Hilton announced today that they’ll begin offering a “premium” paid Wi-Fi option at Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, and Home 2 Suites properties.
Via USA Today:
Josh Weiss, vice president of brand and guest technology for Hilton, says the hotels will start offering the faster Wi-Fi in the next two months and roll it out to all hotels in those brands throughout this year.
The price will vary depending on the location, but guests will typically be charged $3.95. They will be able to use it on up to three devices.
Weiss says guests have indicated in surveys that they would be willing to pay for upgraded bandwith.
This is interesting, because it comes after Hilton updated their terms & conditions late last year regarding free internet for elite members. The terms & conditions used to state the following regarding Honors Gold & Diamond member internet:
Complimentary In-Room High-Speed Internet Access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™.*
And they updated the terms to say:
Complimentary In-Room and Lobby Wi-Fi Internet Access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™.*
So while that seemed like a subtle change, I guess it wasn’t without explanation. Ultimately faster internet is a good thing, and $3.95 isn’t an unreasonable price to pay for it. But that’s only if they keep the free Wi-Fi at the same speed, and introduce truly high speed Wi-Fi. Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I certainly hope this isn’t like most other things in the industry, where they start charging for the current product, and then offer a lesser product for free.
Ultimately this is a trend I think we’ll see more of at limited service properties. They don’t have that many ancillary revenue opportunities given the lack of restaurants, room service, etc., so I think we’ll see them getting creative in other ways.
What do you guys think? Are you happy about the option, or scared of the implications?
After today, I'm completely done with Hilton. Had a couple of days, figured we'd get a quick vacation. They didn't honor my only request of a first floor (like anyone wants the first floor other than us). Tried to flip me over to a efficiency room instead of our suite...then gave us a two bedroom instead of a one bedroom...got to the room and it's a one bedroom. So now I'm on the wrong floor...
After today, I'm completely done with Hilton. Had a couple of days, figured we'd get a quick vacation. They didn't honor my only request of a first floor (like anyone wants the first floor other than us). Tried to flip me over to a efficiency room instead of our suite...then gave us a two bedroom instead of a one bedroom...got to the room and it's a one bedroom. So now I'm on the wrong floor in the same exact suite that I would have had on my preferred floor and this was supposed to be an "upgrade"??? When I called the desk and asked what was going on...I got that she'd made a mistake, the two bedroom wasn't available, it was on a higher floor, etc.
I'm not one to fall for a "bait and switch" scheme, but short of knowing the floor plan for the entire hotel...
Then the internet is worthless. My son is currently playing a game on his PS4 with my cell phone. I don't have an unlimited plan and didn't need one, but it'll probably be less expensive than the next bill will be if I don't upgrade. More wasted money courtesy of Hilton.
If we didn't travel with a pet, I'd have gone across the street to the Marriott as it's our preference anyway. Then again, couldn't cancel because we'd still have to pay for the room for both nights as the cancellation date was two days ago. What's with that??? Oh, and let's not forget the extra $85.00 for the pet.
Definitely done with Hilton properties. Even the Red Roof Inn has better internet, (also no pet fee, and the room is about 25% of the price). It may not be "the Ritz", but then again, neither is any Hilton property I've seen lately. Other than being the name of the iffy "rewards program", I don't see much that has anything to do with "honor" in the Hilton chain.
.I am using the "free" internet at Hilton. It SUCKS. They are throttling it to the point where it can take 30 seconds for a page to load, if it loads at all.
The Wifi at Hampton Inn is so bad it's useless. I have to use my cellphone now. I'm going to ask Hampton for a partial reimbursement of our hotel charges, or else we'll go elsewhere. It's an obvious scam.
The "free" internet is pure BS. I am sitting here in a Hampton property having been a Diamond Elite member for years, so I tried the "complimentary" option and found that the speed is so throttled down that even typing this on this site (with no ad stream) is painful. What, besides greed, possessed Hilton to choose this path, I will never know. However, I am also a member of IHG and those points are...
