Campaign For Free Hotel Wi-Fi

The message that seems to be coming loud and clear from every survey I read is that, despite the recession, people will still travel if they can get added value from their trip.

So it’s a mystery to me why so many hotel chains still think it is right to nickel-and-dime customers by charging them for wireless and wired internet access.

Connectivity today is as much a part of most people’s lives as washing their face – and much more so than a piece of chocolate laid on their bed as a nighttime snack.

Yet soap bars and chocolate squares are considered essential amenities, while many hotels still think it right to charge people exorbitant prices to get online.

It does not make sense in an era where unless you add value, people will turn elsewhere, and even less so when you think that many of the major chains offer free wi-fi access in hotels in their budget and mid-range brands, yet charge in their luxury offerings, where people are already paying premium prices.

In the past, when less people required access to the internet and bills could be passed off on company expense accounts, I could perhaps see a reason for not burdening non-connected guests with the minimal extra charge required to offer the service … but not as we approach the second decade of the millennium and most people have a laptop or smartphone to stay in touch.

I’d like the practice of charging to connect to stop and for those that have existing wi-fi set ups to provide it free to paying guests, which is why I am launching the worldofjames.com Campaign For Free Hotel Wi-Fi.

As such, I will be writing to hotel chains and individual hotels that charge, questioning their reasons for doing so and requesting that they change tack.

So please comment if you agree with the campaign – or not for that matter – and let me know by clicking here of good hotels that already allow free wi-fi access and those that don’t. I’l be putting together regular name and shame lists.