In a few weeks, so I'm guessing end of June or early July time?
I was talking to a hotel manager about this on a stay earlier this year and they said that actually t l do not make any money whatsoever from the Wi-Fi
It's fascinating how much of the complexity and need for a customer service centre disappear when you just don't charge for it, particularly since the connections themselves and the access points have become hugely more robust in the past few years. Expenses or not I'd be surprised if there's actually a price point that provides more net revenue to the hotel than free.
Another reason for outsourcing it is you're also outsourcing liability. When the police come along and want to know who that connection was yesterday, you can point them at the network provider who has all the responsibility with complying with legislation.
W/C 17th of June.
Not recently, but I stayed at some when I worked for Welcome Break (at their services), be it over a decade ago.
That would be massively irritating. My laptop charger charges all my devices perfectly now, but as a result I quite often don't have a USB lead on me when I travel, since I virtually never use them.
Some of us don't have much option when travelling with work - our company policy is we can only stay in Travelodges and Premier Inns. It is a bit daft as it means the company will probably end up spending more on accommodation, not less like they probably envisage, as other chains or independents can be cheaper
It is also USB-A they are fitting. A lot of devices now have USB-C at the plug end, too!
Certainly USB-C to USB-C would be the more useful cable for me to carry if I did. It's not like any of the devices I own apart from low power chargers even has a USB-A port.
We have to book them and claim them on expenses, so no such discounts that I’m aware of!
That will apply to a proportion of them, and then mostly only ones who are managing travel through a third party, and even then the third party will probably end up taking most of the benefit anyway. A huge proportion of corporate bookings are done by companies who either just do it on the card but have a policy because "the finance manager heard they were the cheapest", or have a corporate account which offers a nominal tiny discount, and provides the finance team with a single account to settle.
That is one key advantage the chain hotels sometimes have over independent places, generally they have a 24 hour front desk so if you do happen to rock up at 23;30* you can get checked in
Many now are reception-free, you just put your booking into the machine, and swipe a blank card and you're in. However someone has to answer the buzzer to let you in in the first place!
The Premier Inns I have used this year (double figure stays but fewer physical locations) seem to have the self check-in kiosk out of use. One that I did try (because the staff member was checking someone in) wouldn't let me check-in and directed me back to the staff member. I assumed they were keen to upsell me a meal and breakfast.
Yes, I haven't managed to use one of them self check in machines for a while now.
I find the hassle of having too many chargers and USB cables is much much less than the hassle of not having enough.
Sounds like a lot of luggage. This has all got to fit in the underseat plane allowance remember.
They're USB cables
If I'm travelling for work, for up to a week, I use a 25L backpack which is too long for the Easyjet/Ryanair rules for a free bag. I'm on expenses, so I pay for it as a cabin bag, but I still keep it in the footwell rather than an overhead locker.
Generally the chains will give a warning on their website if there are likely to be noise issues. Stayed at a couple of TLs where there was unbearable noise from the Aircon units on the roof, and had to be moved to a room on a lower floor.
Agreed that some TLs can be very basic, and the standards can also vary enormously from hotel to hotel. Yes, the experience at PIs is way better, but then you would expect it to be, as you pay way more.
