More hotels merge onto Wi-Fi highway
Even by the warp-speed standards of the Internet age, demand for Web access at hotels is growing rapidly, and hotel owners are attempting to respond.
"Demand and utilization have skyrocketed in the past 18 months," says Omni Hotels executive Paul Dietzler. About 40 percent of guests use in-room Internet, he says, a rate much higher than he previously would have thought possible.
"If you had asked a couple of years ago, we'd have said it would take about seven years to see 50 percent to 60 percent of guests using the in-room Internet."
IPass, a West Coast company that provides remote Web access worldwide, said connections to the Internet from hotels grew 255 percent in the first half of 2007 from a year earlier. That growth rate far outpaces those for airports, cafes or retail stores. For the period, the number of connections from hotels were nearly two-thirds of those from airports, said iPass.
The rapid increase in Internet use, coupled with guests' downloading of heavier files, has the hotel industry scrambling to find the best, most economical way to roll out the service that, for many guests, is a must-have amenity.
As a result, more hotels are plugging in the wires and equipment to make the Internet connection work better and faster, particularly the Wi-Fi networks that let guests use the laptop in the comfort of their bed.
The W, the style-conscious luxury chain, plans to have its rooms equipped with Wi-Fi by early 2008. The chain is about halfway there.
Hotel owners are also spending for more bandwidth to let users import big files, such as videos from iTunes or graphics-rich document files.
A reliable connection in the evening is critical to business traveler Allan Goldberg, a safety management consultant from Alpharetta, Ga. He says he doesn't return to hotels that fail to provide it.
Like many travelers, Goldberg dislikes the $10 to $15 daily charge at many hotels.
"Sure, I can usually charge it to my client, but the principle is much the same as highway robbery," he says.
Jeffrey LaNuez, an executive for a New-York based non-profit, offers some advice for hoteliers interested in keeping his business: include Wi-Fi in the cost of the room, provide a strong-enough signal and sufficient bandwidth to meet the demand during the heavy-use times in the evening.
And, finally, he says, make the access automatic. "Do not make me open the browser to sign on."
WBJ Web Partners
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