HOTELS

We don't charge for WiFi - the guest appreciates it and there is no administrative hassle. For the little cost to the hotel it is well worth it for the increased guest satisfaction.

Seaport Hotelin Boston hard wired and now wireless access has been complimentary since the hotel opened in 1998.

We do not charge for wireless and we administer the set-up and bandwidth allocation ourselves. This is much appreciated by our clients. The provision of wireless these days can be likened to other amenities that are included in the base rate for the property, such as free to guest t.v., in-room safes, dvd players, telephones, and even things like shampoo, soap and towels. Not everyone uses them, but everybody contributes toward the cost of providing these basic service requirements.

Why should you charge for something that is free all around? Welcome to e-world in Estonia!

The reason only 20% are using your WiFi is because you are to expensive. The others went to a coffee shop and got it and you lost out on the F&B revenue also. On top of that, that 80% is looking to stay some where else the next time.

We've been giving free wifi and free beverages from the mini bar (beers + more) to all guests unconditionally. Its been afew years already & so far so good!!

Adam you continue to look at the issue based on the research of 1 - yourself. I am involved in Wi fi at hotel brand level. Consumer feedback related to a chain that offers free wi fi accross all properties shows the second highest COMPLAINT about the properties is the internet access. This stems from offering a free service that in many cases due to bandwidth and download issues results in inferior service to guests. I agree with Laurens - and remember this perspective is to charge for the service if it is genuine high speed (the free service will be similar to dial up, so really they are not offering free at all). So why not forget about the misleading promise of free wi fi and just offer good honest value - a fee relevant to what you get. If you want to download dvd's of 2 gig then pay $15, however for a good, reliable, genuine high speed experience pay $5.00. Most corporates and leisure alike will see this as value. And its not about the revenue to the hotel either - its about moving the US industry away from offering eveything for free and killing hotel margins.

As a guest, only an idiot wouldn't want it for free. As a hotelier however, let's talk about numbers: 30.000 eur to get wifi installed and working in my 120 rooms/bar/meeting rooms + 700 eur monthly for a RELIABLE DSL line + 900 eur for a 24/7 tollfree help desk in 6 languages (you need that for the 70% who can't work with a pc and the rest who's IT department allows them to click on nothing but the start button.) So please excuse me for trying to earn back the money i've spent on it so far. I would give it for free if it would bring in more bookings. But it doesn't. And once everybody gives it for free, you're stuck with the cost of it all. So paying a fair price for what you use seems logic for me. Break-even for the hotel, and no rip-off for the guest.

free wifi is everywhere, in towns, in public gardens, in tank stations, in the streets of big towns, and, as guest, i hope to have it in my preferred hotels. it's difficult to gain a new client, it' s more difficult to do somethig for he comes AGAIN. free wifi is a normal investment like new furnitures, beds, decorations... Laurence Longueville - Geneva -