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-   -   Is no in-room coffee maker and charge for wifi a deal breaker for a hotel these days? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1850298-no-room-coffee-maker-charge-wifi-deal-breaker-hotel-these-days.html)

david55 Jun 27, 2017 5:31 am

Is no in-room coffee maker and charge for wifi a deal breaker for a hotel these days?
 
Looking at a 4 hotels on the upper west side of NYC. Mostly in the $250-$350 a night range. One that I am considering which is the most reasonably priced, is the only one that does not have an in-room Keurig (or kitchenette) and charges $6 a day for room wifi, amenities that the other 3 hotels I am considering offer at no charge.

The idea of wandering out to a Starbucks at 7AM doesn't sound too appealing.....

Deal breaker in this day and age?

yno Jun 27, 2017 5:43 am

No wifi would be more a deal breaker than no coffee maker: most coffee makers in hotels make awful coffee, so I will anyway get my coffee elsewhere

MSPeconomist Jun 27, 2017 5:50 am

It's only a deal breaker if you need/use these amenities and the total price after including these fees is more than the rates in alternative hotels. It's pretty easy to bring your own coffee maker and coffee supplies, depending on your preferences. Also, the in room coffee makers have been much more prevalent in the USA than the rest of the world. If the hotel has complimentary coffee in the lobby or butler/valet service to deliver (free) coffee upon request, being able to make your own might not matter. A few hotels will also offer free room service coffee if you inquire about the possibility of a coffee maker in the room while others might even buy one for your room if you ask.

Palal Jun 27, 2017 7:11 am

Drinking crappy coffee in the room doesn't sound too appealing to me. No wifi is definitely a deal breaker.

wendyg Jun 27, 2017 8:53 am

No wifi a deal-breaker. I don't drink coffee anyway, but carry a small immersion heater to make tea. More important to me is an in-room refrigerator so I can have real milk in the tea.

wg

txflyer77 Jun 27, 2017 9:09 am

I don't care about either. In-room wifi tends to be so awful I almost always find myself just tethering to my phone.

CPRich Jun 27, 2017 10:38 am


Originally Posted by MSPeconomist (Post 28491081)
It's only a deal breaker if you need/use these amenities and the total price after including these fees is more than the rates in alternative hotels.

Exactly.

And there's a difference between no wi-fi, on which some are opining, and a charge for wi-fi, as OP posited.

Paying $250 for free wi-fi rather than $225 with a $6 wi-fi charge would make no sense, IMHO.

irish_goat Jun 27, 2017 11:12 am

No wifi is a deal breaker if I'm in a country where I don't get free roaming. Hostels that charge next to nothing for a bunkbed always have free wifi. No reason a "premium" hotel shouldn't offer it other than to prove they just want to squeeze as much money out of customers that they can.

Collierkr Jun 27, 2017 11:37 am


Originally Posted by MSPeconomist (Post 28491081)
It's only a deal breaker if you need/use these amenities and the total price after including these fees is more than the rates in alternative hotels. It's pretty easy to bring your own coffee maker and coffee supplies, depending on your preferences.

Does anyone really bring their own coffee maker? Not in a hotel!

pinniped Jun 27, 2017 11:39 am

The only time I've ever used an in-room coffeemaker was to make oatmeal prior to a long run. I could take it or leave it.

While I find a hotel charge for Wifi highly annoying on principle, it's kind of a non-issue in NYC since I'd just tether to my phone. I place a higher value on water pressure, powerful A/C, adequate hot water, and well-placed outlets than I do on hotel Wifi.

pinniped Jun 27, 2017 11:44 am


Originally Posted by Collierkr (Post 28492352)
Does anyone really bring their own coffee maker? Not in a hotel!

I don't know...I have one colleague who is a hardcore devotee of the bean. This is someone who knows the optimal coffeeshop for true aficionados in every city we visit. (Never a Starbucks, of course.) I seriously would not put it past him to travel with his own stash if we ever had to visit a podunk town without an acceptable coffeeshop.

I just follow along and say "I'll have a latte...the medium one."

Duke787 Jun 27, 2017 11:46 am

WiFi is a bigger deal breaker though if the total price + $6/day for WiFi is still less than the places with WiFi included, your choice is obvious...those other hotels have just baked the price of WiFi into their rates already.

Starbucks are everywhere in the city and with mobile ordering you can spend less than 1 minute inside picking up your drink and not having to interact with a soul

pinniped Jun 27, 2017 11:55 am


Originally Posted by Duke787 (Post 28492397)
WiFi is a bigger deal breaker though if the total price + $6/day for WiFi is still less than the places with WiFi included, your choice is obvious...those other hotels have just baked the price of WiFi into their rates already.

Well, yeah, I get that hotels bake the cost of electricity, water, Wifi, HVAC, gas, etc. into the room, but on a business trip I'd rather just get one bill for all of that. :)

I remember a few years back when a few hotels tried to do a separate line-item for electricity: an "energy surcharge". It thankfully did not last long.

dinanm3atl Jun 27, 2017 11:55 am

Having no wi-fi or charging for it just seems laughable at this point. And every time I see it they are 9 times out of 10 'premium/luxury' properties. They are just charging for it because they know most people don't care about the money. And I've found that the luxury properties charging have dismal internet as well.

kanerf Jun 27, 2017 12:17 pm

Don't much care about the coffee maker unless the hotel is smart enough to place a K-Cup machine in the room (I carry my own when driving). I do need the WiFi, but my status usually covers it. A deal breaker for me is no refrigerator.


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