I travel frequently for work, most often in Europe and Asia, with the occasional jaunt to Africa or the States.
More and more, it strikes me that hotels just don’t “get it” when it comes to the Internet. For me and most people that I know, the Internet is an absolutely essential service. This is true regardless of whether I am traveling for work or for holiday. I need the Internet to access news and information, keep up with various social networks, and respond to email. Internet access is far more important to me than television or telephone service.
I usually travel with my laptop, Blackberry, and iPhone. Of the two phones, only the Blackberry offers affordable email over the phone network, but this only applies to corporate email. I love my iPhone, but when roaming abroad, the data rates are so punitively high (£6/mb) that they render it useless without wifi. Thus, I always make sure the hotel I choose offers Internet service in the rooms.
Much of the time, however, the proffered service is, well, awful. It’s slow, cuts in and out, or is simply not available for large stretches of time. When you call the front desk, they often have no idea what’s wrong or when it might be fixed. To them, it’s simply a bolt-on, third party service that they offer as a luxury to travelers (and often at extortionate rates–it’s not uncommon to pay £15/day for Internet access at UK hotels). Would they be so cavalier about non-functional telephone service or television? Perhaps we need a site to provide traveller ratings of hotel Internet service?