The "free" internet is pure BS. I am sitting here in a Hampton property having been a Diamond Elite member for years, so I tried the "complimentary" option and found that the speed is so throttled down that even typing this on this site (with no ad stream) is painful. What, besides greed, possessed Hilton to choose this path, I will never know. However, I am also a member of IHG and those points are piling up for me there as I have changed my preferences to use their properties when available over Hilton. Way to go Hilton. Another (loyal) customer heading out the door! Must be a bit hard to swallow to know that $4.95 will lose you $$100s
PS... Took almost 10 second just for my last message to post (happen to be in a Hampton Inn right now)
I've been a HH Diamond member for a couple years now but have definitely felt like the 'free' internet speed has been on a steep decline throughout the last year. I'm not a 200+ night a year guy, but usually stay at least 100 @ at-least 90 different properties. It just feels like a total rip having to pay an extra $4 - 8 buck when you're already spending well over $150 in many markets......
I've been a HH Diamond member for a couple years now but have definitely felt like the 'free' internet speed has been on a steep decline throughout the last year. I'm not a 200+ night a year guy, but usually stay at least 100 @ at-least 90 different properties. It just feels like a total rip having to pay an extra $4 - 8 buck when you're already spending well over $150 in many markets... Just something sour tasting about watching yourself be 'nickel and dimed' when you're paying over a mortgage payment per month on hotel stays.
Mike, I'm with you. I just began to experience the fee for internet starting this year. I'm not nearly the road warrior that you are, as i only spend about 90 nights a year in hotels. But those nights will now be at a different hotel chain. Diamond membership means absolutely nothing anymore.
I've given up on Hilton - after being a Diamond for more than a decade with about 250 nights per year. I've moved most of my business to Marriott, and have quickly qualified for lifetime platinum and plat premier. It's not perfect, but it's a better program than Hilton's giant rip-off. How many people like me are there?
This is nothing more than a bait and switch scam just like Marriott is pulling. They have made the "free" wifi useless in order to force you to fork over 5 bucks for wifi.
I canceled my hhHonors gold credit card and will never stay at another Hilton property again. These people are utterly shameless crooks.
~115Kbps tops here. Friend paid the $5 and is getting steadily over ~1Mbps. Network not congested, just throttled.
I just noticed this was an option at a homewood suites. When signing up for the complimentary access i was getting 1mb down 0.5 up. I signed in using my diamond account and got 3 down and 1.5 up. I'm going to watch for this more and start signing up for the wifi using my hhonors account if it means i can get a more usable connection.
E-mail Received on 6/12--- Thank you for staying with us! We appreciate you being a Diamond member. I'm sorry to hear the Internet was lacking. Thank you for reporting the issue so we can investigate it. On Hilton's new Internet requirements some videos can't be viewed on the complimentary guest use. Depending on how many MBs of bandwidth it requires, it may need to be viewed on our premium version. Our premium version costs $5...
E-mail Received on 6/12--- Thank you for staying with us! We appreciate you being a Diamond member. I'm sorry to hear the Internet was lacking. Thank you for reporting the issue so we can investigate it. On Hilton's new Internet requirements some videos can't be viewed on the complimentary guest use. Depending on how many MBs of bandwidth it requires, it may need to be viewed on our premium version. Our premium version costs $5 per day. If this was not the case, I'm sorry about the inconvenience. --------------"
Well this is the Marketing Department forever trying to squeeze something out of the customer.
I am at a Hilton right now, I want to give them a free pass to try to fix this situation before disclosing them.
But, as a Diamond, and the hotel almost empty their "upgrade" was just to put me on the Executive Floor in the same room I'd be in otherwise. Got that rectified with a bit of...
Well this is the Marketing Department forever trying to squeeze something out of the customer.
I am at a Hilton right now, I want to give them a free pass to try to fix this situation before disclosing them.
But, as a Diamond, and the hotel almost empty their "upgrade" was just to put me on the Executive Floor in the same room I'd be in otherwise. Got that rectified with a bit of persuasion.
But the Wifi, what the options are here are 25 euros per day for high speed internet or free 1 megabit internet. The free 1 megabit internet is running at about 200kbits per second. It's like a time warp. I don't really want to spend 150 euros for normal functioning internet for six days.
It's not a really good choice. Either punch yourself in the face for six days or punch your wallet for six days.
