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-   -   Hotel wi-fi rant...... (http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=45702)

Remo 05-17-2011 06:49 PM

Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
So I checked my hotel in Orlando and they want 13 bucks a day for wi-fi, seriously 13 bucks...I am not spending 13 bucks a day to chat with you guys :r I was just gonna take the Ipad and use it (not 3g) with their wi-fi but now I have to take a laptop with an aircard. Seems like I could stay at a Motel 6 and get free wi-fi, WTH?

Remo 05-17-2011 06:49 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
P.S I don't have a smart phone, wife does but she'll have it with her.

Ogre 05-17-2011 06:52 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Thats how hotels work now. Lower the price of the room and nit-pick everything. Next you will see a Quarter Machine on the Bathroom.

MurphysLaw 05-17-2011 06:52 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Swap sim cards, let her carry your phone with her card in it, and you get the smart phone!

kydsid 05-17-2011 06:52 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
I have found two ways around this that generally work.

1) Become a member of the hotel's reward program. Marriott and the like will give free wifi to rewards members.

2) Politely discuss the issue with the front desk manager. Exagerate if you must the amount of travel you do in various chains and explain their wifi policies. In general low tier hotels, Motel 6, but even Residence Inn offer free wifi, but the likes of a regular Marrito or Hilto do not. Most often the manager will offer to comp your access.


Good luck.

Remo 05-17-2011 06:55 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by kydsid (Post 1266122)
I have found two ways around this that generally work.

1) Become a member of the hotel's reward program. Marriott and the like will give free wifi to rewards members.

2) Politely discuss the issue with the front desk manager. Exagerate if you must the amount of travel you do in various chains and explain their wifi policies. In general low tier hotels, Motel 6, but even Residence Inn offer free wifi, but the likes of a regular Marrito or Hilto do not. Most often the manager will offer to comp your access.


Good luck.

Good info, I'll try it. Still taking the laptop though just in case.

E.J. 05-17-2011 07:00 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Just find a cigar bar with wifi....problem solved....

kelmac07 05-17-2011 07:02 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
$ 13.00 day?? Good googly moogly!!! :td :td

loki 05-17-2011 07:06 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
people still charge for wifi? hell even starbucks gives it away for free now

kelmac07 05-17-2011 07:07 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by loki (Post 1266139)
people still charge for wifi? hell even starbucks gives it away for free now

And McDonalds!!

Remo 05-17-2011 07:10 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by E.J. (Post 1266132)
Just find a cigar bar with wifi....problem solved....

Now ur thinkin E.J

loki 05-17-2011 07:10 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by kelmac07 (Post 1266140)
And McDonalds!!

forgot about this

SeanGAR 05-17-2011 07:13 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Smartphone with Pdanet saves money time after time .. airports are the worst ... few places have free wifi.

markem 05-17-2011 07:17 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
while not exhaustive, the free wifi locator website may have some useful information for you.

http://www.wififreespot.com/

The list of hotels can be used to leverage the one you are staying at ... possibly

http://www.wififreespot.com/hotels.html

I've never used openwifi, but they may have something useful as well.

http://www.openwifispots.com/

found a google map app as well: http://www.gwifi.net/

MurphysLaw 05-17-2011 07:29 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
I'm pretty sure I was using the wifi at Corona cigars while waiting for Larry to show up last week. The selection there blew my mind :dr

SNKBYT 05-17-2011 07:41 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
try Corona's for a smoke & Wifi......bonus is you meet a few from CA there....ask for Alex (not this one), he'll take care of you

hotreds 05-17-2011 07:50 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
I've found the expensive hotels charge for Wifi- the cheaper ones do not. What's wrong with THAT picture?

Remo 05-17-2011 07:52 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by hotreds (Post 1266169)
I've found the expensive hotels charge for Wifi- the cheaper ones do not. What's wrong with THAT picture?

That's what i'm sayin!!!

hotreds 05-17-2011 07:56 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
You are correct! It's ridiculous!

hammondc 05-17-2011 08:51 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by hotreds (Post 1266169)
I've found the expensive hotels charge for Wifi- the cheaper ones do not. What's wrong with THAT picture?

YEP! I stay in the Hilton chain very regularly for work. The higher in the chain you go, the less you get. Craziness.

