It's staggering that hotel chains can still charge US$15 a day for internet when we all know that the Wi-Fi password is one of the first things we ask for at the reception desk. Although, actually, it's not that much of a surprise given that the answer to that question is normally always 'sign up to our loyalty programme and you can get it for free'.
I'm getting tired of signing up to loyalty programmes. I only do it for free Wi-Fi and it's not an easy start to any trip when I can't remember my login credentials. The hotel sees this as offering a perk when all it does is make me think the company doesn't know what travellers want. It also makes it more explicit that one type of customer is more deserved than the other.
While my rant is a personal view it may be one that other travellers agree with.
What if the traveller didn't know and spent $15 a day when it could have been free?
That might be the question some travel managers are asking.
It would, then, make sense to tell travellers staying in certain chains that they should sign up for loyalty schemes to get the benefits. Even booking in policy can immediately give them a better status.
"Corporate customers are treated better because they're seen as a returning customer," says Rachel Newns, hotel product manager at FCM Travel Solutions. "Loyalty is a valuable tool to use because the freebies add value. Sometimes you can arrange fast-track loyalty status for your travellers."
Newn's top tip for hotel negotiations is to negotiate free Wi-Fi. At a BTiQ/FCM workshop, less than half of the 20 buyers in the room had done that. Some were looking at total cost of trip from the expense side to gain the data that would empower them in to negotiate amenities and benefits in the future.
An alternative is to use accommodation providers that already offer free Wi-Fi. In my experience you can find good, free Wi-Fi in plenty of serviced apartments, small B&Bs and even hostels (don't scoff, you can hire great private rooms with double beds) besides smaller hotel companies.
Travellers need to be connected to do their jobs and we're relying more and more on technology. But without Wi-Fi access a lot of that won't work, and we know how expensive the data bills can get.