Free hotel Wi-Fi comes with a cost

If speed is your thing, get ready to open the wallet

Hyatt Hotels and Resorts is giving travelers the one thing they say they want the most: free Wi-Fi.

Starting in February, all guests at Hyatt hotels worldwide get free Wi-Fi on an unlimited number of devices in both guest rooms and public spaces. They won’t have to be members of Hyatt’s loyalty program. Nor will they have to book directly with the hotel rather than a third-party site like Expedia or Travelocity.

Hyatt believes the move “doesn’t just help travelers. It helps us,” Kristine Rose, vice president of brands for Hyatt, wrote in a blog. “We can’t continue to differentiate and innovate our guest experiences when we’re charging some guests for the technology that powers future improvements.”

There’s a catch, though: If guests want faster Wi-Fi, they’ll have to pay, unless they’re Diamond and Platinum Hyatt Gold Passport members. Hyatt has yet to say how much the premium Wi-Fi will be.

Free Wi-Fi often tops lists of most-desired hotel amenities. Business travelers, in particular, value the ability to get online quickly and without paying. In a survey by Skift and American Express conducted last summer, 35% of 825 travelers who responded online said free Wi-Fi was the No. 1 amenity they looked for when choosing a hotel while on the road for business.

Travelers have likened hotels charging for Wi-Fi to airlines charging to check luggage. Chains such as Hilton and Marriott have historically given free Wi-Fi to guests at their less-expensive properties while charging for it at their premier brands.

Now many of those chains are rethinking their strategies.

Last month, the American Ho- tel and Lodging Association found that fewer hotels are charging for in-room Internet services. Just 11% of respondents said they charge for Internet, down from 23% in 2012. The association’s 2014 Lodging Survey had 9,600 participants.

“The hotel industry is finally dealing with a significant problem that they themselves helped create,” says Robert Cole, founder of RockCheetah, a travel consulting firm. “If McDonald’s or Starbucks could offer Wi-Fi for free, why couldn’t a hotel?”

They are dealing with it in varying ways.

Also starting in February, Starwood Hotels and Resorts will of- fer complimentary Wi-Fi in guest rooms and public areas to all Preferred Guest members, not just those with Gold and Platinum status. They’ll have to book through Starwood channels such as its website or mobile app.

On Jan. 15, Marriott Rewards members will receive free Wi-Fi in brands where they have not been free, including Marriott Hotels, Renaissance and JW Marriott. Members can then pay $5 to $7 a day, depending on the market, for premium bandwidth. The upgrade will be free for Gold and Platinum elite members. Wi-Fi is free in the lobbies of all Marriott International brands.

Hilton offers complimentary Wi-Fi to all Hilton HHonors Gold and Diamond members. Several Hilton brands also offer free standard Wi-Fi. In 2014, it started a tiered Internet system that lets guests pay for premium Internet for as low as $3.95.

Also in 2014, InterContinental Hotels Group began offering free Internet to its Rewards Club members. Premium Internet is available for a fee at select properties.

Cole predicts that it will become common for hotels to offer standard Wi-Fi for free and premium Wi-Fi for a fee. “A big question will be how fast a connection is acceptable for free service — the comparison will be to the free services offered by the economy properties, fast-food restaurants and coffee shops,” he says. “Expect certain hotel groups to ... offer better Internet quality for free as a competitive benefit.”

Some business travelers say paying for premium Wi-Fi is as bad as paying for Wi-Fi at all.

“It feels like gouging, as they used to do with telephones,” says Nick van Terheyden, a chief medical information officer in Laytonsville, Md. Others welcome the option. “Having a stable, high-speed connection is often critical, so if I have to pay for it, I will,” says Dave Anthony, a business systems consultant in Belmont, Mich.