Remo 05-17-2011 08:55 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by hammondc (Post 1266270)
YEP! I stay in the Hilton chain very regularly for work. The higher in the chain you go, the less you get. Craziness.

It is very odd, I assumed that all hotels nowadays have free wi-fi, guess not. Someone's gotta pay for Paris to be a dumbA$$.

Eleven 05-17-2011 08:57 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
2 of the nicer hotels we stayed in while traveling with my kids hockey team had this same policy. And they just happened to be the 2 most expensive ones we stayed at (we generally get great rates with the entire hockey team staying).

Both times, I let loose the wife on the front desk and we got our wifi free. We even got a fridge comped along with the wifi at one of them.

The customer is always right, but they won't admit that unless you explain it to them.

Bill86 05-17-2011 09:01 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
$13 a day? That's ridiculous!

T.G 05-17-2011 09:32 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill86 (Post 1266299)
$13 a day? That's ridiculous!

For you sir, special deal, twelve-fiddy.

icehog3 05-18-2011 12:54 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Stupid Home Depot doesn't have free wifi, I am so done with them.

emopunker2004 05-18-2011 01:28 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ogre3239 (Post 1266120)
Thats how hotels work now. Lower the price of the room and nit-pick everything. Next you will see a Quarter Machine on the Bathroom.

Not here. Holiday inn express in davenport.$52 a night pretty nice room 2 queen beds. Free wi-fi

markem 05-18-2011 07:49 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 1266414)
Stupid Home Depot doesn't have free wifi, I am so done with them.

If you complain loudly enough, they will give you a gift card. Just sayin.

cmitch 05-18-2011 07:55 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
It must be a Marriott you're staying at. They suck at customer service. I consider them bottom feeders when it comes to these tactics. I stayed at a Marriott on the river in Savannah. Worst hotel experience ever and I'll never stay there again. Toilet wouldn't even flush. No continental breakfast and WiFi charges. No access to internet, either. It sucked hind tit.

Texan in Mexico 05-18-2011 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 1266414)
Stupid Home Depot doesn't have free wifi, I am so done with them.

I also had a problem with them - bought some Spanish Cedar wood chips for the yard, turns out they were from Portugal! No problem, my neighbor's cousin's barber has a friend in Seville that's going to hook me up...
Posted via Mobile Device

bonjing 05-18-2011 10:01 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Try booking in Vegas. A lot of the hotels now automatically charge a resort fee ranging from $15 - $25. Some include: free local calls (uh cell phone), internet access, and gym use (which is usually open from 8am to 6pm or something like that) daily newspaper, blah, blah, blah.

I'm sure you can reason with them to remove the charge, but really why automatically charge me something that I'm not going to use.

Remo 05-18-2011 10:02 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by cmitch (Post 1266608)
It must be a Marriott you're staying at. They suck at customer service. I consider them bottom feeders when it comes to these tactics. I stayed at a Marriott on the river in Savannah. Worst hotel experience ever and I'll never stay there again. Toilet wouldn't even flush. No continental breakfast and WiFi charges. No access to internet, either. It sucked hind tit.

It's the Doubletree and I think they are Hilton. So they both suck!!!

maninblack 05-18-2011 01:25 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Stay with Larry and milk his wifi.He might even let you bunk with him. (I've heard he's like that).

TheTraveler 05-18-2011 02:27 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by maninblack (Post 1266946)
Stay with Larry and milk his wifi.

I misread that word while on the phone with a customer. :r :r

floydpink 05-18-2011 02:33 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by cmitch (Post 1266608)
It must be a Marriott you're staying at. They suck at customer service. I consider them bottom feeders when it comes to these tactics. I stayed at a Marriott on the river in Savannah. Worst hotel experience ever and I'll never stay there again. Toilet wouldn't even flush. No continental breakfast and WiFi charges. No access to internet, either. It sucked hind tit.

Too bad you feel that way.
I've worked for Marriott for a long time and see a lot of happy owners with the Vacation Club and our resort is free wifi and they even lend you an adapter for free if your computer runs slow. (we also enjoy a 85-90% occupancy rate year round with very high customer ratings on a 1600 villa golf resort.

Just the same, you still get people who are a pain in the ass and blame us if it's raining the whole week they are here.

If you're ever in town, try the Motel 6, I hear their toilets are on turbo flush.:r and the bottom feeding catfish sandwiches ain't bad either.

