Are Personal WiFi Hotspots The Next Hot Hotel Amenity?

October 18, 2011 at 8:50 AM | by juliana | Comments (2)

Are wireless hot spots the next hot hotel amenity? Judging by these two recent reports from luxury hotels in Asia, they just might be!

First up, a guest sent in this snapshot, above, and description, below, of the YES personal 4G station called the Huddle found at the JW Marriott in Kuala Lumpur. He writes:

YES has a table in the lobby, adjacent to the Front Desk, where guests can borrow (deposit, but no rental charge) a 4G station, called a �Huddle�. Then, for RM50 per day (USD15/day) you get all the wifi data you can eat. That includes downloading their app and turning your iPod Touch or iPhone, or iPad, into a VOIP phone for free� and, you can connect up to 5 devices at one time.

I�m on it right now with my laptop, and have also connected an iPad and my US iPhone 3GS. I now have all the data and calls I can consume, all at a flat rate.

The Huddle is slightly smaller than the iPhone, and would easily slip into my pocket. I now have a wifi hotspot with me, throughout KL� It just needs to plug in and recharge overnight.

Right now, this is only of value in KL, but what a great connectivity platform! Is this what 4G can do for hotels? No more data roaming overseas at randomly high rates?

Fifteen dollars a day for all the data you can eat sounds crazy reasonable, especially when you consider that it works for your iPhone as well eliminating those heinous roaming charges and that you can take it with you wherever you go. No more racing back up to your hotel room just to answer an email. Sounds good to us!

Also another fun tech fact: Apparently, the reason why this JW Marriott offers the Huddle is because the hotel's owners, YTL, also own YES, the 4G telephone company that launched Malaysia�s first 4G network.

While we were marveling over the possibility of more hotels getting in on the portable WiFi trend, we got word that the Park Hyatt Tokyo is now offering guests the chance to rent a similar device--an E-mobile pocket-sized, portable WiFi device. This personal hotspot will work when the guest is in the hotel, exploring the city or, as a hotel rep points out, when climbing Mt. Fuji.

We're waiting to hear back how much the rental of the E-Mobile is (update: the E-mobile costs approximately $32.57 a day) but if you don't feel like it's necessary to have the personal hotspot, internet access is free throughout the hotel for guests. Thank goodness.

Comments (2)

Return to » Are Personal WiFi Hotspots The Next Hot Hotel Amenity?

Every room at the Peninsula in Bangkok has its own private WiFi network. HUGE amenity, considering you don't have to worry about using too many devices or sharing a big public hotel network. I'm assuming it's also easier for the hotel to target problems, without having to shut down the whole floor's (or hotel's) network, interrupting the work of other guests.

That is truly a luxury. Although, I like the Huddle too. Because it works on your iPhone and means you don't have to set up a special data plan when you are in another country. Although, it does mean you have to spend your entire stay in that one hotel. And you know how we like to sleep around!

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