More and more hotel companies have realized
that if I could get free WiFi in a $10 a night guesthouse in Cambodia in 2009,
I must be able to get it for free in a hotel 10 or 20 times that price. All of the major hotel companies have been
saying that it has been in the works for quite some time; but “coincidentally”
many have begun offering some sort of free WiFi in the past months. We can’t get too excited yet, in some cases
free wifi comes with some restrictions.
According to HotelChatter’s 2014 WiFi report, Marriott,
Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt, Intercontinental, and Wyndham did not offer free
in-room internet as of the report’s April 2014 publication.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
IHG: You didn’t see
this one coming from Intercon, but they were the first to announce in March
2013 that they would begin offering free WiFi for all of their loyalty members
in 2014. This was based on an IHG
commissioned study founding that, “43% of adults surveyed said that they would
choose not to stay in a hotel that charged for internet”. http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?PageID=116&NewsID=2937
Marriott: Stepping up
with an October 2014 announcement, Marriott rolled out free-wifi, also only for
its members, in January 15, 2015. There
is one condition, not only do you have to be a Marriott Rewards member, but you
must book through Marriott.com or another direct channel. Oh, and there’s another caveat, everyone gets
standard WiFi, but only Gold and Platinum members get “enhanced” WiFi.
Starwood: Following
on Marriott’s footsteps, Starwood announced on December 17, 2014 that starting February
2, 2015 you could get free standard WiFi.
Same story as Marriott, you must be an SPG member and book through an
SPG direct channel. Also, only Platinum
and Gold members get what Starwood calls “premium” internet.
Hyatt: Coming to the
party on December 22, Hyatt brought the gift of free internet with no strings
attached: everyone gets free internet, regardless of booking method. There is a mention in their press release
that in some places Gold and Platinum members would have access to “premium
WiFi service”.
Hilton: Finally. Just today, Hilton announced through FlyerTalk (no official press release available yet), that it would begin offering free internet for everyone starting in August, must book direct. Diamond members will have access to premium Wifi as long as they book thorough a Hilton channel.
Aside from the obvious good news to travelers, there are
some key takeaways:
- Most importantly, hotel companies are now being
able to shorten the roll out of a worldwide program like this to as short as
2-3 months. It might not seem like a
complex process to roll out a product
upgradechange, but with hundreds of properties in different geographic operating areas and hundreds owners to deal with, this is a refreshing change from the usual 1+ year timeline for a corporate rollout of this kind. - Free WiFi has become a point of parity (and a standard amenity in this day and age)
- Peer pressure continues to work and hotel companies continue to follow.
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