By the beginning of next near, most major upper upscale
hotel chains, along with one prominent luxury chain, will offer free in-room
Internet access to travelers in the upper tiers of their rewards program.
Marriott International most recently made complimentary
Internet access for elite guests a global policy. After beginning last May to
offer free high-speed access to gold and platinum Marriott Rewards members at
hotels across North and South America, Marriott in September announced that
policy would apply to all properties globally as of Jan. 7, 2011. Marriott's
gold and platinum tiers require travelers to stay 50 nights and 75 nights per
year, respectively.
Frequent guests to Marriott's Ritz-Carlton properties will
be able to access free Internet as well. Ritz-Carlton last month began offering a rewards program, a first for the luxury chain, that offers such high-end
perks as personal shopping excursions at Neiman Marcus, photography workshops
with National Geographic photographers and luxury cruises, and partners with
Marriott's rewards program.
"We have already brought together some of the most
exclusive names in travel and retail. This is just the beginning,"
Ritz-Carlton president and COO Herve Humler said. "We will continue to add
global partners offering our members the very best in customized and
one-of-a-kind memorable experiences."
Meanwhile, Hilton Worldwide last month began waiving Internet access charges across its brands for Hilton HHonors gold- and
diamond-tier members.
"Specifically, business travelers rank quality,
high-speed Internet access as one of the most important guest room attributes,"
said Hilton senior vice president of global customer marketing Jeff Diskin.
Hilton generally charges guests for Internet access in its
upscale and luxury properties, including the Hilton, Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria
brands. Midprice and extended stay hotels already make the service available
without charge for all guests.
With Hilton's and Marriott's announcements, most major hotel
brands now offer complimentary Internet access across tiers for preferred
guests. Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt Hotels offer similar service,
but some other brands, including Omni Hotels and Wyndham, offer free Internet
access for all loyalty program members regardless of their stay history.
The corporate travel sector largely has driven these
changes, said Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the New York University Tisch
Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, and the implementation
in part is to make rate increases more palatable to buyers. "Charging for
high-speed is an issue of great offense to travel managers, so if this offsets
costs so they'll agree to a higher-than-otherwise rate, it's easy to calculate,"
he said.
Even so, some buyers have reported success in negotiating
out Internet access fees, and hotel loyalty programs remain a double-edged
sword, said Mauricio Molina, leader of Carlson Wagonlit Travel's hotel
consulting group. This applies particularly to companies without strong
compliance measures in place.
"When people have memberships in any of those programs,
they tend to favor hotels in those brands, even when they go against company
policies," Molina said. "Even if they're getting these amenities for
free, if at the same time they're not in compliance with preferred rates in a
specific city, it goes against the company."
This report appeared in the Oct. 11, 2010, edition of Business Travel
News.