Damn hotels and their pathetic, weak-assed , "hi speed" internet connections.

The BBQ Pit
1

I travel a fair amount - just in the past couple of years I’ve been places from Glens Falls NY to Atlanta GA to Sulphur LA to Reno NV, spending from overnight to 3 weeks… you get the picture.

So I stay in a lot of different hotels. Not at $200/night places nor at hour-rate dives, but at places that ask you to shell out $65-$100 - the Comfort Suites of the world (which is where I am now, in NE Atlanta). And I’ve used different computers in these hotels - 4 different laptops, a desktop a couple of times.

A couple of years ago these places started offering high speed internet connections. Usually wireless, but occasionally some of these places will go to the effort to put ethernet connections in all the rooms and the rare hotel does both (such as the one I’m at now).

However… you have a less than 50% chance of that connection working. Not “it works less than 50% of the fucking time”, but “less than 50% of the goddamned hotels that offer this either (a) can’t get the piece of shit working or (b) basically lie about their services.”

You pull into a hotel and you see a big fuckin’ banner that proclaims HI SPEED INTERNET (note the quirky spelling of “high”! I like it! :rolleyes: ). If you ever, EVER see the word “wireless” in that banner be very, very, very wary. Because most of these idiots haven’t the slightest idea what they’re doing, what they do is buy some cheap-assed $49 Linksys thing from the local Wal Mart, install it on the office computer, test it using the computer in the lobby (likely all of 20 feet away), and proclaim it working, a technological marvel that they believe now allows the entire 600-foot square, 3 building complex to receive the signals from the $50 component buried in the far corner office.

“Hi speed” wireless - it’s a lie, it’s a canard, it is nothing more than a means to pull in an unwary traveller. If they claim that their internet connection is wireless, demand a fucking room next to the fucking router or whatever, and even then expect to have, at best, 60% signal strength. Expect to call tech support and have them be able to solve your problem about 20% of the time (they’ve all been friendly and helpful before, I will give them that).

“Wired internet”. Now this is the one that really gets me. I’m used to the wireless trap having been caught in it a few times, but you think a professionally-installed ethernet connection in the wall would have a better chance of working than the Wal Mart system setup by Elroy, the hotel managers brother-in-law who’s “real good at computers 'n stuff.”

But they don’t. Not even close. I can’t get on the high speed internet at this hotel and I have no idea why. I mean, I do - it’s because the “Gateway Address/IP” doesn’t match the one on the hotel’s server, and two hours on the phone with tech support didn’t solve the problem. This is new - once all I had to do was move rooms as it was determined the connection wasn’t working, but on this one I’m getting a signal… it just won’t match (or “synch” or whatever the term is) the Gateway address. The tech support guy said that he was going to get the front desk to reboot the server, but my recollection of the septuagenarian that had issues processing my credit card didn’t leave me with much hope. Not that it’s her fault of course, I just didn’t believe she could solve the problem. Which she couldn’t.

So here I am, again justifying my decision to waste $250+/year on AOL dial-up service just because I know that I’m going to have to use it in order to access the internet while I travel.

Like now. This is my third hotel in the NE Atlanta area in three weeks that has promised, claimed, swore their high speed connection is rock solid, a pipe as wide and as permament as the one linking the hotel to the sewers. This is the third one where it has been anything such, and goddamn it, I’m getting more than a little tired of this shit. 2 separate computers in three hotels, 6 chances to make a connection… and nothing. Not A Damned Thing. Ethernet, wireless… none of them fucking work.

Goddamn it. I’ve got things to do - it took me 42 minutes this morning to download the wrong 4.5 mb PDF file! That’s no problem at home or work, where that would take about 30 seconds to correct, but here it’s a freaking disaster because I’ve wasted 45 minutes of time (doubled to 90) that I should’ve spent reading the correct PDF! How fucking hard is it to get the my computer connected to the damned internet? Even AOL, the worst piece of commercial software in the history of personal computing, can fucking do it! Why can’t y’all?

2

While we’re on the topic, fuck Courtyard, too. They advertise free high speed “Internet”, but what they really mean is free high speed http, pop, and (maybe) IMAP.

I discovered this after being called back in to work at 10:00 one evening when the CEO couldn’t get a VPN connection to our network.

Actually, the rooms are pretty nice, the breakfast is reasonable, and they’re not too expensive, but that one episode really pissed me off. I ended up walking the boss through a Netstumbler install and sent him wardriving.

3

Just a quick aside, if you have a cell phone with a data plan, it is quite possible to hook your cell to your laptop and dial into your providers data network and surf the web that way. It’s as fast, if not faster, than dialup and costs as much as your data usage with your provider. If you’re lucky enough to have unlimited data, you’re home free. (and able to ditch AOL if you’d like)

4

Well, I have one bit of advice. If you are ever in the greater Tampa area (well, closer to Largo, FL) stay at the Wingate Hotel. I was there a couple weeks ago and it was designed for business. GOOD high speed internet (yes, actual high speeds), no kids running around, a decent free breakfast, and a cocktail hour from 5-7 with free cheap beer and wine! Who doesn’t love that! :stuck_out_tongue:

But I was VERY wary of it before I started using it. I was sure that a) erven though it said it was free ther would be some hidden cost or b)it would be as slow as death and/or have a horrbile connection (FWIW, I used the ethernet port, not the wireless.) But aside from a small hassle of having to conenct to it using internet explorer instead of auto-connecting when I booted up, it was fine. It’s a pity most places just do like you described, hook a $50 wireless router next to the office computer.

