How much have you paid for hotel internet access?

by Mike Barish on

If our Hotel Madness tournament taught us anything, it’s that people really hate paying for internet access when traveling. No free Wi-Fi handily won our tournament by proving itself as the most hated hotel nuisance. While it bothers so many of us, we’ve all taken the plunge and paid a hefty fee for in-room internet. Whether it’s because we have work to do, pictures to upload or loved ones to Skype with, we’ve paid exorbitant fees to get online. Just how much have you paid? After seeing just how (un)popular paying for Wi-Fi was in Hotel Madness, we’re more curious than ever. Well, that’s what we want to know. Vote in our poll and let us know the most that you’ve ever paid for hotel internet access.We’re talking about the most you’ve paid for one session of internet access, be it five hours, 12 hours or one full day. After you’ve voted, please share more details about your experience in the comments. Let us know exactly how much you paid and which hotel was gouging its prices while cheating its customers. Lastly, tell us about the quality of the connection. Was it excruciatingly slow and/or intermittent.

This is your chance to vent. Let it all out!
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Hotel Madness: No Free Wi-Fi wins!

by Mike Barish on
After weeks of competition, thousands of votes and tons of ranting and raving on Twitter, all of you have made it abundantly clear that you hate paying for internet access at hotels. No free Wi-Fi dominated every round of the Hotel Madness tournament on its way to winning the championship. No hotel pet peeve so thoroughly and completely annoyed our readers like having to pay for Wi-Fi. Bad water pressure should be proud to have made it to the finals, but it was no match for Hotel Madness’ own 800-pound gorilla. In a sea of added fees, poor service, thin toilet paper and, yes, bad water pressure, all people truly seem to want is to connect to the web – and the world – for free.

More than 8,000 votes were cast over the course of the Hotel Madness tournament. Thank you all so much for participating and for sharing your opinions. There were upsets, blowouts, nail-biters and some fantastic conversations. In the end, our #1 seed proved why it was the pre-tournament favorite. Paying for Wi-Fi was the most tweeted peeve when I first asked my followers to share what bothered them most at hotels. In fact, even though I asked everyone to name things that bothered them other than paying for internet access, people still shared their disdain for that expense.

So, there you have it. Your 2011 Hotel Madness champion is No free Wi-Fi. Thanks for an exciting tournament!

Catch up on all of the previous Hotel Madness action:
The Championship
The Final Four
The entire second round
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#6 No free breakfast vs. #11 Expensive minibars
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Hotel Madness Championship: No free Wi-Fi vs. Bad water pressure

by Mike Barish on

What a wild ride it’s been on our way to this exciting – and somewhat unexpected – Hotel Madness championship round. We’ve seen upsets, blowouts, tons of feedback on Twitter and an outpouring of responses from all of you letting us know what bothers you the most at hotels. That’s all led us to this: the finals. No free Wi-Fi has proven why it’s the #1 seed by dominating it’s third straight opponent. Meanwhile, much like VCU and Butler in the NCAA basketball tournament, Bad water pressure has shown that low seeds can ride a wave of momentum and play with the bog boys. Our #7 seed has quietly made its way through the tournament and shown that it truly does annoy travelers.

This is what the last few weeks were all about. Letting all of you speak out and let us – and hotels – know what drives you crazy. It’s now time to crown our champion. Below is the final poll of Hotel Madness. Choose wisely. Only one hotel pet peeve can be the champion and live in ignominy forever. So, get to it and vote!People really seem to have accepted free internet access as a right. It has received the most votes of any tournament contender. Perhaps that’s because hotels don’t just charge a nominal fee for Wi-Fi, they charge an arm and a leg. But, is it worthy of being the Hotel Madness #1 nuisance?

Bad water pressure is our surprise finalist. It was the only Final Four contestant that had nothing to do with added fees. It truly embodies what this tournament is all about: pet peeves. It won’t lighten your wallet, but it will put a damper on any trip and make you resent whatever amount of money you did pay for your room.

Let’s pick our champion!


#1 No free Wi-fi vs. #7 Bad water pressure

Hotel Madness: The Final Four

by Mike Barish on
With two rounds in the books, only the biggest, most annoying and burdensome hotel pet peeves remain in our Hotel Madness tournament. The second round featured some of the tournament’s closest contests and featured one impressive upset. Resort fees squeaked by One-ply toilet paper by a mere 23 votes while the #7 seed Bad water pressure dumped cold water on Bad front desk service’s title hopes. We’re inching closer to crowning our champion and learning just which hotel nuisance bothers you the most.

Our two Final Four match-ups are listed below. As always, vote for the ones that bother you the most. The two winners will advance to the championship round to battle it out for Hotel Madness glory ignominy. Be sure to vote in both polls and check back to see who wins.


#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #4 Resort Fees
Our number one seed continued its dominating run in the second round. No one seems to want to pay for internet access. However, it has yet to face an opponent that also attacks our wallets. That run ends now. The #4 seed Resort fees was far from impressive in the second round but continued to show that hotel guests don’t like added fees, especially when those fees are so ambiguous. So, is it worse to pay for internet access or for whatever the heck resort fees cover?
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#3 Expensive parking vs. #7 Bad water pressure
Showing just how much people detest paying extra for anything while traveling, our #3 seed coasted into the Final Four. Since many trips simply require a car, guests seem to resent being forced to pay for parking. Meanwhile, the biggest surprise of the second round was #7 Bad water pressure simply annihilating the #2 seed Bad front desk service. Clearly, people value their showers. Whether you’re on a beach vacation or need to look good for business meetings, you need your shower to be on top of its game. Well, which grinds your gears more?
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Final Four voting ends at 11:59EDT on Wednesday, March 30.

Catch up on all of the Hotel Madness first and second round action:
The entire second round
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#6 No free breakfast vs. #11 Expensive minibars
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Chicago’s JW Marriott opens its doors

by Grant Martin on

The JW Marriott in downtown Chicago made it’s official debut this month, the 50th JW to open among of a flurry of expansion in the luxury brand. With Gadling Labs just up the road in Chicago, the team stopped by for the opening gala to see what all of the buzz was about.

On the surface, Chicago’s JW Marriott conforms well to the brand’s standard — that is to say, it is really nice. Despite a modest front foyer, ballrooms are deep, tall and vaulted and the signature Italian restaurant Florentine and the spa Valeo are each well appointed and expertly curated.

Most enticing about this building, however, is its history. Legendary Chicago architect Danial Burnham was the original mastermind behind this building, the same figure who helped create the White City in the early 1900’s (and the centerpiece of Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City). With the column spacing of this building slightly larger than most modern structures, architect Lucien Lagrange was able to experiment more in the room layouts, resulting in wider rooms, and dynamic layouts.

Opening festivities included special guests from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet and even a special appearance by Shameless star and opera singer Emmy Rossum. We even got the chance to hang out with our favorite jetsetting hero, Johnny Jet. Check out Gadling Labs’ gallery of the event for the full scoop.

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