The problem with these social hacks is that they continue to incentive shitty service. So instead of paying $30 for internet I'm paying $20, and to one of the few people who can possibly yell at the lazy internet vendor to fix things or to management to lower the price. Now, of course, she won't. So what if the login page is broken (or doesnt work with any iOS or Android browsers) or if the speeds are terrible. She got her $20, you got the backdoor employee login, and now the regular guests continue to suffer.
Even after my bribe/complaints/payment I'm stuck with yet another sub 1mbps internet that is literally useless to me. I just end up using the LTE tethering on my phone and minimize my usage so I dont hit my 5gb cap. I travel 6-7 times a year, usually to nice hotels, and am constantly shocked at how terrible the internet service is. Ironically, the cheap Super8 or Holiday Inn tends to have faster and cheaper/free service compared to the nicer hotel. Before my wife and I could afford nice hotels, we had much fewer internet issues. I imagine those cheaper outlets are actually competing for the dollar, while the fancier chains know that Joe Business traveler doesn't care about $20 a night internet because his company is paying for it anyway.
Worse, some hotels advertise 'free wifi' but once you show up you get a login page that tells you that 256kbps is free and if you want full speed its $20 a night. 256kbps is useless to me.
Has anyone started a wifi wall of shame yet? I was going to setup a small wordpress or drupal site just to post my speed results to warn other travelers, ask others to contribute, but the only time I'm motivated to do that is when I'm in the hotel frustrated, and of course then, the internet is far to slow to develop a new site on.
The real question is why is hotel management culture so broken and blind to the basic needs of their travelers. Imagine if the bathroom had a per use toilet paper fee and the paper was over-priced and of low quality. Would we stand for that? Hell, I'm going to start that site tonight. Catchy names anyone?
The real question is why is hotel management culture so broken
> and blind to the basic needs of their travelers.
Easy one: Travelers choose Hotels by nightly rate, many pay for internet whatever it costs afterwards. Especially with many companies' expense policies which require approval before booking the room, while internet is easily expensible ...
And comparing to holiday hotels: These won't pay that much, they pick hotel by "free internet" as part of the description.
So you're the guy trying to hook a Roku or AppleTV to his in-room TV and watch Netflix all night while all I'm trying to do is get my email and perhaps send a photo to my wife and kids.
Naww I'm the idiot who pities creators too much to install ad block or heaven forbid tries to open an attachment. Or browse a facebook photo gallery, upload photos, or use google maps without the patience of a buddha.
It doesn't help that tourist websites are poorly optimized and are unusable at very slow speeds.
Comments
The problem with these social hacks is that they continue to incentive shitty service. So instead of paying $30 for internet I'm paying $20, and to one of the few people who can possibly yell at the lazy internet vendor to fix things or to management to lower the price. Now, of course, she won't. So what if the login page is broken (or doesnt work with any iOS or Android browsers) or if the speeds are terrible. She got her $20, you got the backdoor employee login, and now the regular guests continue to suffer.
Even after my bribe/complaints/payment I'm stuck with yet another sub 1mbps internet that is literally useless to me. I just end up using the LTE tethering on my phone and minimize my usage so I dont hit my 5gb cap. I travel 6-7 times a year, usually to nice hotels, and am constantly shocked at how terrible the internet service is. Ironically, the cheap Super8 or Holiday Inn tends to have faster and cheaper/free service compared to the nicer hotel. Before my wife and I could afford nice hotels, we had much fewer internet issues. I imagine those cheaper outlets are actually competing for the dollar, while the fancier chains know that Joe Business traveler doesn't care about $20 a night internet because his company is paying for it anyway.
Worse, some hotels advertise 'free wifi' but once you show up you get a login page that tells you that 256kbps is free and if you want full speed its $20 a night. 256kbps is useless to me.
Has anyone started a wifi wall of shame yet? I was going to setup a small wordpress or drupal site just to post my speed results to warn other travelers, ask others to contribute, but the only time I'm motivated to do that is when I'm in the hotel frustrated, and of course then, the internet is far to slow to develop a new site on.
The real question is why is hotel management culture so broken and blind to the basic needs of their travelers. Imagine if the bathroom had a per use toilet paper fee and the paper was over-priced and of low quality. Would we stand for that? Hell, I'm going to start that site tonight. Catchy names anyone?
Easy one: Travelers choose Hotels by nightly rate, many pay for internet whatever it costs afterwards. Especially with many companies' expense policies which require approval before booking the room, while internet is easily expensible ...
And comparing to holiday hotels: These won't pay that much, they pick hotel by "free internet" as part of the description.
Exactly - same issue as airplanes. They are forced to chase the bottom by external websites, so they nickel and dime you for everything along the way.
256kbps is useless to me.
So you're the guy trying to hook a Roku or AppleTV to his in-room TV and watch Netflix all night while all I'm trying to do is get my email and perhaps send a photo to my wife and kids.
The $20 upcharge sounds good to me.
Naww I'm the idiot who pities creators too much to install ad block or heaven forbid tries to open an attachment. Or browse a facebook photo gallery, upload photos, or use google maps without the patience of a buddha.
It doesn't help that tourist websites are poorly optimized and are unusable at very slow speeds.
If I have to pay $20 for ONE DAY of Internet access I'm going to use the hell out of it.
Your beef is with the hotel, not the other users.