5

I came thisclose to buying a laptop in April before we went on vacation, because I couldn’t imagine going two entire weeks without surfing the 'net. I decided not to, and sure was glad. The hotel we made our reservations at adverised on their website about the “hi-speed internet”, but when we got there, it “wasn’t ready yet.” If I had paid for a laptop, hell would have been raised!

6

I have found that Residence Inns (by Marriott) cater heavily to business travelers. Their connections are usually rock-solid, always fast, and permit VPN at all of the locations I’ve stayed. The front desk & tech support isolated a fault in my room’s modem/router/box/thingy once and sent a guy by with a brand new one to install it in less than an hour. Everywhere else I’ve stayed, connecting to the internet has been a pain in the ass, with the exception of Crystal Inn (which had other SERIOUS flaws).

It’s usually free with the price of a room, and the continental breakfast, while nothing special, is always better than I expect it to be.

(Full Disclosure: I’m a frequent government traveler who goes to the same five or six locations in LA and Denver, and I’ve got a Marriott “gold” card for being a frequent sleeper there. It’s possible that they have a special tier of customer service reserved for me.)

7

I gotta go with Jurph on this. I too stay at the same hotels over and over. Marriotts connections tend to be rock solid. Never had a problem with a Holiday Inn. Wyndham’s modem sometimes needs to be rebooted, and has required a call to tech support a few times, other than that, good. All of these places allow VPN connections providing you know how to do it. In order you have to:
[ol]
[li]launch your browser[/li][li]go to a public web page (CNN, SDMB, etc)[/li][li]wait to get redirected to the sign up page[/li][li]agree to their TOS[/li][li]wait for you to be connected[/li][li]close your browser[/li][li]launch your VPN[/li][/ol]

My beef is why is it when I pay $69/ night the internet is free, but if I pay $200/ night it costs $12.95 extra? :confused:

8

Try to find places in the newest areas of town. If they build the Hotel around a broadband system it usually was professionally installed and maintained by a network contractor. On the other hand if the Hotel has been around since the 60’s, and they decided to throw a network into it, it usually sucks and they don’t care.

9

I travel a lot too, and funnily enough, the one older hotel I frequently stay at has great high-speed internet (a DSL line in every room!). The newer hotel that I occasionally stay at has no high-speed internet access at all. Just dialup.

What really got me was when I stayed at the Mercure hotel next door to Sydney Airport, and was upgraded to a you-beaut room almost the size of my house, with all the creature comforts… and there was no high-speed internet. I just couldn’t believe it! You’d think the high-priced executive suites would have it, but many don’t.

Max.

10

I’d strongly advise you not to stay at the hotel I work at then. Our ‘wireless’ pretty much doesn’t work in 30% of the rooms and another 40% gets very weak signals.

Management of course knows about this and their reply is to simply move people from weak rooms to strong signal rooms. Which is so convenient for both the clerks and the guests. Especially on nights we’re overbooked and don’t have any extra rooms.

11

Oh we also charge $1 fee for outgoing phone calls and after 30mins we start charging you by the min (even if it’s local or an 800 number) so AOL type services are bad ideas too.

12

Do you have a Linksys router in the office as your “wireless” service?

13

That ain’t nothin’.
I stayed in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Prague. This is a 5-star hotel, with rooms running several hundred dollars a night.

They had wireless, all right, but if you want to use it it runs you $12 for every 15 MINUTES!!

14

:eek:
I think it is safe to say that in Prauge internet surfs you.

15

Another happy user of Courtyard’s internet service. I’ve never even had to do the steps Rick lays out - it’s always just been plug in, launch the VPN client and from there’s it’s as if I was at the office. And, in case you forgot to pack it, they’ll loan you an ethernet cable.

16

Sounds like it might be easier, and more fun, to take your laptop to the nearest Starbucks or any of those places that have more clientele and higher usage - and they probably have a clue what to do if it isn’t’ working right.

Still no excuse for the bad service at those hotels, but you are probably right that good old Elroy hooked up a $19 router one Saturday afternoon so they could advertise they have high speed internet connections.

Reminds me of all those motels that used to have big signs saying, “MODERN”…whatever the hell modern meant at the time.

17

I’m on a three-day business trip the rest of the week, and my biggest worry was that the wireless internet wouldn’t work in the hotel - I haven’t had much luck at hotels when I’m traveling recently. However, this hotel’s wireless works beautifully.

Of course, I don’t want to check my work emails or anything - I can do that at the office - I just want to make sure that I can keep in contact with my friends and family while I’m out of town. And if I’m going to be in a hotel for three days, I’d better have wireless.

E.

18

I am on the road a lot on business. Over the last couple of years I have had very few problems with hotels on the Priority Club system (Holliday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental). In fact, I haven’t had that many problems overall anywhere. I’ve used my lap top all across the US and in a number countries on four continents. In fact, I am posting this from an independent hotel in an obscure city in Spain. I love my wireless laptop.