Internet Access Already Being Tiered At Hotels & Institutions Based On Wealth.

[TheMastersNemesis]

I am right now at a resort time share and have stayed at a few higher and lower end hotels. It you are on basic Wi Fi it is slow and bulky. THEY WILL OFFER YOU HIGH SPEED INTERNET FOR $10 per day. So we are already seeing an under the radar move to make internet access based on what you can pay.

You can access the basic server in places of stay or you can upgrade to the cadillac model for a fee. So if you stay 5 days in a hotel you can spend $50 if you want to use your computer on their Wi Fi.

The internet companies want to charge by the hour or amount of data. So if you are NOT rich then you are likely to be shut our of information networks in the future.

We know that the internet is the final political equalizer now that the other media has been totally destroyed.

[riversedge]

1. I did not want to hear this. drats.

[mainer]

2. That always pisses me off. It should come with the room rate.

What infuriates me is that hotels like Four Seasons, which charges upwards of $400-500 a night, tacks on internet charges as well!

Funny thing is, budget hotels are far more democratic. Everyone usually gets free internet.

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. So...$500 a night isn't the issue...$10 internet is?

Wow.

[NYC Liberal]

17. It's because

a lot of (or most of) the guests at those pricier hotels are business customers who just expense that extra $10-40 in Wi-Fi charges, and all the other nickel-and-diming fees.

[kimbutgar]

3. I used to stay at marriotts and they charged for internet

Now I stay at Best Westerns, rooms are updated, free internet, breakfast, and a better value. Plus refrigerators, microwave and coffee makers. Marriotts are a rip off nickel and diming you.

[backscatter712]

21. Wasn't Marriott the hotel chain that was caught jamming wifi hotspots?

Trying to force everyone to use the hotel wifi, paying that ridiculous fee.

[titaniumsalute]

35. I've basically lived at Marriotts for years now

All different ones like Courtyards, Residence Inns, Fairfield Inns...and I haven't paid for internet for years. They offer the basic WiFi for all the rooms and up to four connections per room (for when my wife and kids are along.) Only occasionally have I had any connection or speed problems.

[OriginalGeek]

43. since my boss usually books my rooms

I get to take advantage of his platinum status. If I was paying I wouldn't stay in a Marriott because of Rmoney but I'm not and I like my job. I won't pretend I don't like the amenities. It's not that often, maybe 15 ~ 20 nights a year. But they are always nice rooms and with Platinum you automatically get the upgraded wifi service - which I need for work anyway.

[RKP5637]

27. For a number of years I traveled extensively, and always found Best Westerns to be exceptionally

great!!!

[Bonx]

4. You can get a bigger room for more $$ too.

[EL34x4]

6. Clearly, discrimination against the obese.

[EL34x4]

5. Good grief! Seriously? This is an issue?

Yes, all those poor people staying at high-end hotels are being denied the final political equalizer because of higher charges for high speed internet.

Um, Comcast also charges a higher price for faster internet. And Cadillacs cost more than Chevrolets.

WHEN WILL THIS INJUSTICE END!!!!!

[WestCoastLib]

7. You have always been able to pay more for faster internet.

This isn't an under the radar move to make internet access pay for speed. This has been the case since the very first (I guess technically second) commercial modems decades ago.

Whether via modem, or ISP, you have always been able to pay more money or faster connections.

[Phentex]

40. True. And even for internet at all in some hotels...

some have always charged for internet. And the last time I stayed in a Hilton chain, they offered tiered services but free basic service.

Maybe more are starting to offer tiered trying to make a little more cash from business people or something but it hasn't always been free.

[CBGLuthier]

8. You have to be "richer" than me to be able to afford to leave the house

The internet access in hotels does not concern me all that much.

[linuxman]

9. "Better services cost consumers more money"

More at 11, Diane.

[LanternWaste]

41. your bumper-sticker philosophies afford us great bemusement in their accidental ironies.

Like health care in Norway?

Though limited in depth or wit, your bumper-sticker philosophies afford us great bemusement in their accidental ironies. Goes great with trendy sandals and t-shirts with clever sayings on them, I'd imagine.

[linuxman]

45. Well, we can't all abuse the thesaurus before posting.

[Dreamer Tatum]

10. Good God man.

They make me pay more for Macallan 18 than JB. The OUTRAGE.

Seriously: you're on vacation and you think it's unusual to pay more to get more? Really?

[oberliner]

12. You also have to pay more for a steak dinner than you do for a hamburger

That's sort of the way things work.

[Wounded Bear]

13. Was that way for me a couple of years ago...

and not a high end hotel.

[LeftInTX]

14. On a plus side, they had free entertainment on a recent air flight

It was shows like Myth Busters, How I Met Your Mother etc

[LeftyMom]

15. If you're working it's an expense, if you're not you need to go outside and have some fun.

Good lord.

[OnDoutside]

16. Tough crowd in tonight .... ;) some hotels in London charge about $30 a night for internet. Get a

data sim from the local phone shop.

[Initech]

20. Reminds me of a line from "The Dictator":

"$20 a day for the fucking internet, and I'm the international criminal????"

[OnDoutside]

33. :)

[karadax]

18. Paying for access is not the same as paying for traffic priority.

If the hotel is charging you money so that YOU can get Netflix streaming ahead of the guy that uses the basic free access then that is an issue. That's the pay-for-priority traffic that people should be loud in opposing. All internet traffic should be treated equal.

If you're just complaining about paying for more speed then sorry pal, it's been like that for a long time.

