High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Broadband

Surveys consistently show that guests don’t want to be pay for Internet access on top of the hotel room rate. However, this demand for free high speed Internet isn’t generally being met and, on top of that, prices charged are often described as a “rip-off”.

This is particularly the case when it comes to hotels specifically catering for business travellers. The argument can be made that a reliable, high speed Internet connection is as essential for a business traveller as hot water or other amenities and shouldn’t be subject to a separate fee.

Not everyone thinks this way though. There are significant costs, not only in the initial infrastructure but also the ongoing support. If a hotel provides Internet access for their guests then the system must be:

* Secure
* Reliable
* Easy to use
* Provide technical support if things go wrong

If the quality of the system suffers because it is provided for free then the outcome is lose-lose. There’s a good argument to be made that by having an Internet revenue model, the hotel is more likely to be providing a quality service.

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