That's what the Marketing Department wants you to have. Customer service is dead. Providing value is dead. We don't even have the carrot and the stick. We have the stick and the stick.
Update: The free internet offered via booking a room is now 1/3rd of the speed it was before they introduced Premium internet. Basicallt they are charging 5 bucks now for what they offered free.
Sitting here in an HGI in Connecticut and have tested the Free wifi and "Premium" offering. So far the speeds are EXACTLY the same on either network. One just incurred me a 4.95 charge as opposed to getting the same speed for free. Basically "baggage" fees for hotels.
I guess I'll be in the minority, but, I guess I can relate to the position of the hotel. We have turned internet access into something we just expect to be there - on top of that, we just expect it to be fast. But, fast is relative, isn't it? What's fast for me to check my email and skype with my family might not be fast for the person who wants to stream movies...
I guess I'll be in the minority, but, I guess I can relate to the position of the hotel. We have turned internet access into something we just expect to be there - on top of that, we just expect it to be fast. But, fast is relative, isn't it? What's fast for me to check my email and skype with my family might not be fast for the person who wants to stream movies and play online games.
Speed comes at a cost. Sure, the bandwidth itself is a factor, but so is the cost of building a wireless network capable of supporting hundreds of rooms and guests - all trying to get online at about the same time. I work in the network industry. I see those Cisco AP's in the ceiling tiles. Those aren't cheap. Neither is the equipment on the back end that has to support it. And, I get that every few years, they have to buy it again as the technology needs demand. I mean, who here thinks that you can run a big hotel on 802.11b?? Of course not!
So, I guess that they have a couple options. They can raise room rates. Increase the cost of a drink in the bar. Charge me to park my car in the lot. Remember, these aren't the fancy flagship chains we're talking about, these are the budget-minded Hampton Inn and Garden Inns that go for about $100 a night. I get a choice as to whether or not I watch Netflix or run video chat. I could just watch TV, go to a movie, enjoy a couple hours in the lounge, call my wife on my phone, or spend a few hours in the evening getting caught up on a book or maybe, dare I say, do a little work. Its my choice to get online and I appreciate that the Hotel, despite the fact that they're not charging me $20 a night to park my car or $300 a night for a bed and a shower, they provide internet access that doesn't cost me $10-$20. I also like the fact that I can pay a little to get a better online experience.
Now as I step off that box, I'll say this to any Hotel industry types that may be following the conversation. Use the money wisely. If you are going to charge us for "premium", make it premium. Use that money to upgrade your network and increase your bandwidth. I get that you want me to have a little skin in the game if I want a better connection, but, do your part and don't turn this into another revenue stream.
I've stayed at various Marriott properties where there's a choice of free basic wifi and enhanced wifi for a fee. As an elite member, I've always been able to use the enhanced service for free. It's a good deal, since it's sometimes around $15.
Before they have even rolled this out people are going to ditch Hilton in expectation they will slow down free wifi? How about you wait until there is actually evidence to support it.
I'm sitting here at a Hyatt Regency with 500kbps and would gladly pay $7-10 for 5mbps+.
Skeptical.
Very rarely seen "fast" Wi-Fi at a hotel. Much more often for it to be glacial, or start out good but drop to dial-up speeds during peak evening hours.
I can live with say 500kbps free and > 1Mbps for a minimal charge, but if you can't stream Netflix or use a Slingbox over the "enhanced" Wi-Fi then it ain't worth extra money.
Another downgrade in benefits. If they gave it to Diamonds for free, it would help sway me to not drop to Gold.
As TravelinWilly mentioned, at a full service Marriott last week I was offered their higher speed internet complimentary as a Platinum member.
I actually like this announcement, if it means that paying $$$ will actually get decent bandwidth. Many of the hotels where I frequently stay had only paid internet in the past and speeds were pretty good. Then in the last 2-3 years they switched over to free but didn't bother to increase their incoming bandwidth. The net impact was that the internet speed became glacial during the peak evening hours. It was upsetting because there...
