Luke Mellors: Why you should pay for hotel wi-fi

Wading bravely into the current debate around 'rip off' prices for hotel wi-fi access, Luke Mellors, former CIO at the Dorchester and IT director at hotel reservations agency Expotel, argues that hotels are right to charge guests for internet access on top of their room charge.

At the risk of making myself unpopular among the silicon.com readership I will try to lay out the reasons why I believe 'reasonable' charging for internet access is both justifiable and acceptable.

Firstly, let us clarify the debate. It is about charging reasonably versus providing the service free. I do not support overcharging. Secondly, it is about the provision of a service and the responsibility and accountability of this provision that I believe is worth paying for.

It is important as not all hotels offer the same degree of product or service and while the consumer may not be aware of this it is a huge issue within the industry.

Check out how much hotels are charging for wi-fi:

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I believe wholeheartedly that the internet is simply a gateway and that users use this access for a multitude of purposes. A hotel that provides these services must support the security and accessibility of all its users when providing this service. Not all hotels do.

We've all heard worrying stories about how insecure some public wi-fi networks are. In my previous role at the Dorchester we invested in an end-to-end Cisco environment that incorporated a high degree of security without compromising accessibility. I believe it is still one of the most accessible and secure environments available in hotels today.

We also were proactive in the delivery of an 'EButler' service to assist in the connection, ensuring the end destination or activity was achieved. This network and this service would not be possible without a revenue model attached.

Yes, not all people want this but if you provide the technology and do not have the means to service it or make it secure then I believe you risk a great deal and are not providing the basic minimum standard this service and access requires, especially in a service-driven environment such as a hotel.

If hotels provide this service for free they will minimise the human support, minimise the hardware spend, minimise the bandwidth and all this will impact consumers negatively.

There is also the question of perceived value. Consumers need to know that not 'all' hotel guests require these services, yet the costs involved in the supply, maintenance and service of wi-fi within a large hotel can be fairly large.

A reader responds:

"Luke's argument about non-users subsidising users is not valid. I stay in hotels where I don't use the gym, don't eat the bacon and never trouble the concierge. I am happy if I have inadvertently helped someone get a little more pleasure and convenience from life."
Simon Teale, management consultant from Warwickshirelatest poll.

To give you an indication, it costs between £10,000 and £20,000 just to provide bandwidth, and if you add the infrastructure costs on top of that it can be much greater. In my previous organisation we had to purchase a £60,000 Catalyst 6000 fibre switch to allow for the bandwidth requirements, and this does not include the 28 Cisco Edge switches involved in that infrastructure as well as all the other hardware and infrastructure costs associated with making it work.

But to be honest, that is not solely a justification of charging. Firstly, having people around that know technology would likely be harder if there were no revenue model. Secondly, the majority of guests that do not use the service would end up subsidising the users that do.

There may be a time when a free model works and the degree of service, accessibility and security can be managed effectively at a reduced cost, but currently I do believe that the product consumers get will suffer if wi-fi in hotels has no revenue model associated with it.