Hotel Internet....pet PEAVE

[Freebird]

This week I find myself in yet another hotel with very substandard Internet service. As many of you know, I travel on a weekly basis and actually spend more nights in hotel rooms each than I do at home.

 

Now I'm not all that picky and the company that I work for is fairly conservative when it comes to how much I should spend on hotel rooms so I stay in mid grade hotels and about 95% of the time, I stay at Comfort Inns. There are really only a handful of things that I expect. A very clean room, a coffee pot and decent Internet service. I keep pretty good records of which ones are pretty good and which or not and won't return to one that doesn't meet my few expectations.

 

Now, ALL Comfort Inns have either wireless or hard wired internet service. Some have both. I find that about 40% of them actually work pretty darn good, maybe another 30% are acceptable and the remaining 30% make me want to

 

Now HERE is my biggest complaint. If I am at a hotel that is having a problem with their Internet service. Most of the time, about 99% of the time, they give me a phone number for their service provider and want me to call them. That is my rub. It is NOT my problem...it is THEIR problem. I know that my computer is working properly. I have no desire to spend one to more hours on the telephone with THEIR service provider helping them troubleshoot THEIR problems. I have done it once or twice and it ALWAYS turns out to be a problem with either the provider or the hotel hardware. It has NEVER...not a single time, been an issue with my computer.

 

So, why should I...a paying guest...be asked to call and spend my evenings helping to troubleshoot THEIR issues? You all know the routine...."have you tried restarting your computer"...OK...."let's go into your settings"...."do you how to run a command from a command line prompt"....yadayadayadayada.......................... "OK...the problem seems to be on our end...............".... YOU THINK?

 

It happened again last night and sure enough, they wanted me to call the service provider. I said no thanks, I don't work for you. Please call them yourself and get the problems resolved. About 10 minutes later, the service provider actually called ME. He asked if I was using Wifi or the hardwired connection. I told him that I had tried both with the same results. I get an excellent Wifi signal and have no problem connecting. I also have no problem connecting via the hardwired connection. In both cases though, it works and then stops and then 3 or 4 minutes later...works again. I click on a link and it times out...I click again and it opens. "OK sir.......have you tried restarting your system".

 

NO...I have NOT restarted my system and I'm NOT going to either. I'm also not going to open my settings.....I DON'T WORK FOR YOU or the HOTEL! You guys figure it out. GOODBYE.

 

OK.....rant mode off............

[albyzee]

It is not your problem. I think you handled that well.

[bryan52577]

I am with you on this Boss. I have also found that the closer to the "Office" I can get a room the better the internet. And it doesn't seem to matter if it is wired or wireless, it's just better. Go figure?

Bryan

[Freebird]

Yes, it often helps to be close to the office. That is because many of them don't properly set up the access points throughout the hotel. In this weeks case though, it doesn't matter. I actually tried it from the lobby this morning with the same results. The clerk last night told me when I called that she had received no other complaints. The clerk this morning showed me a list of room numbers that had called to complain. She also told me that she brought her own laptop in yesterday and had the same issues.

[KIC]

I travel regularly too. And..I stay 90% Comfort Inns, but I have to say, other than finding the wireless router closest to my room, they usually have 4-7 to click on, I haven't had much of a problem. I hate going through the sign in process at some of the hotels though which use some type of 3rd party connect software.

 

When you check in ask them where the wireless routers are and if you can get a room next to one of them. I have found less and less have the hard wired, which I prefer.

[etcswjoe]

I stay pretty much exclusivly at Marriots and very seldom have an issue with internet and once you are a Platinum member they will usally give you a faster speed for free. I also have an "Air Card" that I use on the jobsite and in the car not the fastest but works great.

[utadventure]

You should just fix it for them and have the appropriate rate deducted from your bill.

 

:whistling:

 

Dave

[Phoneman1981]

I agree with you completely!!!!!! Coffee pot and working internet. If I have internet issues i ask for a manager and offer to check out and go elsewhere. Motels are notorius for using cheap access points.

[capn eddie]

And this is why i bought a phone that can be used as a hot spot to conect to my wifi system on my netbook . had too many problems like freebird. no more problems .If the hotel conection dont work i use my hot spot on my phone and problem solved.

[marczing]

because of that and hotels in convention districts that charge for internet service, I bought a MIFI to use "pay as you go". Now when I hit those areas I thumb my nose at them. Another choice is phone tethering if you can do it on the cheap

[Flyinfool]

You should just fix it for them and have the appropriate rate deducted from your bill.

 

:whistling:

 

Dave

 

I have done this at a motel and was very well payed for my services.

[dacheedah]

Just a tidbit if you are having a weak signal issue, plug in the laptop and change the power settings. If you go to performance it will improve your signal but wou will smoke batteries. As far as timing out, it sounds like the access point is changing ip's and they should be assigning it an ip address. On your side if you move the connection to the top of your wireless list it may help also, if your computer is looking for a better connection.

[Freebird]

I agree with you completely!!!!!! Coffee pot and working internet. If I have internet issues i ask for a manager and offer to check out and go elsewhere. Motels are notorius for using cheap access points.

 

Yes, I have checked out of many hotels over the years. The first thing that I do when I get to my room is to check the Internet connection. If it isn't working, I leave and go somewhere else. I can remember one Monday a couple of years ago when I checked into three hotels before I stayed at one.

 

And this is why i bought a phone that can be used as a hot spot to conect to my wifi system on my netbook . had too many problems like freebird. no more problems .If the hotel conection dont work i use my hot spot on my phone and problem solved.

