Hotels are charging "astronomical" rates for Wi-Fi and guests are much better off paying for mobile internet, a consumer advocate says.
An APNZ survey of New Zealand's top central city hotels, as rated by Five Star Alliance, has found only two offer free wireless in their rooms - despite some of the most exclusive suites costing more than $2000 a night.
The other top hotels either make guests buy packets of data or charge up to $45 per day.
The rates compare poorly with mobile data plans, which offer 1GB of data for an average of $20 a month.
Jeff Thompson, who lived in a central Auckland hotel apartment when he first moved from the UK, said he was charged $15 a day despite being a long-term resident.
"I thought it was scandalous. I've stayed in places all over the world and I've never been charged in my life for internet access."
He said visitors to New Zealand would assume hotels offered free internet - and would be surprised to learn otherwise.
Telecommunications Users' Association chief executive Paul Brislen said the rates were "astronomical".
"It's outrageous ... I don't think hoteliers really appreciate how important [Wi-Fi] is to travellers. It impacts on tourism quite badly, I would suspect."
Mr Brislen said the services on offer could also be painfully slow.
"I've occasionally been suckered into buying quite a bit of data and then finding that it just doesn't go very fast - so you end up with 1GB of data you actually can't use, which is hopeless as well."
Mr Brislen said the huge rates were even more surprising, given that free Wi-Fi was widely available at cafes and other places in many of the country's main centres.
Guests who could not do without internet in their rooms were better off using mobile internet, which had come down in price to an average of about about $20 a month for 1GB.
"That's at full 3G speed, you're not being throttled or limited - and you've got all the convenience of being able to use it wherever you like. Wi-Fi should be dramatically cheaper than that."
Mr Brislen said people needed to let hotels know how they felt about the high rates.
"The best way to influence them is to vote with your wallet and say, 'I would have loved to have stayed at your hotel, but you offer a rip-off rate for Wi-Fi."'
Tourism Industry Association chief executive Martin Snedden disagreed that free Wi-Fi was the norm overseas, saying he had been charged as much as $30 a day during a recent trip to Europe and America.
He said consumer demand for free Wi-Fi would have an impact on what hotels offered, and the industry was gradually changing to meet consumer expectations.
"We're already seeing it in some places, where they are prepared to offer free Wi-Fi now. In other places, it's obviously a cost to the operator, so it's a commercial decision by them as to whether or not they charge."
Mr Snedden said the availability of Wi-Fi would increasingly become a factor when people decided where to stay.
"Will it affect tourism? No, I don't think so. I just think the visitor from time to time will make a decision to go to one accommodation provider instead of another - it doesn't affect tourism overall."
TOP HOTELS' WI-FI RATES
SkyCity Grand Hotel, Auckland
- Rooms from $200-$2500.
- Wi-Fi costs $15 a day for 300MB, $45 a day for 1GB, or $75 a fortnight for 2GB. Free Wi-Fi in the lobby for 30 minutes.
The Hilton, Auckland
- Rooms from $350-$2000.
- Wi-Fi costs $29 a day, $14.50 for two hours or $115 for one week.
Hotel DeBrett, Auckland
- Rooms from $300-$600.
- Wi-Fi is free for all guests.
The Langham, Auckland
- Rooms from $220-$2770
- Wi-Fi costs $24.95 a day, $9.95 for one hour, or $79.95 for a week. Premium rooms get free Wi-Fi.
Rydges, Auckland
- Rooms from $130-$360.
- Wi-Fi is free for all guests. A premium 'plug-in' service costs $29 a day.
The George, Christchurch
- Rooms from $299-$658.
- Wi-Fi is free for the first 200MB. Extra data costs $10 for 500MB, $15 for 1GB or $40 for 3GB.
Hotel Intercontinental, Wellington.
- Rooms from $309-$2020
- Wi-Fi costs $29.90 a day, $20 for two hours, or $10 for 30 minutes.
HOW MOBILE DATA COMPARES
Vodafone
- $20 a month for 1GB on account
- $30 a month for 512MB pre-paid
Telecom
- $30 a month for 750MB on account
- $25 a month for 500MB pre-paid
2degrees
- $20 a month for 1GB pre-paid
