The Telegraph
Not all places have onerous Wi-Fi costs
Photo: Alamy
Last Updated: 3:40PM GMT 21/03/2012
Our recent report on the cost of Wi-Fi charges in hotels prompted a big response from readers. Here is the best of the feedback we received.
No pain in Spain….
I was surprised to read your article about charges for Wi-Fi access. Our experience travelling down through Spain and then touring Morocco last October was just the opposite: at every hotel we were able to access free Wi-Fi.
In Spain we stayed in small, non-chain hotels in villages away from the main tourist areas, and in two cases we were the only guests. In Morocco we went south over the Atlas Mountains to the Western Sahara, and although we camped in some areas, whenever we stayed in hotels – even the most basic – we had Wi-Fi access. Perhaps I should also add that Morocco has invested in a good mobile phone system, with coverage often being available in remote areas. Rip-off Britain?
Andrew Pepper, by email
… nor Vietnam
I read your article with interest from Vietnam where I am on holiday. I have been in South-east Asia for almost five weeks and am yet to stay in a hotel that does not provide free Wi-Fi access. Another example of ‘rip-off Britain’.
Rob Humphries, by email
…nor the Caribbean
Having been fortunate enough to have island hopped recently to several Caribbean islands, we were pleasantly surprised to have Wi-Fi available everywhere without charge. FP Hulme, by email
…. nor the remote Chilean desert
In October and November of 2011 my wife and I spent five weeks touring Brazil, Argentina and Chile, not once were we charged for Wi-Fi or desktop computer access. Every hotel – even in the Atacama Desert – had high speed systems. Chile has probably one of the best telecommunications networks that I have seen anywhere in the world. I should add that in San Pedro de Atacama, a very small town close to the high Andes, the whole town was a Wi-Fi zone so, one could sit in the square and use your iPad to your heart’s content. These people appreciate tourists.
In many of the hotels on our travels there could be up to four desktops available for residents’ use.
Joseph Forster, by email
Why Wi-Fi costs
With guests often bringing multiple devices, in a 100-room hotel there might be a couple of hundred devices all connecting to the internet simultaneously using a variety of services such as voice or video calling, gaming and video streaming. The traffic on the network has to be managed to ensure a good quality of service for this.
I do sympathise with the idea of providing low bandwidth free or at a low cost to support email and basic web browsing. However, I can understand the rationale for charging for the more demanding applications due to the significant cost of providing those services.
Bryan Steele, by email
No charge in Europe
With reference to your article, there are numerous independent budget hotels within Europe that do not charge for, reliable, internet access. Notably the following budget chains, which are very cheap to stay at, do not charge: Premiere Classe in France, B&B Hotels in France. Compare this with the charges levied by the Travelodge chain. I’m reluctant to use the well-worn expression Rip Off Britain, but it does seem very appropriate.
Martin Edwards, by email
Glowing reviews for free Wi-Fi
I do a lot of business travel around Europe and find it extortionate that even if I want to log on and check emails or a flight time before I leave the hotel in the morning, I often have to pay for an entire day. As you point out, this is often between £15 and £20. I always ask why there can’t be an hourly or even a minute charge (I rarely use it for more than 20 minutes) but am always met with the blank smile.
I wonder how many people actually go to stay in a high-end business hotel in Paris, Dusseldorf, Milan, or Madrid and then decide to spend all day in their room logged onto Wi-Fi watching? My guess is none. Whenever I stay in a hotel now that offers free Wi-Fi, I always write up a glowing report on TripAdvisor, pointing out that their Wi-Fi is free.
Dan Murphy, by email
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