When we take a hotel room, we don't pay a sheet surcharge, a bathroom surcharge or a TV surcharge (video on demand is an exception), so why do we still pay an internet surcharge?
The rates some hotels charge for Wi-Fi in Australia isn't something that makes business travellers jump up and down with joy.
So it's with interest we see this article on the Sydney Morning Herald web site in which Tourism Australia urges Australian hotels to provide free Wi-Fi to guests (for the tourism value of having holiday makers posting online about their travels, according to the article).
As we previously pointed out, unless you only make occasional short trips, it can be cheaper to use a prepaid mobile Wi-Fi hotspot or USB dongle (or even to rely on your smartphone's data plan) than to pay $25 or so per night for in-room broadband.
It seems odd to us that some hotels provide free Wi-Fi in the lobby and other areas which are accessible to non-residents (we know one Melbourne hotel lobby that's regularly treated as an upmarket internet cafe by members of the business community), while paying guests are expected to fork out extra for in-room access.
We've published a few articles on this topic:
- Here are 5 hotels in Melbourne we found with genuinely free Wi-Fi
- Here's one referring to Accor's plans to offer free Wi-Fi
- And on another note, but important - here are 6 tips for using free Wi-Fi safely
When we take a hotel room, we don't pay a sheet surcharge, a bathroom surcharge or a TV surcharge (video on demand is an exception), so why do we still pay an internet surcharge?
Hoteliers might suggest that it is expensive to provide a good Wi-Fi service. We're not arguing with that, but the high prices charged by some establishments discourage use, which means the cost is being spread over a smaller number of guests.
A final tip: if you are a frequent traveller, investigate the loyalty program operated by your preferred hotel chain - the benefits sometimes include free or more generous Wi-Fi access.
