Internet Access Question
 

Hilton offers gold/diamond HHonors members complimentary internet access. Does that mean 1 session of internet access, or more than 1?

E.g., if I'm staying at a Hilton property and they give me a PIN, it only works on the first device I use. In this example, I use it on my laptop. If I want to access my smarphone or iPad, or whatever, it requires a second PIN. Is the second PIN included as part of the benefit, or do I pay for anything above the first device?

I did do a search, but since I can't limit searches to *all* keywords here, I'm coming up with a lot of noise.

Thanks.

In these situations I've just chosen the "bill to room" option. Sometimes the charge appears on the bill and I have to ask for it to be removed. I'll usually do the same thing if they have multiple tiers of internet service, so I can get the faster plan.

You have to be careful with your scheme. You may end up paying with no recourse. Free internet access does NOT mean all of it is free. The front desk will tell you which plan is free.

Most hotels with a wires internet line will only offer that as the free internet. If you want wireless, you have to pay. The T&C only state free internet. They do not state that it has to be the fastest plan, the wireless, or that we get to chose which plan we want.

It's like saying free parking. That does not mean the valet parking is free, too.

Others have reported that when they connected five devices, they were charged for four of them. So at least based on reports here, it's one session. If you need more, you could consider a travel router, and let that be your one connection and connect everything else to that.

Others have said they just ask at the desk and they allow multiple logins from different machines. They may tell you they can't do it, only one device, or they may just give you additional codes. Whatever you do, make sure to find out before you bill six devices to your room and expect them to remove all of them, as others have posted, it doesn't always work out in your favor.

So like most things hiltons, it may work, or it may not work.

I've never come across a Hilton that offered both wired and wireless where one was paid and one was free, but the desk will be able to tell you if that's the case when you ask about additional devices.

If your laptop can be your primary device, and if you are running Win7, and if the hotel's internet is via ethernet, then you could also use a Virtual Router program to turn your laptop into a wifi access point.

Hu :confused:

I've yet to find an hotel with three different kind of Hi-speed access, so the "higher speed offering" was, in all case, the highest available (of two).

Agreed, they don't say anything about limiting the number of devices connected, but the T&C states that the member will enjoy complimentary in-room access. It's easy to share a connection between computers so it shouldn't be a problem anyway, but I would certainly complain (on principle) if I wasn't offered hi-speed internet access as stated but "hi speed internet access limited to one device" which is clearly more restricted than written (even if not a problem nowadays).

And I would complain more if I was offered a 10-minutes access code to Internet, with the clerk saying that they didn't write that Internet access was to be offered all the time during the stay.

I have. There was a Doubletree a few weeks ago. Wired in-room access was free; wireless was paid via AT&T.

It's tough to generalize from a small set of observations. Asking at the front desk is good advice. I look at travel routers but haven't acquired one yet.

The wireless fee would not get refunded golds and diamonds? There are many devices out there now that do not have the ability to offer a wired connection, this would be a huge disadvantage to the hotel if they did not offer free wifi as a benefit.

^^

I concede your technical point but remind all that the gold/diamond HHonors benefit is in-room high speed internet access, not 'everywhere I want it, however I want it.'

I had the same experience, in 2 London hotels and the Dublin Conrad. Only the wired internet was free (Diamond); the wireless was a fee. I asked about the wireless but was told I would be charged if I chose that for my computer.

The benefit is ONLY free internet. It does NOT say the hotel must provide wireless internet.

I did not say that it was wireless everywhere I wanted it or however I wanted it or anything even close to that.

I asked if you knew for a fact that the wireless fee was not removed from the bill for elite members or not

If you do not know for sure elites would have had to pay for wireless, please name the hotel so I could find out.

Conrad Dublin, Trafalgar, London Green Park, and the LHR Hilton all charged for wireless internet for elites. I specifically asked at the front desk at each hotel. I got the same answer: yes, there is free internet but it is with the landline/wired only. If I wanted the wireless, I would be charged.

Did I use the wireless anyway and demand it to be take off despite being told I would be charged? No. Frankly, I wouldn't have had an argument. How can you argue if you were already given the included benefit but wanted (expected) a higher benefit? It's like demanding a full breakfast even though you are entitled to only a continental one.

Again, the benefit is for free internet. It does NOT say they must give us wireless, only in-room free internet. If we are given the landline free, they are indeed fulfilling their part of the benefits.

Which one of those was the doubletree in the I was asking about?

You had said you never heard of a hotel charging for wireless and not for wired. 3CForme gave an example of a Doubletree he/she stayed at. I gave an additional 4 hotels where I, a Diamond, was explicitly told I would be charged for wireless internet. Why fixated on that Doubletree when there are plenty of other examples out there?