Where to stay when you leave.
Should Hotel WiFi Be Free? The Debate Rages On
7/02/2008 at 12:54 PM
Tags: Hotel News, Hotel WiFi
Over at Hotels Magazine, Associate Editor Adam Kirby boldly argued that Hotel WiFi should be free (um, because it should).
The gist of his blog entry was, essentially, "hey, it's 2008, and only 16% of hotels still charge for WiFi, so the rest of you need to get with it already," and he provided some perfectly reasonable suggestions for those stubborn hoteliers still holding out on the free WiFi.
We say he's right for a number of reasons, but we didn't expect the ferocity with which the aforementioned stubborn hoteliers would respond. They have descended upon the comments section of his blog to oh-so-generously give the Internets a piece of their (greedy) minds.
One commenter ("Bill") writes:
Why should we charge ALL the guests for something that only 20% of them actually use. Should we give a away free beer and tack that on the rate too? In my mind, Americans would rather get what they pay for and pay for only what they get.
Only 20% of hotel guests want to use the Internet? Are you sure about that? Gosh. Well there go our careers.
Oh, America. So resistant to incorporating technology into day-to-day lifestyles.
But nevermind America; our favorite gem came from across the pond. Daryl writes:
Although wired, my guests pay €15.00 per 24 hrs for internet access. Never a complaint. Not charging means leaving money on the table, which makes no business sense.
Sir, if we may: perhaps you have not received one complaint because nobody is crazy enough to pay almost $25 USD for one day of WiFi access when most people pay that much for a whole month of service in their homes. They probably think you're just kidding.
What do you think? Should we expect free WiFi at hotels or not? Hit the comments section and sound off on the Great WiFi Debate.
Related Stories:
WiFi Week 2008
Wi-Fi: Give It Away Now [Hotels Mag]
Where: United States
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