Miserable Internet Sppeds

It is just me, or does anyone else out there get really slow internet speeds at Marriott properties? Many times, it is simply faster to tether my laptop to my smartphone to avoid the agonizing crawl of the Marriott system. Additionally, is Marriott ever going to update its browser or add Firefox capability to its system?

This morning while at a Courtyard, I am unable to access Kayak. When I try, a notice comes up on the screen saying the Kayak no longer runs on Internet 6. There are other sites where I get the same message. I do not visit these sites for fun; I visit them for business and because I have to. I also regularly get messages that sites will not run since the latest version of Adobe Flash needs to be installed. I also regularly get notices that I am using an "outdated browser" when at Marriotts.

To say that this is annoying is an understatement. Does anyone know if things are the same at Hilton properties? I have been a Platinum, am now a Lifetime Platinum, and am ready to move my business to a brand that has modern, 21st century internet capability...not something from the dark ages.

And please do not tell me I should be thankful that it is free...even "free" should be up to date, speedy and fully functional which Marriott internet is clearly not.

Finally, and I am assuming the answer is no, is there no way to currently use Firefox on Marriott internet?

Clearly, someone in Marriott Corporate is asleep at the switch here, or simply does not care. Am I missing something, or is it just too difficult to download an up to date to date browser? As far as internet speed goes, I understand that from time to time there are other factors that affect that, but the slowness has been an ongoing and constant problem for a long time at almost every property I have stayed at.

I use Firefox during all my Marriott stays, so I suspect that PEBKAC.

It's not clear from your post if your are talking about using the computers in the business center or your own system. The business center PCs appear to be provided by local suppliers and they have all been set up differently. Sometimes they appear to be discarded systems put in to satisfy being able to check the box that they have PCs.

I travel with my own laptop and have cellular broadband for exactly that reason. Some properties feel it is appropriate to throttle/block traffic for whatever reason. If their's works, great, if not I'm still good to go.

Many years ago I remember getting to my room to find a letter saying since so many people are using computers in their rooms they could not guarantee being able to get an outside line (back in the modem days) between certain hours of the day. And that was for voice calls too! Heaven help them if there was an emergency.

Since no one can predict what traffic will happen at any given time, I find it tough to expect fast network traffic every minute of the day. Just like offices don't provide trunk lines for every phone on their PBX, hotels don't equip their properties with bandwidth for worst-case usage.

I am talking about the public computers in the lobby. At every Marriott property I have been to, there is no Firefox. There is only Internet 6 which more and more websites are not allowing you to use to for access. Naturally in my room, and on my own computer, I can use Firefox. I understand that the internet speeds whether in your room, or in the lobby are dependent on the ISP that the local property uses, but I have found these speeds to be miserably slow no matter which Marriott property I am staying at.

Below is a link to the Kayak home page one gets on a Marriott lobby computer:

I've had plenty of issues with my own laptop in my room. List of issues are:

- Most properties don't have wireless (is it still 1999?)
- Most properties don't have bandwidth limits so the first 20 people on netflix, skype, mlb.tv, etc soak up all the bandwidth
- Most properties don't purchase the bandwidth to support the hotel, resulting in a jammed connection.

I learned all this after contacting tech support for a certain Marriott. My employee rented out the whole property ~300-400 rooms and when all of us started working at night from our rooms the internet failed. Needless to say it didn't go over too well.

I usually tether as it's much faster.

To answer the "Is it just Marriott" question, IME no. Many hotels do not have the bandwith to support the number of guests now using internet and using it for things like Skype and streaming video.

IIRC there is a thread in this forum somewhere cataloging various properties with bad Wifi speeds.

I too agree......slow wifi can be a determining factor when I decide if I want to stay at a hotel again in the future. It seems that more and more hotels have overused wifi in the last several months.

I've noticed that whenever the provider is ibahn the speed is miserable. If there is anything else than it is usually pretty good. Staying at Courtyard West Orange in NJ this week and they have Comcast. Downloaded some pretty big files yesterday in no time.

ibahn is definitely the problem.

Courtyard downtown Baltimore. Miserable internet speeds. 80kb/sec (10 KB/Sec) all evening. Spoke with front desk, "Oh sorry you are experiencing problems" (like they are totally unaware. FD connected me with tech support who confirmed above throughput rates. I literally could not complete an airline reservation due to this. Web pages took minutes to load.

The only consolation was that Marriott's fluff and stuff graphics heavy home page wouldn't load. ^ Talk about poetic justice!!!!

We should start a sticky that identifies properties with slow internet so we can avoid staying there. I know the Baltimore CY is now off my list.

Things have obviously changed since 2011. I enjoyed a very good Internet speed during my 3-day stay at the Residence Inn Downtown Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. And here's the proof:

Ibahn is apparently being rolled out to all Springhill properties, perhaps all Marriott. At a location they just converted, the login page only comes up occasionally. Calling tech support gets a level 1 who reads a script that blames your laptop, after you wait on hold for 15 minutes. They apparently don't have a call trending system showing problem locations. A few weeks have gone by and the situation is still not resolved.

This is a change that is mandated by corporate, per local hotel management.