access, and reliable Wi-Fi for loyalty program members, through guests taking matters into their own hands with wireless laptop/notebook cards and 3G access. A year ago, we thought guest demand for free, reliable, hotel Wi-Fi might just go away, thanks to 3G, but today, a growing number of hotel guests not only demand the hotel they book have proper wireless access, but most will consider not staying at a hotel that can't meet their basic access needs. That's right, Wi-Fi is a make or break amenity for many hotel guests that can sway booking decisions — and that isn't going away."

Comments

Hilton sucks.

[PatHMV]

I stayed at a Hilton recently, and they wanted something like $16 PER DAY for WiFi access in the room. I could almost stay at Motel 6 for that, WITH free WiFi there. It's because they're aimed at business travelers, who don't care what the bill to their company is. I won't stay at a Hilton again, if I have a choice.

free internet connectivity is a hotel filter

[nblender]

I don't much care about wifi. I bring an airport express with me... But I refuse to pay for internet connectivity in any hotel. period. I once stayed at the BirgerJarl in Stockholm and was checking my IP address and lo-behold, I was handed an IPv6 address! Next time I went through the lobby, I mentioned how impressed I was to a lady at the counter and she replied that if I liked, she could give me an IPv4 address instead and to just let her know ...

Motel 6

[Itninja]

We did a West Coast road trip this year and stayed in hotels ranging from 5-star Best Westerns to 2-star Motel 6's (um, Motels 6?). Consistently the Motel 6's had much better Wifi (e.g. faster, more secure, and better signal). Where most of the higher end hotels must have had a single WAP for the entire building. Not to mention most of their WPA passcodes were , whereas the Motel 6's gave me a one-use card with a unique passcode on it.