Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Absentband at the Dallas Hilton Anatole

Broadband? Don’t make me laugh.

When I was at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas last week, I paid $10.95 for high-speed, broadband Internet access, a hard-wired ethernet connection in the room. I needed it to record my podcast—my co-host, Neville Hobson is in the U.K., and Skype is our method of recording.

The Net connection was so bad, so slow, that we could not hear each other over Skype, and we finally gave up. Then I tried to get my email. The connection was so slow that I couldn’t get one message. I disconnected from the hotel line and popped in my Sprint wireless broadband card and got my email with no problem.

When I checked out later, I told the clerk at the front desk how awful the connection was. “I’ve heard that,” he said. “Sorry.” He did not offer to refund the $10.95.

The Hilton Anatole is a nice hotel. I won’t be staying there again.

And can somebody explain why the pricier hotels charge for Internet access while the cheaper ones (like Fairfield Inns) do not? Especially when they’re managed by the same groups (Hilton, Marriott, etc.)?

Posted by Shel in • Hotels
(4) Comments • Permalink

Next entry: Recline Rage

Previous entry: Mixed messages from United

  1. Why didn’t you ask for a refund?

    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  10/16  at  03:31 PM

  2. Higher end brands charge for access in the rooms so they can use it as a negotiation lever with corporations getting special rates. Rather than competing on the lowest room rate, they negotiate for the best “rate of stay” so they throw in things like continental breakfast, gym access, airport shuttle and, of course, internet access. If you don’t get one of those rates, you get stuck with an obnoxious fee on your bill for a slow connection.

    beth  on  10/16  at  06:46 PM

  3. Start staying at Super 8. They usually offer free wi-fi, as do many other budget hotels.

    Sallie Goetsch (rhymes with "sketch")  on  11/11  at  04:37 PM

  4. A friend pointed me to your blog. Charging has to do with the makeup of the hotel guests. See my econ blog for a bit more info.

    http://sethgitter.blogspot.com

    Seth Gitter  on  11/26  at  09:51 AM

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


Back to main

Powered by ExpressionEngine