Campanile Hotels is introducing unlimited free WiFi internet access to all customers from 1 October 2009.

According to David Anderson, Campanile’s UK operations director, Northern Europe, free WiFi presents a significant saving for travellers who are typically charged anything from £5 to £20 an hour in hotels.

 

“Often the first thing a guest needs to do after checking in is to log-on and check emails: WiFi makes this easy but it can also be costly.  Campanile’s free WiFi takes away the cost so guests can relax, catch-up on emails and surf the internet without fear of running up a costly bill,” he said.

 

Trails of free Wi-Fi at one of Campanile’s hotels saw usage quadruple. Guests used the service not just to browse the internet and catch up on important e-mails but also to access a wide range of entertainment sites. The initial trails saw a big increase in usage during the evening as guests enjoyed websites such as BBC i-player and ITV Player where improved broadband capability allows high quality streaming of programmes.

 

Anderson believes that hotel users have been confused by differing rates and terms of access:

 

“Hotel brands tend to be selective as to which of their hotels charge for WiFi and which don’t.  This is confusing for customers who look for continuity across a brand and can be caught out when presented with an unexpected bill.

 

“Our free Wi-Fi eliminates any such confusion and provides real value for money for our guests,” he concluded.