Hotel Internet Safety Tips

In this day and age of internet being a TV alternative, access should be
just as available as color television in your room. Some guests that are
asked to pay fees may look for dangerous free alternatives.

The more often you travel on business related trips, you may wonder why
many hotels are still charging for internet access. One website is now
putting this information up front for travelers.

We are hearing more and more complaints about this so we decided to try
to help. We were one of the first travel websites to list if a hotel had
high speed internet or not. It's still been difficult to know what the
policy is until you are on the premises.

It is not like a color TV in a room. Everyone assumes that one. Many
hotels will advertise internet access but not say if it's for free or
how much it may cost. A traveler may see internet access as an amenity,
listed amongst other common ones such as a pool, coffee or cable tv. So
a guest will book it, check in and then find a fee card in the room.

We recently had a case where a chain advertised free hotel high-speed
internet access with their brand name in magazine, tv and web ads. So we
made this change on the site accordingly. Then we are contacted by an
individual location saying that they charge $10 per 24 hour period. What
is a customer to do when the chains can't be straight with themselves?

Some people will say that business travelers should avoid these hotels
but it is difficult if one is already there when they find out about the
fee or have a meeting at that particular hotel. Convention center hotels
are often the worst offenders. The room rates are generally higher and
then they charge for every extra they can find. These hotels have
business travelers where they want them and charge accordingly. A hotel
with all the free amenities with a room rate at one third the price may
be just a couple miles away. Then one has to factor in extra travel
time, traffic and cost of a taxi, car rental or parking. Many luxury
hotels tend not to mention a fee up front because if a guest is staying
there at a high price, it is assumed they can afford paying extra for
internet, parking, newspapers and general resort fees.

Complain and complain loudly. Let them know on comment cards and at the
front desk that you won't be back. That no one in your business will be
back. That you will mention this on the convention survey so the whole
event could possibly relocate to another hotel,. Hotels are lowering
rates to be competitive on internet websites like ours and then charging
little fees for everything else, including things that should be free.

Even if travelers know the cost of internet access, is it working when
they get there? The network may be down or it is being upgraded in the
hotel. The frustrated guest may be out of luck without apologies. The
complaint is not on the same level as saying there is no electricity. It
may be critical for the business travelers visit but it's not yet an
important utility to the hotels.

A hotel charging a fee can actually be more dangerous as well. Upon
arrival, the guest may look up to see what wireless networks are
available. Instead of choosing the costly hotel option, they see other
nearby networks listed. Those networks may or may not be secure. As part
of a growing trend, these networks could just be someone spoofing a
network to get access to another computer and any information that is
sent through their fake network. This can in turn compromise the guests
data and even lead to identity theft.

It is very easy to set up a network or share ones internet connection
with others. Most people just see the list and try them until something
works. We've seen it many times in hotels and public places. Someone
will open a network and call it something deceptive. Maybe they will
imitate a big companies name or play on the cities name or nearby
location such as a convention center, coffee shop, monorail or airport.

If travelers are looking for alternatives, they can get a cellular data
card for their laptop with unlimited access. Depending on the phone and
plan they may also be able to connect the cell phone to a laptop and use
the internet. But sometimes reception is poor in hotel buildings. A
hotel guest won't know if it works until they've checked in.

Think about how often you travel and pay that $10 fee in a hotel. How
much time do you spend in airports and waiting rooms that could be spent
working? If you are in a business with traveling staff, you may come out
ahead buying a card for several people to share on various trips out of
the office. You are also generally more secure on a cell connection than
on a regular wireless connection as well. You can turn your wireless
card off so you are not visible to others and are not sending your data
through another nearby computer.

Cancellation Fees and Policies In Detail

It is time again to address cancellation policies, fees and charges. Hotels are the ones that charge them but it sometimes appears as if we do.

We get emails from upset customers when they are surprised by cancellation charges and sometimes even have to pay for a hotel stay they didn't complete. This anger is directed at us but that fact is that we don't charge any fees at all. The hotel controls the policies and collects the money. We just take all the blame because it's our name on the reservation.

Most bookings on AllStays.com do not have a cancellation fee at all if it is cancelled by a certain time, usually 24-48 hours ahead of the check in date. However, certain rates are negotiated with the hotels and these include cancellation fees and are clearly stated on the pages for the hotels. Please always read this policy (#3) on the booking page. This is stated before you ever enter your personal information. This fee is in place for about 8,000 out of 54,000 bookable hotels listed. It is part of the contract with the hotels for the cheaper rates. The hotel gets a certain amount of money regardless of what happens in the booking. They are set in that point.

Holiday Inn is an example of a hotel chain that gives out discounted rates. Whether booking with us or at the official Holiday Inn website, if you book one of those rates and cancel, you will pay between one nights rate and even possibly the entire stay. You basically save $5 or $10 a night to give up the right to cancel.

This is one of the most frustrating things about the travel industry these days and we hope you will read all of this to see the concrete proof that we are not the ones that caused fees for a cancellation. If it was up to us there would be no fees at all. But we do not control the hotels policies. We just link to them so you can book your travel. When complaining about fees, make sure to include the hotel. They are the ones that got all the money in fees. We didn't get a dime of it.

For example, please check this link from the official Holiday Inn website for this hotel where they charge you one nights stay for the cancellation. We are picking on Holiday Inn in this case but many of the chains and independents do the same.

Because the credit card is accepted by us and passed onto the hotel, the hotel can dictate the fees charged and they appear as if they are coming from us. AllStays.com does not get a dime of these fees. Zero. They are charges put upon us by the hotel and/or the GDS network (Global Distribution System) which in this case is Sabre which is the same company as Travelocity. They control the most number of access points for travel agents. You get charged the fee, we take the heat and get nothing for it. You get mad at AllStays or your local travel agent and the big greedy corporation gets the money.

You may still want to blame us for charging fees but you can also look up the same hotel on other travel websites like Expedia/Hotels.com (actually same company), or Travelocity. You will find in most cases, the same exact cancellation fee and policy.

And remember that anytime you make a booking for the next day or the same day you are making the booking, you will be paying for the hotel stay. You can't cancel at that point. You are charged the whole room rate because the hotel doesn't have any time to re-sell that room if you cancel.

Because we are always trying to make improvements and want to keep your business, please let us know if there is any way we can make the fee more obvious up front. we state the policy before the booking takes place but we realize it takes time to read the text on the page.

We don't answer to any stock price and stockholders like other websites. We answer to you. We really are on your side, the guest, but the rules of the game are tough on independents and those trying to do the right thing.

Adam Longfellow
President, AllStays.com