Best free hotel WiFi

The best Internet speeds in Washington

Wireless internet is important to many Americans, and is becoming even more so every day. Travelers often make buying decisions based on the WiFi capabilities at their destination, choosing to avoid slow/costly/lacking internet connections. While we have recognized this trend, we have discovered that upgrading our existing services multiple times may not have been enough. As was recently pointed out to me, it is not always about the speed your provider claims - issues often lie in the equipment itself. Can an access point support newer antenna technology? Is the device even capable of producing connections at speeds ISPs claim? Does it allow seamless service for a guest walking down the hall? Will it work with 100 guest rooms each connecting 6 devices?

That final question made me raise my eyebrow at first. Until this individual made an excellent point. Imagine a family of four travelers: mom, dad, junior and baby. It probably means there are three smartphones downloading email and location info in the background, a laptop streaming videos, and a tablet reading the news. That's five devices easily, today. It is conceivable to picture even more in many guest rooms as our connected lifestyles grow.

Well, it got us thinking. It also got us investing a great deal of money to provide the best internet service in the region - but I'll get to that. Let me start with who had posed these questions to us. Bob and Wes of Skyline Networks in Wenatchee. As luck would have it, I stumbled across their company seeking nothing more than an upgrade from cable to fiber internet to increase the value of our hotel to guests. I got a lot more than I hoped for. They measured, mapped out, did analyses and tests of our building to design THE BEST user experience possible.

What we wound up with is a system designed by their knowledgeable owner to handle 600 users connected simultaneously in the worst-case-scenario in terms of usage. The system combines the reliable speed of fiber with a new user-provider direct wireless technology. This secondary connection combines with the fiber at our source to add 4x more speed. It also means redundancy not known to the world of cable internet alone. Our guests will never lose a signal or have complaints about speed.

The new setup of Comfort Suites includes 30% more access points with newer antenna technology supporting newer devices. Instead of the 3 directional antennas from the old system, there are now 128 directional antennas that send and receive signals from each depending on where a user happens to be - and adjust while they roam the halls or move about their room. They also allow access to the full potential of the incoming signal. Additionally, the system has new security features in place to guard against malicious activity, peer-to-peer computer attacks, and to prevent any illegal downloads from getting to your computer.

Overall, the new system improves speed, security, reliability, and everyday activities for the modern guest. Check in and log in next time you're in the area, you're going to see what it means to have the region's best internet access!

Marshall Tramp, HOST - Assistant Manager

View Larger Map

---

Article summary: Outranking almost every other feature, free hotel wifi has become a key necessity. Many hotels have not kept up with the technology of newer devices - we set the new standard in the best free hotel wifi.

Previous article "Giving in Wenatchee". Next article "2014 Choice Hotels 60th Annual Convention"

Read more posts by this author