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Complimentary WiFi

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    Today I posted a review of The Pelham Hotel in London on my blog All the Best (www.allthebest2007.blogspot.com) but would love to have the opinion of Extravigator readers on this subject.

    The hotel is a haven of tranquility and convenience in South Kensington. Directly across from the tube and down the road from the Victoria and Albert, you cannot argue with the location, the hotel interior and the attention to details.

    Certainly, in my opinion, The Pelham Hotel ticked all the right boxes—heated towel racks, Miller Harris bath products, Frette bed linen, Tivoli radio, flat screen LCD TV, complimentary morning papers.

    However, I do have one small complaint. While our room had WiFi, there was a charge of .30p per minute with a maximum charge of £20 per day. Is it just me or in this day in age, especially at a luxury hotel, don’t you think internet access should be complimentary? I still highly recommend The Pelham Hotel, but would welcome your thoughts on the subject.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford
      hotel.jpg
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    Absolutely without question it should be complimentary. There's no reason at all why the cost to maintain the network can't be folded into the cost of the room. Just like a resort with a pool should not charge you to get wet. Providing internet to a hotel the size of the Pelham should not be a major investment on their part.

    I recently argued in the Pet Peeves thread that all telephone calls should be free as well. At the very least, the local calls should be free. But with VOIP telephony making a phone call is no longer the big expense that it used to be.

    And when you consider the fact of how inexpensive it is to create a Wi-Fi network, or make a phone call these days, then it really starts to look chincy on the part of the luxury hotel. I mean if they're going to charge for phone calls and internet, why not charge people for how many towels they use? or bars of soap!?

    **Don't even get me started on the mini-bar!

    It has little to do with the money and more with the principle that the establishment isn't trying to discourage me from overusing something that basically costs them next to nothing. People feel much more at home (and usually don't want to leave) when the atmosphere is such that you can use or consume as much as you like. If a friend was staying over your house, you'd tell them to "make yourself at home." You wouldn't charge them to use the phone or take a snack.

    And don't forget that it actually costs money for a hotel to monitor the consumption of these things. When things are free, a hotel doesn't need to do all of the extra fulfillment. Plus there's the complaints about how much people actually consumed and giving refunds, etc. etc.

    A good hotel turns gracious hospitality into a business. If that means charging more for the room rate, than so be it!

    Perhaps this is more complicated than it sounds. The hotel would probably need to better communicate all of their inclusives to people who were trying to keep the hotel rates in mind when they book.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford, all the best
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    Even if a hotel wanted to keep their rates down to appear more attractive to the competition, there are other ways to defray the costs. Advertising is one way. Log on to the network, watch a quick ad, boom that's it. No messy fulfillment.

    However, when a hotel charges up to £20 per day they aren't just trying to defray the costs, they are trying to make a profit. For a respectable hotel to do that off of something that is relatively inexpensive to provide these days, I think you are right to question it.

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    I suspect that you will see less of these outrageous charges in a few years time, especially as there will easier ways to access the internet, such as 3G mobile networks and low-earth orbiting satellites.

    I also imagine that a hotel of that size has to be creative in how it makes its money. While it might come off as a bit ungracious hospitality, I can see how they might think it's a good idea to help them make the hotel more profitable. But ultimately I can't see this as a huge money maker for them. It probably discourages people from using the service more than it encourages. On the other hand, I suppose business travelers will just expense it and forget it.

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    I agree with all of the above. I think its pathetic when a hotel charges high prices for a room and then charge extra for the minibar, internet access etc.
    The philosophy at La Bandita in Italy, http://www.la-bandita.com is definitely more my style. I wonder if it will eventually catch on....

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    Someone over at TravelPost put together a list of what each hotel chain charges for Internet. It's really amazing to see the divide. Generally, the nicer the hotel the chain, the more you spend on connecting to the Internet. Most of the budget friendly hotel chains offer free internet — which proves just how inexpensive it is.

    HOTEL CHAINS WITH FREE WI-FI: Best Western, Comfort Inn, Conrad, Courtyard by Marriott, Days Inn, Four Points by Sheraton, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Howard Johnson, Indigo, Kimpton, La Quinta, Omni, Ramada, SpringHill Suites, Super 8, Travelodge

    HOTEL CHAINS THAT MAKE YOU PAY FOR WI-FI: Four Seasons, Hilton, Ian Schrager Hotels, InterContinental, Loews, Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Sofitel, St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin, Wyndham

    Unbelievable.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford
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    That's just absurd. The whole point of paying more for things at a luxury hotel is that the quality of services is better. I expect to pay more for a cup of coffee at a top hotel, but I also expect the coffee to be outstanding. Paying extra for basic Wi-Fi is just insulting.

    But I suppose the nicer hotels are doing it because they know they can get away with it. They don't need to provide incentives for people to want to stay there.

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    Given the level of hotels listed above that charge for Wi-Fi (Four Seasons, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton), it would seem that the people who frequent those hotels probably don't mind paying a little extra for Wi-Fi. The market would dictate otherwise if nobody used the Wi-Fi services.

    But .30p per minute is outlandish. It's actually cheaper to talk on a pay-as-you-go mobile phone! That might take the record for one of the highest Wi-Fi rates I've ever heard of.

    Even when we were in the middle of nowhere — on a safari in South Africa— we still didn't have to pay extra for Wi-Fi. It was included in the rate.

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    Image our surprise when we got the bill at the Claridges Hotel in London with a tipping charge per day! We certainly would have not been as generous had we known.
    Marty

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford
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    I think it's laughable that budget hotel chains like Travelodge and Holiday Inn offer speedy free Wifi access (at least in the communal areas, more often than not in the rooms) while 'brands' like Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton charge you through the nose for accessing the Internet.
    I once worked out (whilst relaxing in my suite at the George V) that if you included a local phone call (which I've been charged for on a couple of occasions even if the person I'm trying to reach is engaged or not there), Internet access, a laundry service for a couple of items of clothing, room service on one night, the renting of a DVD, the delivery of an ironing board & iron to your room (grrrr, another peeve), a cheeky couple of glasses of chilled Champagne, the printing out and faxing of a business document in the business centre, and the delivery of your car (plus car park) fees, plus all the tipping that this involves, you could quite easily add another 500 euros onto your night's room bill. And the George V ain't cheap!

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