Answering the prayers of just about every traveler in the whole wide world, Hyatt Hotels Corporation is eliminating Wi-Fi charges at all of its locations worldwide.
"We have heard loud and clear from guests that connectivity is no longer an amenity," says Amy Patti, Hyatt's Corporate Communications Director, yesterday. "It's a basic expectation." The change is due to take effect February 14, 2015.
I, for one, am doing the happy dance. Internet access has indeed become a necessity for business travelers - and just about everyone else. In this age when even the Starbucks down the block offers free Wi-Fi, it’s both exasperating and anachronistic to pay up to $25 just to check your email and browse websites from a hotel room where you're supposed to be a valued guest.
Starting February 14, 2015, guests will be able to get online at no extra charge in all Hyatt hotel... [+]
Unlike at other hotels, Hyatt's free Wi-Fi is for all guests regardless of loyalty program status, booking method or number of devices used, in guest rooms and "social spaces," though not meeting spaces. Hyatt has 573 properties in 48 countries, under the Hyatt and Andaz brand names.
Now I pray that other hotel chains will get the same message.
I reached out to representatives from the Hilton, Marriott and Starwood hotel groups, which have a dizzying variety of Wi-Fi plans. Among their multiple brands, hotels might:
- provide free Wi-Fi,
- charge for it,
- charge through the nose for it,
- include it in a "resort" or "facility" fee, bundled with other extras you may or may not want such as daily newspapers, bottled water, fitness center use or parking,
- limit free access to one device, although it's common for travelers or families to use multiple devices such as a laptop, tablet and smart phone,
- give free Wi-Fi to (some) loyalty program members,
- ignore corporate policy and (not) charge for Wi-Fi, or
- some combination of all of the above.
In other words, it’s worth checking ahead to see whether rates include Wi-Fi.
It’s always baffled me that you almost never see a Wi-Fi charge at more budget-priced hotels - you'd think it would be the opposite. Witness (among others) the Hilton brands Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites; Marriott’s Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites brands; and Starwood’s Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft brands.
On the other hand, I did a spot check of high-end hotels and found Wi-Fi charges across the board: from $9.95 at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, to $10.95 at the W Hollywood in Los Angeles, $12.95 at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, $14.99 at the J.W. Marriott in Las Vegas, $15 at the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco and $15.95 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria.
Many of these high-end properties exempt hotel loyalty program members from Wi-Fi charges. Marriott Rewards members get free Wi-Fi. At Hiltons, free Wi-Fi is reserved for HHonors Gold and Diamond members. Starwood Preferred Guest program members receive free Wi-Fi only if they book through "Starwood channels," as a spokesperson put it.
So might Hyatt just raise rates or add facility fees to compensate for the lost Wi-Fi revenue? "We are not passing along these costs to guests," says Amy Patti.
Hyatt will continue to charge extra for "premium" Wi-Fi, available at some properties. One Hyatt hotel website calls this enhanced service best for services such as "video conferencing, quick documentation transfers, internet phone." Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond and Platinum members will be exempt from this charge.
As big a deal as the Hyatt announcement is, it pretty much brings the chain in line with many hotels in the rest of the world. In Europe, about 90 percent of hotels now provide internet for no extra charge, according to the Telegraph in the U.K. In Japanese hotels, I haven’t paid for wi-fi access in years.
Next: free Wi-Fi on airplanes? Something else to pray for.
