Comments on: Getting airports and hotels out of the pay toilet business http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/ Same old blog, brand new place Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:21:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.1 By: David Cushman http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-33404 David Cushman Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:49:30 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-33404 Just paid $25 euros a day for wifi at the Hotel Bristol Kempinksi in Berlin. Should we create a list of the world's worst? Name and shame. BTW doc, I heard a theory that the reason hotels overcharge for wifi is because they've lost all their pay-per-porn TV channnel revenue to the business traveller on his laptop. Just paid $25 euros a day for wifi at the Hotel Bristol Kempinksi in Berlin. Should we create a list of the world’s worst? Name and shame.
BTW doc, I heard a theory that the reason hotels overcharge for wifi is because they’ve lost all their pay-per-porn TV channnel revenue to the business traveller on his laptop.

]]> By: Mike Taht http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30155 Mike Taht Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:27:23 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30155 Oops, bad url, fixed here All the machines are broadcasting what they do, to everybody, and nobody has the faintest clue that they are <a href="http://the-edge.blogspot.com/2008/04/tragedy-of-wifi-commons.html" rel="nofollow">messing up the internet for everyone else</a>. No, they just keep hitting reload… I’ve been tempted lately, upon checkout, to hand a packet capture to the receptionist, and thank them for such an informative stay. Next time you are on a slow WAN, Doc, run wireshark and boggle at what all that traffic means. Oops, bad url, fixed here

All the machines are broadcasting what they do, to everybody, and nobody has the faintest clue that they are messing up the internet for everyone else. No, they just keep hitting reload…

I’ve been tempted lately, upon checkout, to hand a packet capture to the receptionist, and thank them for such an informative stay.

Next time you are on a slow WAN, Doc, run wireshark and boggle at what all that traffic means.

]]> By: Mike Taht http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30103 Mike Taht Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:47:08 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30103 This is why your hotel internet service is crap: The guy over in room 12 has a worm that is flood pinging every host in the building, trying to subvert it. The ladies on the top floor are watching youtube videos of the sewing channel, and the guy next door is downloading pr0n. The kid on the third floor is running 10 streams of bittorrent, sharing his 100GB drive full of mp3s with everyone that cares to upload it at 3KB/sec. All the machines are broadcasting what they do, to everybody, and nobody has the faintest clue that they are <a href="http://the-edge.blogspot.com/tragedy-of-wifi-commons.html" rel="nofollow">messing up the internet for everyone else</a>. No, they just keep hitting reload... I've been tempted lately, upon checkout, to hand a packet capture to the receptionist, and thank them for such an informative stay. This is why your hotel internet service is crap:

The guy over in room 12 has a worm that is flood pinging every host in the building, trying to subvert it.

The ladies on the top floor are watching youtube videos of the sewing channel, and the guy next door is downloading pr0n.

The kid on the third floor is running 10 streams of bittorrent, sharing his 100GB drive full of mp3s with everyone that cares to upload it at 3KB/sec.

All the machines are broadcasting what they do, to everybody, and nobody has the faintest clue that they are messing up the internet for everyone else. No, they just keep hitting reload…

I’ve been tempted lately, upon checkout, to hand a packet capture to the receptionist, and thank them for such an informative stay.

]]> By: Don Marti http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30082 Don Marti Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:42:18 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30082 @W^L+, Sure, I wouldn't mind paying $10 less if I don't turn on the TV during my stay. I don't use it either. But the hotel needs some way to discriminate between a higher price for business travelers and a lower price for others. Net access is a handy place to put the "tollbooth." Maybe the solution is to make the net access free and open, and charge $10 to anyone who doesn't watch TV for at least two hours (time on "mute" doesn't count.) Or a "minibar" for the power outlets. @W^L+,

Sure, I wouldn’t mind paying $10 less if I don’t turn on the TV during my stay. I don’t use it either.

But the hotel needs some way to discriminate between a higher price for business travelers and a lower price for others. Net access is a handy place to put the “tollbooth.”

Maybe the solution is to make the net access free and open, and charge $10 to anyone who doesn’t watch TV for at least two hours (time on “mute” doesn’t count.) Or a “minibar” for the power outlets.

