I know I have been at hotels where this crap has been going on. Glad to see it being addressed.

Quote:(CNN) -- Think hotels are deliberately blocking your personal Wi-Fi networks so you'll buy theirs?

No, it's not just a conspiracy theory. It turns out the federal government is concerned about it, too.

Marriott has agreed to pay a $600,000 fine after the Federal Communications Commission found the company blocked consumer Wi-Fi networks last year during an event at a hotel and conference center in Nashville.

At the same time, Marriott was charging exhibitors and others as much as $1,000 per device to access the hotel's wireless network, the FCC announced Friday.

"Consumers who purchase cellular data plans should be able to use them without fear that their personal Internet connection will be blocked by their hotel or conference center," FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement.

Federal law prohibits people from using a device that interferes with cellular, GPS or wireless networks.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/travel/mar...?hpt=hp_t2

Yet they want hotel guests to pay gratuities to their housekeepers.

I used to run trade shows for my last company and it was absurd how much they charged for internet access. I never experienced our hot spot being blocked, but this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The hotels / convention centers would charge outrageous rates for everything and you couldn't use outside vendors for most things.

lot of money for me, but for a major company like Marriot this isn't even a slap on the wrist. and you just know they will pay nothing close to the full amount.

(10-04-2014 09:21 AM)Niner National Wrote:  I used to run trade shows for my last company and it was absurd how much they charged for internet access. I never experienced our hot spot being blocked, but this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The hotels / convention centers would charge outrageous rates for everything and you couldn't use outside vendors for most things.

Was it ever anywhere near $1,000 per device? That seems not just high but ludicrously so.

(10-04-2014 11:22 AM)john01992 Wrote:  lot of money for me, but for a major company like Marriot this isn't even a slap on the wrist. and you just know they will pay nothing close to the full amount.

The FCC usually doesn't waver on fines. Sometimes broadcasters will petition on the behalf of others to get fines reduced, but I doubt other hotel chains are going to bat for Mariott. Mariott's fine isn't even the largest in the past 90 days:

http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/

(10-04-2014 11:22 AM)john01992 Wrote:  lot of money for me, but for a major company like Marriot this isn't even a slap on the wrist. and you just know they will pay nothing close to the full amount.

This is probably settling for something close to litigation costs. Makes me wonder how serious the charges really were.

(10-04-2014 11:52 AM)jh Wrote:  

(10-04-2014 09:21 AM)Niner National Wrote:  I used to run trade shows for my last company and it was absurd how much they charged for internet access. I never experienced our hot spot being blocked, but this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The hotels / convention centers would charge outrageous rates for everything and you couldn't use outside vendors for most things.

Was it ever anywhere near $1,000 per device? That seems not just high but ludicrously so.

We were just charged for access, it wasn't per device. I know I saw $500 several times, but I can't remember if I ever saw $1000. Even at $500, we refused to pay it and just used a hot spot. Fortunately never had any issues with the signal being blocked.

(10-05-2014 05:07 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(10-04-2014 11:22 AM)john01992 Wrote:  lot of money for me, but for a major company like Marriot this isn't even a slap on the wrist. and you just know they will pay nothing close to the full amount.

This is probably settling for something close to litigation costs. Makes me wonder how serious the charges really were.

That's just a fine... since they broke the law, I would expect a class action suit to follow, and that's likely to be a lot more money, right?