How frequently do you stay in hotels that make you pay for the wifi?

[Scipio]

I can't think of the last time I paid for wifi at a hotel.

[garbon]

Almost every hotel I go to charges for wi-fi, unless you have a certain level membership in their loyalty programs.  That said, I've also noticed that if I stay at the lower middle end of hotels, it is also generally free if they have it.  I guess the middle-to-high end hotels have a lot of business travelers who if not in the loyalty program, will just expense it anyway.

[garbon]

But if you're just in a cafe then I'll often just use my phone rather than the hassle of getting a code etc.

Many places don't even have codes.

[Brazen]

I have been known when between jobs to take my laptop to a high-end hotel and mooch about in the lobby or cocktail bar nursing a single cup of tea to grant a more luxurious surroundings to my job applications. And save on heating bills. The password is often the hotel name.

Pubs near train stations have taken drastic measures to stop non-customers using their loos. You only get the code for the door with purchase. The code changes every hour. They deserve to have desperate customers piss up their bar.

[Josquius]

I've no idea, I've never used wi-fi away from home or occasionally a friend's place, its too much of a hastle,

When I connect my phone to wifi, it shows me a list of available networks and I tip one with my finger. How is that "too much of a hassle"?

Bothering with codes and sign ups and everything.
Plus having to haul my laptop around with me everywhere. I've got my phone so am fine for checking messages online and the point of travelling is to be too busy I dont have to mess around on the internet.

[Camerus]

Most hotels I've stayed at in China have free wifi.

[Barrister]

Even the shitty Yukon hotels I've stayed at, had free wifi (if they had wifi at all).

[garbon]

Even the shitty Yukon hotels I've stayed at, had free wifi (if they had wifi at all).

But that's kinda like what I said - as the cheaper hotels here generally have it free if they have wifi...presumably because no one at those cheaper hotels would actually pay for wifi if it came at a cost.  On the flipside, I know that the Omni Hotel in Montreal definitely charges for wireless unless you are a member of their loyalty program.

[derspiess]

I travel about once a month and always try to stay at a Hampton Inn, which has free wifi.  If I'm traveling on my own dime and I'm not at Hampton I try to make do using wifi tether on my phone.

[alfred russel]

It seems as though the higher end places tend to charge for wifi. And have obnoxious bills for breakfast and parking. Most of that stuff can get waived if you have status or negotiate with the manager though (the latter is really annoying).

[mongers]

Never/don't know, the need for wifi just isn't on my radar.

[CountDeMoney]

Most hotels I've stayed at in China have free wifi.

And I'm sure they got everything they needed from your laptop, whether they wanted it or not.

[Grey Fox]

Most hotels I've stayed at in China have free wifi.

And I'm sure they got everything they needed from your laptop, whether they wanted it or not.

He lives in China, no? We need to worry when he comes back.

[Martinus]

The EU would garner some much-needed popularity if it cracked down on those extortionate roaming charges.

It already did.

Of course I don't expect a British to know about it. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_on_roaming_charges_in_the_European_Union

It's not that RH is British, it's that he doesn't have a mobile phone. You can't cross a border without an automated text telling you about rates - it never exceeds £4 a day for British phones in the EU.

To answer the original question, this year I stayed in one UK hotel for leisure and didn't even bother to see if it had wifi as my phone was sufficient, and two for work. One had free wifi that you had to ask for a new password for each day, the other charged but I got the password from reception by smiling sweetly.

The internet rates are quite high, still, though. At least from Polish mobile operators.

[jimmy olsen]

Never had to pay in Korea.