 

I can tether my Blackberry and do it every day. I use it during the day when I need to access the Internet for something when I'm out seeing customers. It works good for that but is not nearly as fast as I would like it to be. The other issue is that using PDAnet with my Blackberry, I can access the Internet and can download my email using Thunderbird but it won't let me SEND an email using my email clients. I can go to Webmail to do it but I truly hate using Webmail.

 

Just a tidbit if you are having a weak signal issue, plug in the laptop and change the power settings. If you go to performance it will improve your signal but wou will smoke batteries. As far as timing out, it sounds like the access point is changing ip's and they should be assigning it an ip address. On your side if you move the connection to the top of your wireless list it may help also, if your computer is looking for a better connection.

 

I agree with what you say but in this case, none of that matters. They have wirless and hard wired here and even the hard wired connection exhibits the same problem. The wireless signal is EXCELLENT but just like the hard wired, it works fine for a few minutes and then is non-responsive for a few minutes.

 

I agree that more and more hotels are WiFi only but I still find a few that have both available. I much prefer the hard wired as they are typically better in the hotels due to their poor placement of the access points. I'm sure that they use as few as possible to cut down on the installation costs. If there is a hard wired connection available, I plug my Apple Airport into it and always have a GREAT wireless signal. Plus it gives me another layer of security. The hardwired connection with my own wirelss router is my number one choice when traveling.

[OB-1]

I've been through the same issues more times than I care to remember. I carry an Air Card and use it when the hotel internet connection is slow or has problems. The G-4 has pretty good connect speeds when it's available.

[CaptainJoe]

Don,

Don't know what size laptop you are using but I went from a 10 inch LCD ACER notebook a couple weeks ago to a H.P. 4 Gig Ram 500 Gig harddrive 17.something LCD laptop for $500, and the signal strength went from 2 bars poor, to 5 bars EXCELLENT! at home.

 

 

It would seem Brand names and three years newer makes a huge difference...

Edited December 14, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[Freebird]

I got a new one a few months ago. It is a powerhouse. Intel I7 Quad, 17.3" screen, 500GB SATA drive, 6 GB RAM...really a nice computer. It's getting a GREAT signal even here. It's not the wirless connection that is causing the problem. It's just the hotels service provider. I actually wonder if their service provider is throttling their usage. No big deal...I'll be out of this one in a couple of days and will hope for better next week.

[SC89Venture]

Yep, I am a road warrior also, spending about 12 nights a month on the road selling carbide cutting tools in GA/AL. Most of the newer Comfort Suites around the major cities are okay. The older Comfort Inn's I try to stay away from.

[Monty]

Don, I use PDAnet also, with my Droid Incredible, and the connection is usually faster than what the hotels provide. I've never had any email issues, but then I don't use Outlook, either.

 

Best thing is, I can tether for free with PDAnet.

[Eck]

Im sure yuo already know all this since you stay at thier place all the time but thought it may hel with your rant

 

 

Phone:800-424-6423

 

This is a direct number to a live person.

 

 

Email:

ihelp@choicehotels.com

 

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/GuestComments?sid=xMHrug.cIAM9gmaW.18

[BIG TOM]

Whine...Whine...Whine.....

[Freebird]

Don, I use PDAnet also, with my Droid Incredible, and the connection is usually faster than what the hotels provide. I've never had any email issues, but then I don't use Outlook, either.

 

Best thing is, I can tether for free with PDAnet.

 

Yes, tethering for free is why I like PDAnet Won't work on the Iphone so I still use my Blackberry for that. I think the email is a Blackberry issue. I will be updating it to a different phone as soon as I decide what I want. May very well try the new Razr simply because I can't use PDAnet with an Iphone.

 

 

Im sure yuo already know all this since you stay at thier place all the time but thought it may hel with your rant

 

 

Phone:800-424-6423

 

This is a direct number to a live person.

 

 

Email:

ihelp@choicehotels.com

 

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/GuestComments?sid=xMHrug.cIAM9gmaW.18

 

Thanks Eck....yes...I've sent them an email before but don't think I ever got an answer. If so, it wasn't very memorable. At any rate, I think there is very little they could do about this issue.

 

Whine...Whine...Whine.....

 

You stay out of this. Nobody was talking to you.

[FreezyRider]

Don,

 

With the new Droids, you don't even need to buy PDAnet. The phone comes with USB Tethering, and Verizon does not charge extra for it. If you use their built in Wireless Hotspot feature they DO charge you. Guess they aren't worried about USB tethering since you can still only use one device when you tether that way.

 

Or you can do like me and root the phone (safe and easy if you get the right model) and then install the updated Wireless Tethering app built specifically for the new generation of Droids (Bionic and Razr mostly). Then you get to turn your phone into a wireless hotspot and connect multiple devices when you want to.

 

Just wanted you to know.

 

Joe

[pegscraper]

Or, since you already own PdaNet... Are you aware that Androids can use PdaNet without rooting the phone? The iphone requires jailbreaking to use PdaNet, but an Android phone can use it right out of the box.

[KIC]

I am posting this from a Comfort Inn in Phoenix...never had a problem at this one either... I hope I don't stay at the ones you have problems at... last thing I want is to deal with that crap.

[FuzzyRSTD]

Wow, way over this old country boys head. Droids and y-thingys and PDAnetys. Sheww wee. Rant on Boss, it makes me feel better to.

 

I have Sate Farm insurance. They tried that," you call here bunch of bull with me". I said I pay you, you call and fix, or I call another insurance agent. I did anyway and pulled everything away from them to another location. I got a call wanting to know why. I did not return the call. Do not play stupid with me.

 

Ok, now my rant is over too.

 

Rant on Boss.....