Outside of children on planes, few topics get most travelers more riled up than the subject of hotel Internet charges.
While the days of expensive per minute dial-up are fortunately gone, guests at most upscale hotels still can expect to pay significant Internet fees, often not only per room but per device.
Some hotels charge for Internet, others don’t. It’s an irritating crap shoot and can be costly, making a hotel deal not such a good deal.
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts years ago eliminated the Internet fee for members of their frequent stay program, with no minimum level.
But most major chains still charge at their deluxe properties, even when they offer free Internet at their budget brands. Some, like Hyatt and Marriott, waive it for elite level frequent guests, but not for most travelers.
Now Intercontinental Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company, with over 4,600 properties, announced plans to give all its guests free Internet access by 2014.
The Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) includes brands ranging from Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza hotels to Indigo and Holiday Inns, to Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites.
The less expensive brands already have free internet, but Intercontinental in particular can have quite expensive access. (€5 an hour, for example, in Budapest; and, New York City’s Crowne Plaza Times Square charges $19.95 a day for WiFi.)
As with the much smaller Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, IHG will require travelers to join the chain’s frequent guest program, but there’s no minimum number of stays required.
The chain will require both an actual address, home or business, and an email address. These addresses can be shared with third-party businesses — i.e. advertisers.
On the other hand, the option of dealing with junk e-mail and snail mail at least gives guests a choice in the matter. My guess is that many if not most travelers will decide some extra potential junk mail or emails are well worth it.
It does remain to be seen whether the free Internet will only be for the guest or guests enrolled in the frequent stay program, which could be an issue for families or couples with multiple devices. Although, presumably, every adult in the room could sign up.
Curiously enough, IHG will start out this year by first giving free Internet to elite level frequent guests only, then extend the program to anyone who signs up in 2014.
The delayed roll-out of the plan does give other hotel chains plenty of time to decide to match the offer. But, perhaps this could be the beginning of the end of mandatory hotel Internet fees. We can only hope.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
