Select Hotel Chains Hand Out Free Wi-Fi For Loyalty

To us, it's still pretty hard to believe that expensive hotel chains have the nerve to charge for Internet access, even after charging you $200+ per night to stay there, and $25+ per morning just to eat breakfast. It's totally out of hand, and throwing in Wi-Fi would be a nice gesture, at least. As it stands, there are only a few chains that do it, and hardly any of the major high-end brands do. But now, those that are loyal to brands like that may get some respect on the other side. Hilton, Starwood and Marriott have all started programs where loyal and returning customers receive free Wi-Fi if they sign up and reach a certain status within their hotel stay programs.

It's actually a pretty nice gesture. In most of these cases, it doesn't take much to become eligible for free Internet, and with Marriott, all you need to do is register. We couldn't be happier to finally see this shift taking place. And we also couldn't agree more with Josh Weiss, vice president, brands and guest technology for Hilton Worldwide: "Hotel Internet is like water these days. You would never expect to go to a hotel that didn't have sufficient water pressure. High-speed Internet has gone from being a novelty to being a basic expectation in just a few years." That's absolutely the truth, and we're hoping that other hotel chains pick up on that logic soon.


How about you? Have you ever avoided a hotel because you knew that free Internet wasn't included?