I’ve written before about Hotel WiFi Fees. (WiFi Fees) I am clearly no big fan. It makes absolutely no sense to me for hotels to charge outlandish fees for WiFi service. I do my best to avoid hotels that charge these fees. And apparently I am not alone. It appears that others have “spoken with their reservations” and now hotels are starting to listen.
It seems there is something of a “price war” going on in the hotel industry – at least as it is related to WiFi charges. Several major hotel chains including Marriott and Starwood recently decided to offer free Hotel WiFi to customers. But there was a big “if” attached. WiFi was free “if” the customer is a member of the hotel’s loyalty program. What? Why the hassle? That’s what Hyatt hotels asked. So they upped the ante on the deal offering free WiFi to anyone staying at their hotels – regardless of loyalty program membership. Starts in February……..
Sounds good – right? But there is still one “gottcha” in Hyatt’s deal. As it turns out, Hyatt apparently has a two tiered WiFi system. “Free” users will get the basic, slower speed (?) service. You can get the “Premium” (faster?) WiFi if you pay a fee to upgrade. (Price yet to be released)
Hotels are starting to get the idea. I commend Marriott and Starwood and most especially Hyatt for their new WiFi programs. They’ve made a good beginning. Now all they need to do is finish the job – Free (and equal) Hotel WiFi for all!
Patronize Free WiFi Hotels ……. And Enjoy The Adventure!
Dr.B., The PhotoTrekker
[ad]