A Reuters story, Marriott Giving Free Web, Though Not at Top Hotels, says Marriott is planning to give away WiFi access in their mid-range hotels, but still charge extra for it in the expensive hotels. This reminds me of the strangeness in telecom I noticed while traveling on business the past few years.
If you go to any Motel 6, local calls are free. Motel 6 has a policy that says their telecommunications are simpler and cheaper to manage if they don’t try to make every local call cost more than a pay phone would. It’s a great added value to an already cheap motel.
When I was in Florida last year, the local calls were 75 cents, which was bizarre to me. On other business trips, I discovered that 75 cents for a local call which would cost 30 cents in a payphone is a bargain to hotel-staying businessmen. Many hotels charge $1.25 for a local call (which costs them nothing over the flat rate they already pay to the local telco). Nice revenue stream, eh?
The difference in price between these two types of lodging (Motel 6 or Hilton) is telling: Motel 6 costs around 40 bucks per night and you get free calls and no hassle; the Hilton in DC cost 150 bucks a night and I had to pay for local calls.
Then it gets really surreal. That Hilton with the $1.25 local calls gave away broadband internet access via ethernet ports in each room. HUH? That one never made sense to me. They’ll meter local calls, which are traditionally free in the USA, but they give away ethernet. Very odd.
Now Marriott plans to give away WiFi connections at Fairfield Inns and Residence Inns and Marriott Courtyards. But, they still plan to charge extra for it at the big Marriott resort hotels, where the per-night fee is outrageous to begin with. This makes sense to someone. Must be that old saying about what the market will bear…
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