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| Where to find Wi-Fi in Canadian hotels |
May 8, 2006 |
By Gail Balfour
Some travellers choose a hotel based on proximity to the ocean. For others, it’s the pool, gym or spa facilities. Increasingly though, the deciding factor is Internet connectivity, and specifically wireless Internet.
This has become so important that a few years ago, tech-savvy hotels became known as “geektels,” even though back then, plug-in high-speed Internet connectivity was only occasionally available.
These days, a geektel is typically a hotel that offers good Wi-Fi coverage, especially where the service is unlimited and not too pricey.
If the term is new to you, don’t feel left out — the man who coined the phrase never meant for it to enter the mainstream. Rodney Joffe, now chairman and chief technology officer of Phoenix-based Ultra DNS, was one of the key developers of the Internet in its early days. He created the Web site geektools.com as a way of helping other geeks do their jobs.
“There were tools I needed to do things and like most geeks, it was easier and faster in those days to make the tools ourselves.” A listing of geektels was created on this Web site in 1998 when Joffe got tired of being unable to find a hotel with decent ’net access.
“You would be out all day trying to solve (technical) things, and when you went back to your hotel at night things would be going wrong but you would have no access.”
Then an interesting thing happened: as Internet access started to catch on as a competitive advantage, hotels began clamouring to be mentioned on the site. Before long, Joffe added an interface so anyone could update the site. What he created would probably be called a blog today.
Jumping on Wi-Fi
According to Mike Taylor, manager of public relations for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Toronto, his company was the first chain in North America to offer high-speed and wireless Internet access on a brand-wide basis, and the company continues to see it as a strong differentiator.
“Ultimately, the only real limitation on technology is its relevance to our customers,” Taylor said. “Our focus will continue to be on helping our customers be more productive while on the road, and making it easy for them to do business with us.”
Some travellers are a bit cynical about offerings available at hotels, however. For example, Fairmont — like many major hotels — charges for Wi-Fi access.
And that, according to Jim Newhall, means it is missing out on a competitive advantage. “The days of thinking of Internet access as a service guests should have to pay extra for are long gone,” said Newhall, managing director of technology at Best Western International in Phoenix.
“We kind of came at [free Wi-Fi access] at a different angle.” Around 2001, Best Western International became increasingly concerned that Best Western hotels were not generating enough business from travel agencies, Newhall said. A survey of travel agencies to find out what they liked or didn’t about Best Western found agents were often confused by the different services at different hotel locations.
When asked what clients wanted most, travel agents responded with a few suggestions: irons and ironing boards in every room, free local calls, and free Internet access — specifically high-speed wireless. That survey drove Best Western’s early adoption, and today the chain is known as a geek-friendly destination.
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