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The Power Of Free WiFi
from the seems-to-be-getting-hotel-guests dept
We've written in the past about how more and more travelers are looking for free WiFi from the hotels they stay in, but a column by Peter Cochrane, visiting the US from Europe, really drives home the point. He says that everywhere he went in the US, even the most remote places, free WiFi was always available -- even in many places where there was no mobile phone service. However, perhaps the most interesting part is that while he was in one city in Colorado, he was having trouble finding a motel that had a vacancy. He noticed that every one of them advertised free WiFi. On a hunch, he tried a hotel that didn't have free WiFi... and it was only half-full. There could be plenty of other reasons, but it certainly supports the idea that lots of people are looking for WiFi when they travel. As for his own WiFi needs that night? The next morning he simply drove over to a hotel that did offer free WiFi and used it to check his email and take care of a few online issues. So, when does he get arrested?
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funny
haha, excellent
Reminds me, I was away on a trip recently in North Carolina at a hotel with free internet (Marriot Courtyard to be specific). We've been using this chain for a while -- it's incredibly wasteful to pay the $10/day that other hotels charge for network access.
Anyway, before hooking up to the ethernet jack in the room, I checked to see if there was wireless. There was and I was able to get an IP out of it. But I couldn't get past their web page to actually use the wireless.
I called downstairs and they told me that the wired internet is free, the wireless costs money. I didn't pursue it any further and just used the cable. But I thought it was a little silly to segregate like that. It'll only make your customers even more excited to be able to go wireless.
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wifi on the road
I have done the same thing, looking for the WiFi as a requirement of my lodging. I now use the Apple AirPort Express for places with wired but no WiFi. It's fairly inexpensive ($99 for a refurbished model), highly portable and cross-platform. A great mobile solution to those of us who abhor wires. Cheers!
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