I actually like this announcement, if it means that paying $$$ will actually get decent bandwidth. Many of the hotels where I frequently stay had only paid internet in the past and speeds were pretty good. Then in the last 2-3 years they switched over to free but didn't bother to increase their incoming bandwidth. The net impact was that the internet speed became glacial during the peak evening hours. It was upsetting because there was no other option unless I left the hotel to go somewhere else. I will happily pay $5 or $10 to get guaranteed internet speed that is good enough for streaming Netflix. $3.95 is even better.
And at this point I should patronize Hilton because......?
I fear that what you suggested is more likely - that they will "slow down" the free internet and only give decent internet for a price...
Though I'm disappointed by this, it fits a developing pattern for Hilton. I had an interesting conversation with a Hilton corporate person a couple of weeks ago in Vegas where I was being given a tour and briefing of their new timeshare affiliation at the Vegas Trump. As we sat in the bar after the tour, I remarked how disappointed I was at the massive HHonors devaluation and what a poor value I thought HHonors...
Though I'm disappointed by this, it fits a developing pattern for Hilton. I had an interesting conversation with a Hilton corporate person a couple of weeks ago in Vegas where I was being given a tour and briefing of their new timeshare affiliation at the Vegas Trump. As we sat in the bar after the tour, I remarked how disappointed I was at the massive HHonors devaluation and what a poor value I thought HHonors redemptions were in comparison to Hyatt or IHG. To my amazement, this person actually agreed with me and said that all of this was being driven by Blackstone's desire to boost revenue forecasts and cut "liability overhang" (ie, too many HHonors points being out there) to maximize the forthcoming Hilton IPO pricing. This person also hinted that other changes "were in the works". This wifi policy change may be an example. I also subsequently heard back-channel that Hilton may also get tougher on time windows for canceling reservations without a penalty.
Interesting...
I just got back from a stay at a Marriott Residence Inn, and when checking in on Monday the agent told me that wireless was free, but they were offering SUPERFAST (I wasn't listening to the branding terms or the words, really, I was very tired) for $4.95/day, but since I was platinum it was "free."
After reading the above comments, it will be interesting to see what happens with hotels throttling back artificially...
Interesting...
I just got back from a stay at a Marriott Residence Inn, and when checking in on Monday the agent told me that wireless was free, but they were offering SUPERFAST (I wasn't listening to the branding terms or the words, really, I was very tired) for $4.95/day, but since I was platinum it was "free."
After reading the above comments, it will be interesting to see what happens with hotels throttling back artificially on the high-speed just to make customers pay more, while the bandwidth is already there/available and costs the hotel nothing more in incremental or variable costs to supply it. I guess "We can get away with it" is a compelling business case these days(?). Which leads to...
...also interesting is how analogous this is to what the net neutrality advocates are championing, because the parallels are...quite real.
That's exactly what they're doing- trying to charge for what was once free.
Aria Las Vegas did this, when they opened they had ultra fast, easy to use wifi. Then last year they reduced the speeds of their free wifi to about that of dial up (I'm not kididng), and started charging an obscene amount , like $20 for 4 hours of high speed use.
After so many complaints, they "doubled" their free...
That's exactly what they're doing- trying to charge for what was once free.
Aria Las Vegas did this, when they opened they had ultra fast, easy to use wifi. Then last year they reduced the speeds of their free wifi to about that of dial up (I'm not kididng), and started charging an obscene amount , like $20 for 4 hours of high speed use.
After so many complaints, they "doubled" their free wifi speeds, so you're at about what mobile Edge service would provide. And had the audacity to tour that they "doubles the speed" and have the fastest free wifi of any Vegas resort.
I use Hilton properties exclusively (mostly Homewood and Embassy) about 100 nights a year and since they have a horrible website, not sure they will be able to pull off offering an expanded service with a basic version unless they contract it out. Hilton really does have one of the worst IT groups around for a major company. (second to UA)
I lean to the side where they will pull the basic free service...
I use Hilton properties exclusively (mostly Homewood and Embassy) about 100 nights a year and since they have a horrible website, not sure they will be able to pull off offering an expanded service with a basic version unless they contract it out. Hilton really does have one of the worst IT groups around for a major company. (second to UA)
I lean to the side where they will pull the basic free service and are looking for a way to add the fee to us just like airlines have added fees across the board. I am skeptical.