Accor North America announced late Wednesday that it has completed installation of wireless, high-speed Internet across Motel 6 and Studio 6 properties in the United States. Internet usage in the properties comes with a $2.99 charge for 24 hours of use.
Accor already had completed installation of wireless Internet in all of its Studio 6 properties at the end of 2006 and began testing it in select Motel 6 properties through 2007. It began adding wireless Internet to Motel 6 properties nationwide in January and now has the service in 600 Motel 6 and Studio 6 corporate properties nationwide as well as 200 franchise properties.
Jim Amorosia, president and COO for the brands and Accor North America, said in a prepared statement that the $2.99 usage fee was instituted "to maintain the integrity of Motel 6's positioning as the lowest price of any national chain." While Internet access is becoming commonplace across all tiers, economy and midprice hotels largely offer it for free, and upscale hotels largely charge for it
(BTNonline, Nov. 19, 2007). A recent American Hotel & Lodging Association survey indicated that 91 percent of U.S. hotels now offer wirelesss Internet access and that only 16 percent charge for Internet service
(BTNonline, June 18).
The service comes through a partnership with Teledex for equipment and a $9 million, three-year agreement with AT&T for managed network services, according to Accor. The partnerships allowed rapid completion of the installation, which usually takes a year, and allows for network services expansion when higher bandwidth levels are required, the company said.