Best Hotels In...
In my line of work, internet access is pretty much essential. I write in hotel rooms, I end up doing a lot of research and fact-checking in hotel rooms and I often just need to use the web to find where something I’ve been told about is on a map.
For me, a hotel that doesn’t have internet access – be it via cable or WiFi – is a non-starter. It’s mercifully rare to find one these days, although a number seem to be under the impression that it’s OK if the WiFi signal only covers the reception area and three out of 100 rooms. If you’re reading, hoteliers, this isn’t acceptable and it just makes you look stupid.
Hotel WiFi prices
When it comes to internet access, one thing that seems to get people riled up is cost. Some hotels really, really milk the customer for all it’s worth when it comes to WiFi. I’ve seen some truly outrageous hourly charges, and prices of up to EUR25 (around £22 or US$35) a day. This is clearly an attempt to gouge as much money out of a guest as possible.
Comparison of internet charges
The unusual thing about WiFi charges is that most customers have a fair idea of the actual cost. Anyone who has internet access at home knows how much they bought a router for and what the monthly charges from BT/ Virgin/ TalkTalk etc are. It’ll not work out than more than £2 a day for unlimited broadband internet access. To be presented with a fee that is ten times that shows exactly how the hotel regards you – an idiot to be stripped of as much cash as possible.
Should every hotel provide free WiFi?
So should every hotel provide free in-room WiFi? There’s a large section of the travelling community that seems to be pretty evangelical about this subject. WiFi should be free for all, everywhere, and anyone who doesn’t provide it is in league with the devil.
I’m not so militant about it. I understand that not everyone needs internet access in the room, and that installing it is an extra cost that affects the room rate slightly. But if you are going to charge for WiFi, the charge has to be reasonable. I’m not going to object to a small mark up on what it costs the hotel to put it in, but the ceiling should be £5 a day. Any more than that, and it’s flagrant profiteering.
Hotel attitudes
This said, I think a decision to charge for WiFi is indicative of a hotel’s attitude. It’s the difference between “what can we add for little cost that will improve the guest’s experience?” and “how can we make more money from each customer?” Having to put credit card details in every time before going online is an unnecessary annoyance too.
Budget and luxury hotels
So, I’m prepared to give grace to the hotels operating at the cheaper end of the market (although, ironically, these are often the ones that will provide free WiFi anyway). Where charging large sums for internet access is completely out of order is in luxury hotels where you’re paying a fortune anyway. There’s just no excuse to be charging for web access when you’re charging over £100 a night anyway. So, as a checklist, if your hotel provides any of the following, you should not be charging for WiFi:
- Chocolates on the pillow.
- Bathrobes.
- Turndown service.
- A concierge.
- A fitness centre and/ or pool.
- Men whose sole job it is to open the lobby doors for people approaching them.
Do you think all hotels should provide free WiFi? What annoys you about trying to get online whilst on the road? What’s the biggest WiFi charge you’ve ever encountered? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
We can’t offer guests internet at all as yet. We have a satellite internet connection for the business, it costs nearly $6000(US) a year for 1GB a month, the costs double for each additional 500mb we use! The only decent signal due to the trees (we are in the midst of a coconut plantation) is in our house which is half a kilometre from the lodge on a small cliff (ie raised up). We had high hopes when Vodacom installed a booster for mobile signal, as with dongles we could access cheaper internet ($40 per GB)and would have been able to offer guests internet, sadly the booster does not raise the signal enough to access the internet. So for now, no internet wifi or otherwise can be offered. It does put a lot of potential guests off booking, on the other hand those that do book appreciate getting away from all methods of outside communication. I would LOVE to offer free wifi, i fear it will be a few years yet before we can.
Couple of interesting responses via Twitter. @VickyBaker said there’s no excuse for not providing free WiFi if there’s already broadband in the building: “What’s the excuse for not opening it up to guests? Might aswell itemise guest’s contribution to the electricity/gas bills too.”
