I’m trying to collect thoughts on Wi-Fi pricing at conference hotels. While many US motels and lower star hotels provide free internet access of some kind (wired in room or Wi-Fi throughout), most higher star hotels and conference centers still charge for Wi-Fi access.
Conference attendees seem like prime targets for gouging. History shows that they are usually attending on their company’s dime, and such can expense much of their stay. However, with the economic change we’re experiencing, most companies are hesitant to expense anything more than food, and many times at a capped limit (let alone limiting the number of people they send to conferences, if at all). Any additional costs need to be covered by the attendee. At some of the rates, attendees really have to weigh connectivity vs. economy.
I’m trying to get a feel from conference attendees and conference planners just how much the Wi-Fi pricing model affects the overall conference experience. I know many conference goers are not pleased at all with having to pay for internet access, and though some conferences purchase center-wider access for their attendees, I’m sure this cuts deeply into their bottom line.
If you would, please summarize your experiences in the comments. I’d like to see just how well this pricing model works and how it affects overall conference satisfaction.
- If you are an attendee and paid for access, where were you, how much did you pay, and what did you think of it.
- If you didn’t pay, what did you do to get access and how did that affect your conference experience?
- If you are a planner, if you paid for all your attendees to have access, how much did you pay and how did that affect your conference pricing and/or bottom line?
- If you didn’t pay, how did that affect your attendees’ experience, and did you hear about it via in-person feedback from attendees, comments on Twitter, blogs, or in post-event surveys?
Finally, do you think fee-based Wi-Fi is justified?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
At a recent conference for freelancers, I passed up on the $259/night Marriott that charged for Wi-Fi and opted for the $106/night Hilton Garden Inn across the street (Wi-Fi included). Best decision ever, and most of my colleagues agreed that my accommodations at the HGI were at least as nice as their Marriott experience.
I know that conferences can suffer if people book outside the block of rooms, but as a freelancer, I’m on a tight, non-corporate budget. Why would I pay double or more to get less?
I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement, Bill: “Conference attendees [and those on business expenses] seem like prime targets for gouging.” I am continually amazed that higher star level (and therefore higher priced) hotels can get away with what they charge for wired and unwired access. With the advent of mobile devices such as SmartPhones, iPads etc. that don’t need tethering or need to be linked to the hotel’s system, I suspect the revenue from these gouging, ‘cash cow’ activities is falling — perhaps that’s why they are charging so much.
That said, it’s still cheaper for a conference attendee from another country to pay the exorbitant daily hotel charges than to use their phone.
I’ve written several personal and professional blog posts from an Australian perspective about the charges, the speed, and the access at US and Australian hotels relating to this issue:
* http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/hotel-internet-access/
* http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/internet-speeds/
* http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/heres-why-australians-buy-phones-in-us/
* http://sandgroper14.wordpress.com/2006/05/03/internet-pricing-in-hotels-australia/
* http://sandgroper14.wordpress.com/2006/04/10/comparing-hotels/
Because I had checked on availability ahead of time, I knew there was an additional fee so I brought a broadband modem. I also used my Droid.
We were faced with a similar situation at the Hyatt where we hosted our regional conference. We were initially quoted around $15 per attendee. We were able to negotiate a flat fee that included a limited number of active connections for attendees. (It was a one day conference with less than 100 attendees, so we had more flexibility. Surprisingly, the hotel room rate did include wi-fi in the rooms.)
I also attended a multi-day conference earlier this year hosted at the Westin Atlanta. Our negotiated room rate included free wi-fi.
I hope that there will be enough consumer pressure that the practice of hotels charging for wi-fi will end.
I’ll add my most recent experience. I was at a conference in Dallas this past May, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. There was ethernet in the rooms, but wi-fi was $9.95/day for an ‘economy’ connection and $12.95/day for a faster ‘business’ connection. Given I was going to be there for four days, I didn’t feel like paying what I pay for a month of broadband at home for four days of wi-fi at the conference. Fortunately my iPhone had full 3G service even in the bowels of the convention center (I guess Hyatt has a AT&T hotspot deal, because most other service providers showed ’searching for signal’), so I used my phone for most of my connectivity and used my laptop when I was around an ethernet drop. The conference organizers looked into getting wi-fi for attendee use, and Hyatt wanted $17,000 for the duration of the conference, which was just obscene. One of the biggest complaints coming out of the otherwise swimmingly successful conference was the wi-fi situation, and the complaint was mainly against the Hyatt and not the conference organizers, especially when people learned of the insane amount that Hyatt wanted in exchange for attendee access.
I’m actually quite annoyed that I get better service from what’s considered lower-service hotels/motels than at what’s considered high-service hotels. With the rates per room the hotels charge, it’s criminal to charge extra for internet connectivity of any form when the lower-expense options provide it for free. At the last conference I attended, I had to pay for connectivity in my room (which for economic reasons was at a different hotel than the conference) and refused to pay for the connectivity in the conference area which was even more costly than the per-night rate I was paying at the other hotel. The double charge would have definitely been rejected by my company.
Did my lack of capability cause me any pain? As I don’t really twitter during conferences, not as much as others. However, during breaks, I could not connect to download information I needed to help others and that definitely made the experience less than optimum and even prevented making timely contacts between people at my office and people at the conference.
Here locally, Open Camp (http://openca.mp) worked out a deal with the Crown Plaza Hotel in Addison. The hotel was so happy to have a tech conference, they paid for updating their own internet and wireless services. My understanding is they are going to use that to market to other conferences that they provide free wifi. After hearing about Hyatt Regency’s price tag for STC, this was refreshing to hear.
I’m with Ben. I don’t want to put myself in a situation of having to choke back the bile and accept usurious charges for access. Before the next time I travel, I’ll be getting a wi-fi card for the laptop.
Wi-fi access has gone from being a novelty to a necessity in just a couple years. I suspect it’s going to be a non-issue in a couple more years and maybe we won’t need to incorporate it into conference contracts… at least I hope so.