Never been to Savannah, but you're painting with a broad brush.

cmitch 05-18-2011 03:13 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTraveler (Post 1266995)
I misread that word while on the phone with a customer. :r :r

You're not the only one who thought that it said 'wife'.:D

cmitch 05-18-2011 03:17 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by floydpink (Post 1267001)
Too bad you feel that way.
I've worked for Marriott for a long time and see a lot of happy owners with the Vacation Club and our resort is free wifi and they even lend you an adapter for free if your computer runs slow. (we also enjoy a 85-90% occupancy rate year round with very high customer ratings on a 1600 villa golf resort.

Just the same, you still get people who are a pain in the ass and blame us if it's raining the whole week they are here.

If you're ever in town, try the Motel 6, I hear their toilets are on turbo flush.:r and the bottom feeding catfish sandwiches ain't bad either.

Never been to Savannah, but you're painting with a broad brush.

If the shoe fits, then Marriott needs to wear it. They are so detached from the customer they don't know what customer service is. And to deal with them in special events is even a bigger pain in the a$$. Since you work for Marriott, perhaps you should pay attention to what customers are saying about you, investigate the complaints and act to solve them. From reading your post, it would appear you'd rather blame the customer for your troubles than to solve them.
If you're referring to the Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando, here are the overall ratings:

Excellent: 410
Very Good: 208
Average: 58
Poor: 56
Terrible: 34

This means 80% thought their stay was good or better and out of 5 stars, they got 3.5. Not a very highly ranked hotel. This hotel failed to please 90 customers out of 776. Acceptable? BTW, I'd rated my stay in Savannah, GA average. They did fix the toilet . . . eventually. But, there's no value for the money spent and the Hampton in Savannah is a much better hotel.
If I'm ever in town, I'll look up a Hampton, thank you.:tu

TBone 05-18-2011 04:04 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Just mention that you know Larry and see if that helps...

floydpink 05-18-2011 06:02 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by cmitch (Post 1267047)
If the shoe fits, then Marriott needs to wear it. They are so detached from the customer they don't know what customer service is. And to deal with them in special events is even a bigger pain in the a$$. Since you work for Marriott, perhaps you should pay attention to what customers are saying about you, investigate the complaints and act to solve them. From reading your post, it would appear you'd rather blame the customer for your troubles than to solve them.
If you're referring to the Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando, here are the overall ratings:

Excellent: 410
Very Good: 208
Average: 58
Poor: 56
Terrible: 34

This means 80% thought their stay was good or better and out of 5 stars, they got 3.5. Not a very highly ranked hotel. This hotel failed to please 90 customers out of 776. Acceptable? BTW, I'd rated my stay in Savannah, GA average. They did fix the toilet . . . eventually. But, there's no value for the money spent and the Hampton in Savannah is a much better hotel.
If I'm ever in town, I'll look up a Hampton, thank you.:tu

We'll keep the light on at the Ritz Carlton for ya and do whatever it takes to regain your loyalty.:D

icehog3 05-19-2011 12:51 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Texan in Mexico (Post 1266711)
I also had a problem with them - bought some Spanish Cedar wood chips for the yard, turns out they were from Portugal! No problem, my neighbor's cousin's barber has a friend in Seville that's going to hook me up...
Posted via Mobile Device

I'm the barber of Seville! :D

Eleven 05-19-2011 05:59 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
We stay almost exclusively at Marriott hotels when we take our hockey trips, and with the exception of the 2 hotels I mentioned earlier, the Marriotts we stay at almost *all* offer free wifi, free breakfast, microwaves, fridges, funny little mini-stores at the front counter and they have all allowed us to drink in the lobby until dawn.

They may not be 5 star, but Marriott provides a very cost effective way to travel en masse, on the cheap. We dig em and dread when we hear there is no courtyard or marriott to stay when we book for hockey trips.

I'm sure they can't measure up to 5 star ratings, or maybe even 4 star ratings, but when it comes to the little things, and especially the TOPIC AT HAND, Marriotts take the cake in my book.

taltos 05-19-2011 06:47 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 1266414)
Stupid Home Depot doesn't have free wifi, I am so done with them.

