Marriott To Install Wi-Fi
I've complained in the past year or so about all the hotels I've called when traveling for business, looking for Wi-Fi access. They all seem to have no clue what I'm talking about, even though it plays a large part in deciding which hotel I'm going to stay at. My second question is always if they have wired broadband internet access. What I found is that most hotels seem to think that the "dataport" (regular phone line jack) on their phone is broadband access. The only hotel that consistently has had broadband access (though, not wireless) are Marriotts. Now, they've decided to add Wi-Fi to the mix and will put the wireless technology in their lobbies and conference rooms (though, apparently not guest rooms yet). Interestingly, they're doing this through STSN, who provides their wired broadband as well - and not one of the big "hotspot" companies that say they focus on this sort of deal. They also say they're going to charge for people to use the Wi-Fi, though there's no indicatioin of price. I'm sure business travelers would be willing to pay for it, if the pricing is reasonable. But, if you need to pay for both the wireline access in the guest room and the wireless access in the lobby, I'm not so sure it will catch on.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