]]> By: My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 31st through April 1st | AccMan http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30067 My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 31st through April 1st | AccMan Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:00:28 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30067 [...] Doc Searls Weblog · Getting airports and hotels out of the pay toilet business - Those of us who travel know only too well what this means. [...] […] Doc Searls Weblog · Getting airports and hotels out of the pay toilet business - Those of us who travel know only too well what this means. […]

]]> By: W^L+ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30055 W^L+ Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:05:33 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30055 @ Don Marti: Are you likewise willing to take away the business traveler subsidy for your basic cable in the room? While I'm in a hotel, I rarely if ever turn on the TV (cost bundled into the nightly room charge). So in essence, I'm subsidizing (or more accurately, my employer is subsidizing) the TV access for the guests that do use it. In other words, what's the difference? TV and Internet connectivity are both more or less standard utilities in American life. Asking me to pay extra for a basic utility does little for the hotel's bottom line (if net access is entirely pay, I'll leave after one day), while harming the hotel owner's reputation. I've stayed in that one chain's properties about six months out of the last two years. If they cannot appreciate the thousands of dollars of revenue that brought in, I will be happy to use someone else that does. The hotels' (and airports') *best customers* are the ones that are most likely to use Net access. It isn't conducive to the long-term health of their business to be so stingy toward their primary customers. @ Don Marti:

Are you likewise willing to take away the business traveler subsidy for your basic cable in the room? While I’m in a hotel, I rarely if ever turn on the TV (cost bundled into the nightly room charge). So in essence, I’m subsidizing (or more accurately, my employer is subsidizing) the TV access for the guests that do use it.

In other words, what’s the difference? TV and Internet connectivity are both more or less standard utilities in American life. Asking me to pay extra for a basic utility does little for the hotel’s bottom line (if net access is entirely pay, I’ll leave after one day), while harming the hotel owner’s reputation.

I’ve stayed in that one chain’s properties about six months out of the last two years. If they cannot appreciate the thousands of dollars of revenue that brought in, I will be happy to use someone else that does. The hotels’ (and airports’) *best customers* are the ones that are most likely to use Net access. It isn’t conducive to the long-term health of their business to be so stingy toward their primary customers.

]]> By: Dennis Howkett http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30045 Dennis Howkett Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:45:58 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30045 It's the same across the world. The telcos can't make money on copper so why not recoup on 3G by ripping off the captive traveler audience? After all, most of it is on expenses so they don't care about it. It’s the same across the world. The telcos can’t make money on copper so why not recoup on 3G by ripping off the captive traveler audience? After all, most of it is on expenses so they don’t care about it.

]]> By: Bryan http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30043 Bryan Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:21:51 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30043 @Russell Nelson- "Airports are generally owned by governments. Thus, they have no need to make money." A curious thing to say at tax time! @Russell Nelson-

“Airports are generally owned by governments. Thus, they have no need to make money.”

A curious thing to say at tax time!

]]> By: Wireless Community» Blog Archive » Doc Searls on Why Hotels and Airports Should Have Free Wi-Fi http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30033 Wireless Community» Blog Archive » Doc Searls on Why Hotels and Airports Should Have Free Wi-Fi Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:02:50 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30033 [...] Searls (who wrote a great article in Linux Journal about NYCwireless in 2004) has a great blog post on the frustrating world of for-pay Wi-Fi in hotels and airports. NYCwireless has long said that public and semi-public spaces like hotels and airports (and parks!) [...] […] Searls (who wrote a great article in Linux Journal about NYCwireless in 2004) has a great blog post on the frustrating world of for-pay Wi-Fi in hotels and airports. NYCwireless has long said that public and semi-public spaces like hotels and airports (and parks!) […]

]]> By: NYCwireless | Doc Searls on Why Hotels and Airports Should Have Free Wi-Fi http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30032 NYCwireless | Doc Searls on Why Hotels and Airports Should Have Free Wi-Fi Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:57:32 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2008/03/30/getting-airports-and-hotels-out-of-the-pay-toilet-business/#comment-30032 [...] Searls (who wrote a great article in Linux Journal about NYCwireless in 2004) has a great blog post on the frustrating world of for-pay Wi-Fi in hotels and airports. NYCwireless has long said that public and semi-public spaces like hotels and airports (and parks!) [...] […] Searls (who wrote a great article in Linux Journal about NYCwireless in 2004) has a great blog post on the frustrating world of for-pay Wi-Fi in hotels and airports. NYCwireless has long said that public and semi-public spaces like hotels and airports (and parks!) […]

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