When you plan a vacation you usually remember to budget for things like hotel, travel, meals and perhaps your coffee addiction. But do you remember to factor in charges for Wi-Fi?
Sure, you can get free Wi-Fi at places like Starbucks and maybe McDonalds, depending on what city you're in. But who wants to leave the hotel room to get online? You want Wi-Fi in your room and you want everyone in the room to be able to use it.
Gogobot, the social travel and location-based recommendation site, recently conducted a survey of UK hotels and confirms what we've all been thinking – the more expensive hotels charged the most for Wi-Fi access. More than that, the Wi-Fi was at times spotty and unreliable.
"There is no correlation between the amount you pay and the quality you get," Kelly Lees, general manager in Europe for Gogobot tells Mashable. "Tether-less travel is here to stay" she says, and many people, especially families, rely on their iPhone or iPad to manage their itinerary. "Long gone are the days where you could connect using ethernet."
Their survey of UK-based hotels found guests are typically being charged more for Wi-Fi in higher end hotels, while less expensive hotels offer it as a free service. For instance, the Hilton charges £15 per day (or around $23) for Wi-Fi, while smaller boutique or independent hotels charge either nothing or £5 to £8 per day.
Lees says it's beginning to affect hotel ratings, as many travelers won't give five stars to a hotel they think gouged them on Wi-Fi.
So what can you do to get around these charges? Lees recommends:
- Call the hotel and ask about their policy. Let them know you have no intention of paying for Wi-Fi and see if they'll comp it.
- Use social media to complain. In some cases the social departments of a hotel chain will reach out and offer you Wi-Fi.
- Ask how many devices can use the Wi-Fi. Some hotels limit it to one device and charge separate fees per device.
Parents have laptops and tablets, kids have gaming devices and phones, everyone wants to be connected to the Internet. If you get charged per device, Lees says, go fight it. Ask the front desk to consolidate your charges into one day of Wi-Fi use. She says for families these extra charges seem like another way to nickel and dime people. Families should look at the hotels that offer free or low-priced Wi-Fi.
While their survey focused solely on the UK, it's a pretty sure bet the same results will be found in U.S. cities such as New York and San Francisco, which Gogobot plans to hit next.
What are the hotel Wi-Fi charges like in cities where you live or have visited? Do you find the more expensive hotels charge more for Wi-Fi? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo courtesy of Flickr, alexbrn
Source: Mashable
