Clearly, charging $9.95 a day is a blatant ripoff. As others have mentioned, I simply expense it so it doesn't come out of my pocket. Naturally, the Marriott people know this since the vast majority of their guests are business travellers.

Some tips for those of you that can't expense it:

1) Stay on a lower floor. I've heard that you can piggyback on the hotel's wireless service if you stay close enough to the business center (usually on a lower floor). I've seen people sitting outside the airport lounges doing this.
2) If you work for a large company then suggest that they try to negotiate a rate that includes internet access for you and other employees. Some hotels will do it if you can provide enough business for them.
3) Some hotels (ex. Marriott Miami) provide in room net terminals for free for guests on the concierge levels. True, it's just a browser and no local storage but it's good enough for most things and it's free.

One other thing. I've heard that WayPort (the company that provides internet access in many hotel chains) has monthly passes for around $39.95. If you travel a lot then it's way cheaper then $9.95 a day and you might be able to talk your travel department into springing for it