The reception staff rightly pointed out that there were costs involved in supplying the service, that I replied could be said of most things in the hotel, soap, heating or washing towels. And yes whilst these are used across the board and wireless internet may still lag behind in terms of uptake, it is a service that people are increasingly relying on and crucially understand the costs involved. If my home wireless network costs £20 per month, how can a hotel charge €25 per week for the service that is offered to each hotel guest? If the hotel buried the cost in the price of a room and offered wireless internet as a free service then I for one would be delighted. I cannot easily work out the cost of supplying clean towels but can make a direct comparison with wireless internet provision and it hurts!
Paying for wireless, internet and towels Jagged Horizons
It is becoming the exception to the rule but a recent stay in a business hotel reminded me how ridiculous it is to pay for wireless internet.