Comments on: Sky High WiFi http://barking.roaddog.com/2006/07/28/sky-high-wifi.html Damage done from nearly three decades in the roadie biz Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:25:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Mac Kerr http://barking.roaddog.com/2006/07/28/sky-high-wifi.html/comment-page-1#comment-280 Mac Kerr Wed, 02 Aug 2006 23:14:48 +0000 http://barking.roaddog.com/?p=289#comment-280 Vis a vis Doug's comment, I too am amazed the the high end hotels see net access as a profit center, and budget hotels see it as added value. A $40/night Economy Inn can give me free access, but the Ritz Carlton needs to make $14 on 24hrs of access. I am usually willing to pay the price in my room, but when I want to get online in the hotel's ballroom, the same access is suddenly $400/24hrs of access. Go figure. Fortunately in the corporate world they need to download graphics files from the home office, so they are willing to buy access in the ballroom. I travel with a Linksys WAP11 for that reason. The free breakfast in Europe is a whole different animal than the waffles and weak coffee at LaQuinta (which also has free internet). I just learned on my last trip that LaQuinta is Spanish for "next to Denny's" Mac Vis a vis Doug’s comment, I too am amazed the the high end hotels see net access as a profit center, and budget hotels see it as added value. A $40/night Economy Inn can give me free access, but the Ritz Carlton needs to make $14 on 24hrs of access. I am usually willing to pay the price in my room, but when I want to get online in the hotel’s ballroom, the same access is suddenly $400/24hrs of access. Go figure. Fortunately in the corporate world they need to download graphics files from the home office, so they are willing to buy access in the ballroom. I travel with a Linksys WAP11 for that reason.

The free breakfast in Europe is a whole different animal than the waffles and weak coffee at LaQuinta (which also has free internet). I just learned on my last trip that LaQuinta is Spanish for “next to Denny’s”

Mac

]]> By: Fowler http://barking.roaddog.com/2006/07/28/sky-high-wifi.html/comment-page-1#comment-279 Fowler Sun, 30 Jul 2006 22:01:08 +0000 http://barking.roaddog.com/?p=289#comment-279 Haven't toured over there, but have plenty of trips under my belt and it constantly amazes me that no one has picked up on free internet as a selling point for a room. It doesn't cost that much to put enough WiFi routers around a propery to make it feasible, and the bandwidth price can't be that much different (or can it? :-) Plenty of days I have just opted to forgo 'net access, occasionally bucking up the coin for 24 hours to get done what I need to get done. And in fact, three days without 'net access does one a world of good. Of course in AMS there are plenty of places with cheap 'net access, if you know what I mean :-O Just drop a couple of Euros in the slot and spend a half hour catching up. I have stayed in a few hotels with rechargeable cards you can load up and it's a better deal than the usual 20-30 Euro for 24 hours access, but you only get a couple of hours for your 10 Euros. However, I can usually stretch that out over two or three days if just taking care of business and not recreationally surfing. Gotta love the free breakfast, though. Even the worst of the worst is better than some of the swill offered up as "free breakfast" here in the Colonies. Points taken about the ATM strategy. It's the only way to fly. Hopefully your ATM card won't shit the bed :-) Haven’t toured over there, but have plenty of trips under my belt and it constantly amazes me that no one has picked up on free internet as a selling point for a room. It doesn’t cost that much to put enough WiFi routers around a propery to make it feasible, and the bandwidth price can’t be that much different (or can it? :-)

Plenty of days I have just opted to forgo ‘net access, occasionally bucking up the coin for 24 hours to get done what I need to get done. And in fact, three days without ‘net access does one a world of good.

Of course in AMS there are plenty of places with cheap ‘net access, if you know what I mean :-O

Just drop a couple of Euros in the slot and spend a half hour catching up. I have stayed in a few hotels with rechargeable cards you can load up and it’s a better deal than the usual 20-30 Euro for 24 hours access, but you only get a couple of hours for your 10 Euros. However, I can usually stretch that out over two or three days if just taking care of business and not recreationally surfing.

Gotta love the free breakfast, though. Even the worst of the worst is better than some of the swill offered up as “free breakfast” here in the Colonies.

Points taken about the ATM strategy. It’s the only way to fly. Hopefully your ATM card won’t shit the bed :-)

]]>