On Jun 22, 11:20=A0am, Hatunen wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:34:49 -0700 (PDT), y_p_w
>
>
>
> wrote:
> >On Jun 18, 6:14=A0am, BobT wrote:
> >> One things to check. =A0Most of these motels offer free wireless (or
> >> sometimes wired) "high speed" internet access, and free local phone
> >> calls. =A0More expensive hotels/motels often charge for these services=
.
> >> A few mid price chains (Red Roof, for example, unless they have
> >> changed in the last 3 months) usually charge for internet access.
>
> >It's kind of a crapshoot.
>
> >I've stayed in many budget motels with free internet access. =A0It may
> >not have been terribly high speed, but it was free. =A0Motel 6 charges
> >$2.99 at locations with internet access, and I believe they typically
> >use very solid connections rather than sharing one limited connection.
>
> >I've stayed in some high-priced hotels (many Hilton locations) where
> >the high-speed internet access was complimentary. =A0I also once stayed
> >in a resort hotel where it would have been extra (I connected via dial-
> >up to avoid it). =A0I've had different experiences with Holiday Inn
> >locations. =A0Some were absolutely free. =A0I once used one which was
> >free, but bandwidth throttled to 768 kbit/sec. =A0An option was to get a
> >higher-speed connection by paying an additional daily service fee.
>
> One of the advantages of having high speed internet available is
> that one can install Skype on their laptop and use it to make
> cheap phone calls world wide (about $0.02/minute). Very handy for
> calling ahead to the next town and making lodging reservations.
> And of course, for calling home to check on the house or
> whatever.
Skype is a fairly recent phenomena.
I remember a long road trip I took three years ago. It was primarily
a tour of the National Park Service, and none of the cabins and few of
the lodges had internet access. I remember one computer at the Colter
Bay Cabins at the main office lobby. It was free, but somewhat slow
and if there was a line one could be waiting a while. Jackson Lake
Lodge had free wireless access for anyone, but I swear it must have
been a 1.5 Mbit/sec connection shared between 100 people (possibly
some in guest rooms). It was practically unusable.
It's really strange which chains seem to have internet access and for
what price. Some of the higher end chains seemed to eat the costs
while others see it as another way to charge for their high-paying
customers. Choice Hotels (EconoLodge, Clarion, Comfort, Rodeway,
Quality, LaQuinta, Cambria, etc) seems to have a broad stance that
their locations will have free high-speed internet access. Even a
budget motel chain like EconoLodge has free wireless internet. I can
understand Motel 6 charging $2.99 per day, which is on the very low
end for places that charge. They typically don't provide shampoo and
charge more for two guests (as opposed to one) so this is sort of in
their line of a moderate charge for extra amenities.
Harrah hotel/casinos are charging $10.95 per 24 hours for internet
access. Many of their competitors have similar charges. After a
recent trip to Hawaii, I found that in addition to parking charges,
many hotels charged for internet access. One Waikiki hotel did have
maybe four terminals in the lobby for free use by guests, but they
were typically full up and half weren't operational. They also stated
a 15 minute limit. |