@OliviaGreenway added: “If the hotel has broadband, Wi-Fi should be free. Good pr exercise; REALLY riles me when they want me to pay. “
I’m also not averse to paying a small fee for wi-fi if that fee corresponds vaguely to the actual cost of providing the service and isn’t just another racket. Even £5 is a high amount but if the hotel was otherwise offering value for money I’d cough up.
But as with so many things it’s easy to pick up whether a hotel is driven by maximising revenue per guest or by actually delighting their customers. This is just another one of those indicators.
The thing that would make me pick a hotel, hostel or other accommodation over another similar is the offer of free wifi. Folks, this is a selling point!!
And, if there isn’t wifi, but free broadband, no objection to that, but it should be clearly stated that you need to bring an LAN cable along.
Even going on a costing similar to Ras Mbisi’s, a routed system would be able to connect all the rooms. $6,000 divided by the 365 days is only $16 or £10 a day. Even if you divided this by just 20 rooms in a hotel, you’re talking about a cost of 50p $0.80 a day per room.
So, no, there is no excuse. Even the parks in the Americas (USA, Mexico and Guatemala for sure) have wi-fi so hotels in most countries should be standard. It’s something I look for before booking a room. Profiteering from charging extra loses my business and, therefore, costs them more than the 50p.
we have 8 rooms, we are off the beaten track with no ‘passing trade’ and therefore operate at about 22% occupancy, and in any case, they can’t install it in the lodge, no signal. Besides, 1gb a month barely does our emails, and half an hours browsing a day for us, so isn’t going to go far for guests. Each additional 500mb on top of the 1gb costs $6000. For a small family run beach lodge here, it is not possible. Although I am sure you will tell me i am wrong!
Oh and being in sub Saharan Africa, we close for 3 months of the year, planes can’t land, boats cannot get in, due to torrential rain, so hardly 365 days of the year, life isn’t always as simple as it looks
That wasn’t me having a go at you, Ras. Please don’t take it personally. I can imagine there are establishments like yours that are far from the norm but in urban and developed areas, it would be rare to find dwellings with your restrictions. Where there’s a lack of choice from providers it can be more difficult.
Perhaps I should say that in 99% of cases, there is no excuse. I stayed in a 5 bedroom hostel in Antigua, Guatemala and it had one line with a router that worked perfectly and the owner was able to absorb the cost in the price of the room – but this is an urban area.
fair enough
I do get defensive, because a) i would love to provide it, and b) our occupancy would increase judging from the many people that ask (although we do point it out on the website)it’s frustrating because it just isn’t possible (yet)
@Keith – you’re right on those LAN cables. It’s immensely frustrating to show up and be told you need one. Most hotels have one in the room, however. And if not, you can usually sweet talk one out of reception.
@Ras and @Beamsley – I’ve come across this in remote places before. The cost of providing WiFi in some parts of the world is ridiculously high – particularly in countries where it is charged by the MB. You’d hope this will change over the next few years, but there are always likely to be spots where a constant connection to the web just isn’t realistic.
@Ras
I did stay in one place in Spain where there was free wifi, but the connection was extremely slow and spotty. Surprisingly, most people accepted this (we were in a remote area)and regarded just the ability to occasionally check email as a bonus.
I remember doing a job in the Outer Hebrides in the early 90s, and some dweeb complaining that there was no mobile phone signal. Me, I was grateful; it meant I could get on with what I’d come to do (and enjoy my down-time!
) without counstant demands for ‘updates’ and ‘sitreps’ from the office.
So, no wifi in remote locations is sometimes acceptable … but it MUST be made clear from the start.
This is the great thing about hostels – they almost all offer free WiFi at this stage. Plus, most also offer private rooms if you don’t fancy sharing a dorm with a stranger.
Sadly Australia, a country of so-called early adopters, lags behind the rest of the known world when it comes to free WiFi in hotels. It is still a very rare and pleasant surprise.
Somebody in the industry told me that, years back in the early days of internet access requirements (you know – before it was essential for all of us to have access all of the time), the hotel chains got themselves locked into contracts with ISPs who charge the guests independently of the hotels.
But it would still make more sense to buy out their contracts. They must get so many complaints!