Hi Speed Internet for Diamond, Throttled for other HHonors levels

[hossein_au]

In a recent trip to Lisbon I got complementary Premium WiFi at Double Tree. I measured actual speed, and my jaw dropped: I consistently got 90+ Mbps download and 75+ Mbps upload

 

[serfty]

... your argument falls flat in the face of simply large companies screwing their customers.

...

what argument?

If i ran a hotel is pay add little as possible to provide for my guests.

A hotel nternet service does not have to include the ability to stream - just basic emails and trxt based content is sufficient. if a guest wants to watch something they can hire a movie ... or pay for a faster speed.

If that's screwing then so be it ...

Btw, to state internet availability is more important than clean water is crazy ... it's only the latter one might need to stay alive.

 

[anat0l]

what argument?

If i ran a hotel is pay add little as possible to provide for my guests.

A hotel nternet service does not have to include the ability to stream - just basic emails and trxt based content is sufficient. if a guest wants to watch something they can hire a movie ... or pay for a faster speed.

If that's screwing then so be it ...

Then you share the opinion of the major hotels. I agree with you fundamentally but there is a large consumer view which does not acknowledge the argument that a hotel needs to control the costs of its internet provision and speed control is one way to achieve this.

People see this as being screwed for profits rather than actually needing to find a way to control costs, i.e. the cost to a hotel to actually provide everyone high speed internet is relatively small or should be rolled into the room cost, mainly because consumers view internet access no longer as an incidental (like the minibar), but as fundamental. I'm not saying all of that is correct, and in some ways it's a disturbing view.

Another popular model of internet provision control is limiting by bandwidth (e.g. up to 500 MB of transfer). This is also widely criticised by consumers, for ironically the same reasons of being unable to download / stream video.

I suppose one day, internet service provision (i.e. from ISPs) will be cheaper or at least the same cost for higher bandwidth (e.g. high speed infrastructure). By then, if we were to have the same argument, perhaps today's video streaming could easily be achieved on the free wifi offering of the future. I have no idea then what will require the "premium" wifi offering!

Btw, to state internet availability is more important than clean water is crazy ... it's only the latter one might need to stay alive.

Having read on this oft discussed topic (free hotel internet, that is), you would be surprised as to what I have found some people say.

 

[Daver6]

Currently at the Conrad Bali as a diamond (well the wife is and room is in her name). Download speeds about 2 megs and upload about the same. I'd hate to see what speeds the plebs get!

 

[boomy]

Currently at the Conrad Bali as a diamond (well the wife is and room is in her name). Download speeds about 2 megs and upload about the same. I'd hate to see what speeds the plebs get!

Everyone still gets Wi-Fi same speed.
The diamond benefit starts next month.

 

[straitman]

Everyone still gets Wi-Fi same speed.
The diamond benefit starts next month.

Thought I might try a few places for speeds now and later.

Hilton Auckland currently showing as:
19.36 Mbps Download and 21.99 Mbps Upload on my iPhone and
38.33 Mbps Download and 40.57 Mbps Upload on my Laptop.

Both using OOKLA Speedtest.

 

[JohnK]

How is it a devaluation for gold? They're not changing the gold benefit?

Offering something to Silver which is already offered to Gold is a devaluation of Gold privileges.

No different to the Qantas Platinum-Gold transformation.

 

[Daver6]

Everyone still gets Wi-Fi same speed.
The diamond benefit starts next month.

My point was that if the speed I'm getting as a diamond is that poor, imagine how bad it will be for golds and below. Or are you suggesting what I'm currently experiencing will be the pleb speed?

 

[boomy]

My point was that if the speed I'm getting as a diamond is that poor, imagine how bad it will be for golds and below. Or are you suggesting what I'm currently experiencing will be the pleb speed?

The plebs will continue to get the same (poor) speed you are getting now and from next month you will (hopefully) enjoy better Wi-Fi.

 

[basso]

Offering something to Silver which is already offered to Gold is a devaluation of Gold privileges.

The what do you suggest they do? Do nothing - complaints that internet should be free. Give all levels access - complaints about gold being devalued. Make gold the same as diamond - compplains about Diamond being devalued (the equivalanet of the Qantas Platinum/Gold argument). So what do people susggest shuuld have been done?

 

[TheRealTMA]

The what do you suggest they do? Do nothing - complaints that internet should be free. Give all levels access - complaints about gold being devalued. Make gold the same as diamond - compplains about Diamond being devalued (the equivalanet of the Qantas Platinum/Gold argument). So what do people susggest shuuld have been done?

Internet access should be free to all guests. period.

Give some real privileges to status holders not fake rubbish like Internet access which status users normally have thru other methods anyway.

 

[JohnK]

The what do you suggest they do?

What TheRealTMA mentioned above.

Internet access should be free for all guests like most hotels are doing now.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Internet access should be free to all guests. period.

Give some real privileges to status holders not fake rubbish like Internet access which status users normally have thru other methods anyway.