[Initech]

19. Hotel internet access is total bullshit.

When I travel anything I can't do on my phone I just don't do. It really sucks for business travelers and small businesses. I can imagine that they get hosed on this bullshit all the time.

[peabody]

22. I hear you.

My problem with internet access at hotels is that they don't tell you it's tiered ahead of time. They just say they have wifi access and then when you check in you find out that you have to pay for anything other than the slowest speed. Sure they didn't lie but it's misleading.

On a side note, I use to like staying in the higher end hotels like the Hilton and the Marriott but now I think they're a total ripoff. I stayed at the Hilton right next to Universal Studios in Burbank earlier this year and they charged an arm and a leg for breakfast and no free wifi either; and the room was like $278 a night. Crazy. I should have stayed at a cheaper place and use that money for other things.

[X_Digger]

23. Apparently the hotel bar is cheap.

Free clue: if you want more of a thing, or a better thing, you'll have to part with more green things.

[pinboy3niner]

24. The issue was PROVIDERS giving a fast lane to fat cats, squeezing little guys out

That was stopped.

[Adrahil]

25. It's been that way for a long time at hotels....

And this kind of thing is not new... the quality of the room you get is based on what you can pay. The quality of the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear.... all are dependent on what you can pay.

[maxon23]

26. Internet Access Already Being Tiered At Hotels & Institutions Based On Wealth.

more green...........why............[url=http://www.vecarolifestyle.com].[/url]!!!!!!!!!!

[snooper2]

28. this is huge should be its own op

Nt

[pinboy3niner]

29. :)

[Travis_0004]

30. Then dont stay at that hotel

Wifi has its cost. I realize that its a good source of revenue, but hotels have to make a profit somewhere.

Some hotels you can bring a router and plug it into the cat 5 cable and have your own wifi.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. It's been my observation for some time now,

as in nearly a decade, that the pricier the hotel, the more likely they will charge you for internet.

Stay at a Super 8 and it's free. Not at Motel 6, but they only charge three or four bucks a day, and their rooms are quite inexpensive.

Let's see, when I stay at a Marriott my internet is included. Likewise at Super 8, Hyatt, Embassy Suites, Days Inn, Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, and others of that ilk.

Several years ago a high school reunion was held at a very high end resort, expensive (at least to me -- more to the point it was the most expensive place I've ever stayed) rooms even though it was summer in the desert southwest so it was their off (less expensive) season. And they wanted something like fifteen bucks a night for internet. I was outraged, and didn't pay. A lot of other classmates were equally pissed off. I survived without internet for three days.

Another hotel I stay at regularly for a conference I attend, had free internet in the lobby, but a fee for it in the rooms. Since I've joined the frequent user thing for that chain, I'm no longer charged. I do stay at that chain about eight or so nights a year, so it's apparently enough to earn me privileges.

For my use, the basic internet I get in a hotel is sufficient, because I'm not going to be streaming movies or TV shows while there.

[miyazaki]

32. I can imagine the cost for the hotel to provide some of these services are

already factored in the room rate whether the customer knows it or not. So in essence you're getting double fucked, especially if resort fees are tacked on already. Hey maybe you'll have to pay for ice soon enough. Check out all the people bringing ice chests into Vegas casinos because they've removed the refrigerators from the rooms, which you can rent.

Sorry for some of the responses from a few a-holes here. Make a lol-cat thread here though and it will be the big hit of the day.

[JDC]

34. I travel extensively for work

As a "perk" for my hotel brand loyalty, I get bumped up on the internet speed for free. To my knowledge, I haven't received my membership card to the fat cat's club yet.

I kind of feel that this is not really a prime example of the oppression suggested.

[dembotoz]

36. job of the hotel is to milk you for every penny they can...get a cheap rate on priceline or kayak

they will try to make it up somewhere else

the hiltons did not get rich giving stuff away

[Blue_Tires]

37. Don't buy internet access on a transatlantic flight, then...

[geek tragedy]

38. everything one pays for is tiered by wealth.

there's no such thing as "free" Internet at any hotel--in some places it's included in the room price, in others it isn't.

[Blue_Tires]

39. So is it that much of a burden to mooch wi-fi at the nearest Starbucks or something?

And unless you're doing some heavy downloads/uploads, what does it matter?

[Nye Bevan]

42. Cheaper hotels like Courtyard will give you free internet access.

The hotels that charge for premium internet access are more those that businesspeople are likely to stay in, as they will charge the internet fee to their companies. Another example is that every Disney property offers free wifi which works fine even for streaming video.

[MicaelS]

44. A lot of people here have trouble

Making ends meet, having to choose what bill to pay. There have been people here asking for and receiving help because they have problem.

And all you have to gripe about is the cost of internet service at a time share resort. You are wealthy in comparison to many here. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[TheMastersNemesis]

46. You Really Cannot Tell Me About :Poverty. I Worked Government Programs For 24 Years.

I have worked with welfare clients, the homeless, the unemployed, veterans et al for over 24 years. I have heard stories and seen poverty most people never see. And I spent a year in Vietnam where poverty there was overwhelming. And I have been staunchly pro labor my entire life.

I have an archive of articles in the papers for the last 34 years that show we are dealing with the same poverty and employment issues today that we were all those years. Yet nothing has changed. The electorate has by an large put in politicians that brought us to this point.

The point of the OP is how the internet is being exploited through tiering. The example I gave was more about how the corporations want to snuff the internet except for their political point of view using tiering. Admittedly the example could have been better one.

[WinkyDink]

47. I think this has more to do with hotels and resorts than with the Internet.