It's no big industry secret that most hotels are now (finally) taking the trend of providing guest wifi as seriously as they do their towels and mini-bars.
There remains a fair amount of debate as to what level of wifi a hotel should be providing (free for basic level, premium for super-fast, etc), but there is pretty much universal acceptance that guests consider access to the internet as important a service as any other that a hotel can offer, beyond providing a bed and a safe environment.
But to what lengths are hotels going to so that they satisfy their connectivity-hungry guests?
And of equal importance, what do hotels do about it when things go wrong?
Rumours have circulated for a few years that some hotel general managers are under strict orders to ensure that their wifi service is a high priority and should be operated and maintained accordingly.
As most hotels know, a few quibbles from guests about the quality of a hotel's wifi on social media or review sites can lead to a property's overall reputation being damaged, especially for a service that is near-demanded by customers these days.
One such chain, Hilton, is said to be particularly firm in enforcing the provision of reliable wifi.
General managers are understood to be in hot water if a property fails to provide an adequate level of quality for its wifi service, with persistent issues reaching senior management level at the chain.
A Hilton official would not speak directly to the penalties imposed on general managers, but says it has guidelines that properties must adhere to.
"All our hotels are required to comply with certain quality and service standards to ensure that we meet the expectations of our guests and deliver an exceptional guest experience
"As guest preferences evolve, we update our standards to ensure that hotels meet certain technical standards and minimum bandwidth requirements."
NB:Hotel wifi image via Shutterstock.