Unless I've gotten this completely wrong (which is possible), Hilton is now giving Diamonds high speed internet access which previously they would have had to pay for and extending standard free internet access to all guests who are members of Hilton Honors.
I fail to see how this is anything other than a true enhancement for Diamond and at worst case scenario no change for Gold.

 

[basso]

Internet access should be free to all guests. period.

You mean develaue status by giving it to everyone. So the answer is that AFF would consider every possible outcome here to be a negative that devalues somebody.

 

[TheRealTMA]

You mean develaue status by giving it to everyone. So the answer is that AFF would consider every possible outcome here to be a negative that devalues somebody.

Sorry, but internet access is not a privilege. It's like free water for bathing.

It's just madness, with respect, to consider internet access in 2015 as a privilege.

Status should convey something real not the equivalent of a window and access to the exercise yard.

 

[anat0l]

Unless I've gotten this completely wrong (which is possible), Hilton is now giving Diamonds high speed internet access which previously they would have had to pay for and extending standard free internet access to all guests who are members of Hilton Honors.
I fail to see how this is anything other than a true enhancement for Diamond and at worst case scenario no change for Gold.

Well technically Diamonds and Golds had free internet access whilst Silver and Blue (and non HHonors) had to pay for it. When this was the case, Diamonds and Golds had what I would have perceived was high speed internet (e.g. easily could stream video).

So unless the quality of connection has increased since then, Diamonds would essentially have the same internet they have been "used" to, Golds get it worse, and Silvers and down from there get something they never got before. So at least on the internet front, it is a net loss for Gold.

The only major steps separating Gold and Silver are the ability to upgrade and complimentary breakfast. One could argue that if internet access is supposed to be so commonplace that it should be offered for free to everyone, and furthermore that it should be framed in a way that internet access should be free not because everyone must download videos etc., then the difference between Gold and Silver has not really eroded so much as to call it a downgrade (i.e. throwing free internet access to Silvers and everyone else isn't such a big deal to the value of Gold).

Sorry, but internet access is not a privilege. It's like free water for bathing.

It's just madness, with respect, to consider internet access in 2015 as a privilege.

Status should convey something real not the equivalent of a window and access to the exercise yard.

I'm glad you stopped short of stating that internet access is a human right.

Mind, water for bathing isn't a human right either (clean water necessary for consumption for human health is one), though at least hotels (at least the ones that provide baths in every room) have recognised that it is an intrinsic aspect of the provision of accommodation. That doesn't necessarily stop some hotels from not doing a good job on it, mind you - e.g. low water pressure, questionable water quality, poor or non-existent hot water (some of these problems admittedly a stronger function of the local authorities than the hotel itself)...

 

[Princess Fiona]

Well technically Diamonds and Golds had free internet access whilst Silver and Blue (and non HHonors) had to pay for it. When this was the case, Diamonds and Golds had what I would have perceived was high speed internet (e.g. easily could stream video).

So unless the quality of connection has increased since then, Diamonds would essentially have the same internet they have been "used" to, Golds get it worse, and Silvers and down from there get something they never got before. So at least on the internet front, it is a net loss for Gold.

The only major steps separating Gold and Silver are the ability to upgrade and complimentary breakfast. One could argue that if internet access is supposed to be so commonplace that it should be offered for free to everyone, and furthermore that it should be framed in a way that internet access should be free not because everyone must download videos etc., then the difference between Gold and Silver has not really eroded so much as to call it a downgrade (i.e. throwing free internet access to Silvers and everyone else isn't such a big deal to the value of Gold).



I'm glad you stopped short of stating that internet access is a human right.

Mind, water for bathing isn't a human right either (clean water necessary for consumption for human health is one), though at least hotels (at least the ones that provide baths in every room) have recognised that it is an intrinsic aspect of the provision of accommodation. That doesn't necessarily stop some hotels from not doing a good job on it, mind you - e.g. low water pressure, questionable water quality, poor or non-existent hot water (some of these problems admittedly a stronger function of the local authorities than the hotel itself)...

No this is not what happened in a fair few Hiltons I have stayed in. There has been HHonors access to standard Internet and paid for High Speed access. I believe that what is now happening is that Diamond will get the high speed internet free of charge via a code or removal of charge from folio at checkout.

 

[anat0l]

No this is not what happened in a fair few Hiltons I have stayed in. There has been HHonors access to standard Internet and paid for High Speed access. I believe that what is now happening is that Diamond will get the high speed internet free of charge via a code or removal of charge from folio at checkout.

I was referring to quite some time ago when the last major changes to the status benefits were made. This was when Golds got free internet rather than having to select it as a MyWay benefit (reducing their MyWay choices to upgrade/breakfast or 1,000 points). It was before Hiltons made two tier speed systems on their internet and the T&Cs were revised slightly.

 

[serfty]

Internet access for HHonors elites has been all over the place for several years now - for about two years before (around) this time last year (or maybe the year before) Gold (choice) and Diamond (always) received a higher speed internet as a benefit ( if there were two or more speeds the status benefit would be a higher speed than the basic).

In some hotels, three or more different speed options were available.

In recent times i have been seeing only the one speed being offered.

 

[Hvr]

Am currently at my second DT in London and both of them had free internet for everybody.