uk- Vaultis Travel

It is quite incredible that an exhibition the size of World Travel Market does not have Wi-Fi access. I am not suggesting that it has to be free, but, why were they no hotspots either within the press lounge or exhibition halls. Is this evidence that travel hasn’t yet switched on to mobile or the internet.

UK isn't too hot for Wi-Fi hotspots

London 2012 Olympics offline

The hotel I stayed in offered 24-hours internet at €20 via Orange, which was unfortunately down for most of my stay. Not the fault of the hotel but the 2012 Olympics are not that far away and I think the city really has to realise that it’s 2009 and people want access to the internet and expect it.

While walking around London I tried unsuccessfully to find hotspots to pick up emails or send photographs to my Flickr account. Sure, if I headed into coffee bar’s and paid for a coffee I found relatively good access. I think London needs to get its act together for 2012.

UK is not hot for Wi-Fi hotspots

To be fair London isn’t the only city with a lack of Wi-Fi hotspots. My home city of Leeds is the same and I have had problems using the internet on my mobile network at many cities and towns in the UK. It seems that we are lagging behind many US and European cities.

London hotels and free internet

There’s a debate going on that London hotels should provide free internet. As I wrote back in October, the problem I have is that internet is expensive and the service is usually poor. It does make me wonder if hotels are simply profiteering from a service that more of us demand.

I am interested to hear from other hoteliers about how much it costs for a small to medium sized hotel.

Thoughts on London and WTM Wi-Fi hotspots

It is very well advertising the fact that they have internet access but if the quality of the service is poor or it is expensive consumers are going to complain. What do you think, are you bothered about having access to the internet while travelling, should WTM and ExCeL provide Wi-Fi hotspots?

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Blog.