iPads affect the future of hotel Wi-Fi

I have to call BS on this one.

Bandwidth costs over the past decade have plummeted. Five years ago it was unheard of to get Ethernet (10/100/1000) from a telecom provider without a massive investment. Now? In major metros I would be surprised if the hotels didn't have a choice of three + providers of service.

The biggest cost of the wi-fi build is the actual build. Additional monthly bandwidth costs can easily be incorporated into the hotel fee structure.

Got a great idea, stop dropping off the crappy paper that I will never read and dump the $1/night aggregately into a bigger pipe.

As someone who works in the industry, I find some of the attitudes and perceptions here quite uninformed. Do you know how many hotels are finally able to, if very lucky, get something better than satellite internet? And you're talking about shared internet service. Take a 150 room hotel. Say 50 people using the connection. Now add all their devices (tablet, phone, computer, possibly more). Then start streaming Netflix, crank up the bittorrent client, play some games, browse the web...

Just how far do you think a DSL connection is going to get you?

DOCSIS 3 availability is limit, as is fiber to the premises or even curb. When the best available option is a 7Mbps DSL/cable solution, what more do you expect? It can only get chopped up so much before it turns to garbage for everyone at the hotel. It's not your home connection, it's not just a few family members using it.

I have no doubt that wi-fi demand in hotels is increasing, partly but not entirely driven by increasing iPad usage. However, when I regularly have to pay 10x the cost for 1/10th of the speed that I get at home, my sympathy for Mr Garrison and his ilk is minimal. They must be making bucket loads of money at the moment so funding investment in capacity to meet demand will be easy.

Incidentally, I believe that the hotel chains "sell" the right to provide internet access to iBahn et al which is why they sometimes deny responsibility for the quality.

People travel. A lot more than they used to. People in the travel business need to get on board with this. Travelers want 2 simple things:

• Fast *and* reliable internet. We're *going* to stream video, play games and video chat.
• Easy access to outlets (I'm looking at you Airport terminals)

Give us those 2 things, and you'll have a strong base of repeat customers.

Hotels should just add a charge to nightly rates & increase their bandwidth to support an excess of data usage. In 5 years, the usage rates they're complaining about now will triple again. So they better get their act together before consumers find alternatives because of the "small" things!

Really? Are you folks serious? Hotel's have ALWAYS been taxed delivering Wi-Fi long before the iPad was a twinkle in Apple's eye...

Hotel Wi-Fi is garbage. I travel a lot too, so its always been annoying to have mediocre internet access that costs a lot of money for no reason. I bought myself a Verizon 4G MiFi and I love it. Stable connection even with multiple devices running off of it.

Why don't hotels offer the tiered structure with the current service at the bottom remaining free? The more you pay, the faster service you get. That way, people who aren't heavy users still get to check and send emails for free, but folks who aren't satisfied with poor cable options and MUST stream Netflix in their hotel room can pay a small fee to get blazing fast internet.

However, this all brings to mind the question, why are are people spending that much time in their hotel rooms? It could be a sign that they need to get out a bit!

I'm going to call this iPad argument a bunch of BS. I can count on one finger the number of times I've had a decent internet connection speed in the last 5 years, long before the introduction of the iPad. The issue is that hotels feel the need to compete but aren't willing to spend the money necessary to guarantee even low-end DSL speeds when booked at minimum capacity. Complaining that this is a result of the iPad is a complete fabrication.

This is the email I sent iBAHN about the note above. Also, how can they us "i" BAHN without getting Apple irritated?

I saw the article below quoting David W Garrison, the CEO of iBAHN.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/business/ipads-change-economics-and-speed-of-hotel-wi-fi-on-the-road.html?_r=1

I have concerns when I see iBAHN as the internet service provider at a hotel.
1) iBAHN's login is not tablet friendly because most of my internet traffic is through APPS and not WEB Based. Therefore, having to browse first to activate a connection is aggravating.
2) The legal mumbo-jumbo is just that - crap! If I need to connect my laptop with server powers, including a briefcase RAID, I will be running my server.
3) I have an APP that tells me my connect speed. If it is less than 25 over WI-FI or 50 hard wire, the hotel is on my DNR (Do Not Return) list. I also file a complaint at the front desk on check-out with a 10% refund for "in-effective Internet service."

Tiered surcharges are also laughable. I can pay for a huge number of GB over my cellphone hot-spot for much less than a day's Internet charge in some upscale iBAHN provided Internet properties.

How will your service keep me at the hotels you serve?