Lowes doesn't have it either so I am stuck.:D

forgop 05-19-2011 07:15 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Best part-carry an ethernet cable and plug in for free. ;)

forgop 05-19-2011 07:19 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjing (Post 1266739)
Try booking in Vegas. A lot of the hotels now automatically charge a resort fee ranging from $15 - $25. Some include: free local calls (uh cell phone), internet access, and gym use (which is usually open from 8am to 6pm or something like that) daily newspaper, blah, blah, blah.

I'm sure you can reason with them to remove the charge, but really why automatically charge me something that I'm not going to use.

You'll run into that around Disney a lot as well. I booked a great deal for a nice hotel a couple of years ago on a business trip only to pay a $12 resort fee when I wasn't using anything like the van to the parks, pool parties, etc. It's a scam IMO.

forgop 05-19-2011 07:21 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
I've decided to try for 2-3 star hotels on priceline from now on. They'll give you a free wifi and continental breakfast, whereas if you get stuck in a 4 star, no free wifi and you have a $12-15/pp choice for breakfast.

floydpink 05-19-2011 08:25 AM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eleven (Post 1267623)
We stay almost exclusively at Marriott hotels when we take our hockey trips, and with the exception of the 2 hotels I mentioned earlier, the Marriotts we stay at almost *all* offer free wifi, free breakfast, microwaves, fridges, funny little mini-stores at the front counter and they have all allowed us to drink in the lobby until dawn.

They may not be 5 star, but Marriott provides a very cost effective way to travel en masse, on the cheap. We dig em and dread when we hear there is no courtyard or marriott to stay when we book for hockey trips.

I'm sure they can't measure up to 5 star ratings, or maybe even 4 star ratings, but when it comes to the little things, and especially the TOPIC AT HAND, Marriotts take the cake in my book.

Mine too, but I'm obviously biased.
You'll never see 100% satisfaction and always have people who you can't make happy, but the loyalty I see every day to the brand is really kinda amazing.

Not sure where the ratings posted earlier came from, but they're about 4 points under where just about any hotel would say, "we're doing really well with the guest satisfaction scores". They're also lower than the ones I recently saw, so I'm not sure where they came from or their validity.

I haven't stayed anywhere else in 10 years and am headed to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square in less than 2 weeks and can't think of anywhere I'd rather stay.

thebayratt 05-19-2011 06:33 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Thas like when me and a group of friends stayed at a fancy hotel in NOLA last year and they wanted $25 a day for wi-fi.....
We went across the street to a nice bar/resturant, got a drink and surfed the net there. We asked on the way out if we could continue to use there wi-fi across the street at our hotel loby. they said "sure, no problem!" We went to the hotel lobby and used the bar's and all it cost us was $6 for the two beers!

emopunker2004 05-19-2011 06:39 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by forgop (Post 1267688)
I've decided to try for 2-3 star hotels on priceline from now on. They'll give you a free wifi and continental breakfast, whereas if you get stuck in a 4 star, no free wifi and you have a $12-15/pp choice for breakfast.

Try Holiday Inn express. We stayed in one the other night just outside orlando. $59 bucks a night after taxes. Free Wifi and Free HOT breakfast: pancakes, bacon, biscuits, cinn buns, coffee, juice, cereal, bagels etc.
:tu

justonemorestick 05-19-2011 08:50 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Im with you but I havent even used my laptop since I got my smart phone. it would seem that if you are paying over $100 a night its the least they could provide. I still ask the girl behind the counter if a happy ending is included in the resort fee. Now that would be a resort.

BnBTobacco 05-19-2011 09:52 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
The same thing happened to me when I checked in a hotel. Mine was $6 per day. $13 is too much! Now, the first thing I do is ask if they have free Wi-Fi service.

smokepuff 05-19-2011 10:07 PM

Re: Hotel wi-fi rant......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Remo_5_0 (Post 1266115)
So I checked my hotel in Orlando and they want 13 bucks a day for wi-fi, seriously 13 bucks...I am not spending 13 bucks a day to chat with you guys :r I was just gonna take the Ipad and use it (not 3g) with their wi-fi but now I have to take a laptop with an aircard. Seems like I could stay at a Motel 6 and get free wi-fi, WTH?

13 bucks :r

Invest in learning to use airsnort or aircrack-ng problem solved.

Although for educational purposes only, I am not responsible for the what one use the software for or any damages you may incur :2


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