I have a bone to pick with most of you Las Vegas Hoteliers.
You have taken the trouble and invested the money to build structures that are more akin to an architectural art form than a traditional modern business building.
You supply all your guests with all sorts of room amenities and, many of you, even supply casino chips as part of many of your package deals.
All great stuff, all worthwhile PR stuff, all to show prospective guests why they should stay at your hotel rather than at another hotel.
Good for you!
So why don't you throw in free Wi-Fi for every one of your rooms?
Yes, I know, many of you provide so called "complementary" internet or if your guest wants Wi-Fi, they'll have to pay a resort fee, which may cost the guest as little as $5 dollars or as much as $25+ per day.
Talk about scalping!
On the list of the worst cities for free Wi-Fi is, you guessed it, Las Vegas (Hotel Chatter Annual Report 2012).
Why?
Yes, many of the hotels offer free Wi-Fi in their lobby areas, but that's about it; though some hotels require a password to proceed, which, presumably, you would get from the desk, but only if you are a guest to start off with.
Visitors to Las Vegas, by and large, can be divided into two categories: those that come to visit and gamble, and those that come to attend one or more of the myriad of conventions staged here.
Presumably, the main reason for people coming to Las Vegas is not to spend time on a computer; after all, many people these days have PDAs or Smartphones and already have access to the Internet.
And though that may be true, one needs to remember that those PDAs and Smartphones, if used outside the area they bought it from, all services they use outside that area may be subject to extra costs—and probably are, and, I think many of my readers out there know and/or have experienced just how costly some of those services can be.
The ongoing excuse why four and five star hotels charge for Wi-Fi is, it would seem, for the sole reason that that’s what luxury hotels do.
After all, it would seem, if you are willing to shell out, in round figures, $300 dollars plus per night for a room, what’s a measly $10 to $25 dollars per day more for Wi-Fi!
Talk about being crass!
Many of the Las Vegas chain hotels supply their guests with free Wi-Fi services in many of their properties in other cities—so why not in Las Vegas?
Obviously, no Wi-Fi is free, the guest pays for every service the hotel provides, so why not include the price in the price of the room?
After all, everything else is, why not this?
Not cost effective? Too expensive?
Balderdash!
With a little bit of Internet searching you can find a host of companies more than willing to dicker for the contract to provide Wi-Fi services to your hotel.
But all you hoteliers already know that, so I’m obviously preaching to the choir.
I know of a Wi-Fi provider, which shall remain nameless (you may email me for the provider, if you are interested), who can install and outfit 1000 rooms with Wi-Fi, as well as provide and maintain all the necessary equipment, along with updates, free of charge, for a paltry $35,880 per year.
That breaks down to $2.99 per month per room.
Not a bad return on such an investment, don’t you think?
So what are you waiting for!
About the Author
Alan Campbell has been in Las Vegas for over 30 years and has worked for the major strip hotels. He has spent some time in California, Los Angeles where he worked for the Radisson and Sheraton hotels. Alan considers the hospitality industry the best job in the world – it is the only place that both king's and Paupers will visit you.
The Hotel Guy
