Best Western Proposes Free Internet for All UK Hotels

Daily Mail: Hotel goliath Best Western has kicked off a national campaign to ensure free internet access for every hotel guest in the UK. The chain insists that if hotels offered their guests free use of the internet it would save British businesses £1.4bn ($2.27 billion) a year.

The country’s biggest independent accommodation group has almost 300 member hotels in the UK, each equipped with unlimited high-speed internet access at no extra cost.

The company claims it will save its guests nearly £30m a year by not charging them for the use of the internet, and is urging other chains to do the same based on the premise that free internet access would give a major boost to the hotel industry and UK businesses. 

Hotels that ditch internet fees could experience a surge in interest levels, particularly among business travellers. Tim Sander, Research Director at BDRC Continental and editing author of the annual British Hotel Guest Survey told TravelMole: 'The importance of the internet offering in hotels has surged in recent years. For business travellers it has developed into a major factor, stating that the provision of the Internet is important when choosing a hotel.'

He went on to say that free Wi-Fi was more important to business travellers than the brand of hotel.

It seems there may be a direct correlation between a hotel's star rating and prices charged for internet access. At the five-star Ritz Hotel in London, for example, guests can expect to pay an eye-watering £26 for just 24 hours of access.

Learn more about Best Western's campaign at www.bestwestern.co.uk/freeInternet

So which hotels will let you surf for free, and which will leave your check-out bill considerably higher? We asked some of the biggest hotel operators to come clean over how much they charge for internet access.

W Hotel London: Expect to pay £5.95 per hour, £14.95 per 24 hours, or £38 a week

Premier Inn, nationwide: If a customer requires Wi-Fi they may purchase vouchers costing £5 per hour, £10 for 24 hours or £15 for the whole week

Radisson Edwardian, nationwide: Free wireless internet

Travelodge, nationwide: £5 for 1 hour, £10 for 24 hours, £20 for 1 week

Hilton Hotels: Most Hilton Hotels in the UK charge £15 per 24 hours for Wi-Fi, but prices may deviate from this depending on location

Marriott Hotels: Again, charges vary slightly across the UK, but most charge £15 per 24 hours for use of the internet in rooms. Prices vary slightly per hour as well – expect to pay £6 an hour at the Manchester Marriott Victoria and Albert Hotel, and £5 at the Marriott Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square, for example.

Ritz Carlton London: A whopping £26 for 24 hours