
Never Pay Hotels for Internet Again - lbr
http://loganrandolph.com/blog/2014/6/2/never-pay-hotels-for-internet-again
======
opendais
Does anyone else feel this is unethical?

You are basically paying someone to circumvent the controls the price
structure the employer has in place. This works because the front desk is
empowered to make sure the customer is happy and therefore isn't investigated
for every 'comp' that is provided to a customer.

However, that isn't the intention of the power the employer granted to the
employee.

~~~
encoderer
Yes, and this sort of thing is common in bars. But IMO the person behind
counter is the one with the moral dilemma.

As a customer, it's not my job to decide where the line is drawn between great
service and collusion against the establishment.

~~~
opendais
Yes, but Bars & Restaurants there is the socially agreed upon expectation that
the appropriate people are tipped. Its a social norm that virtually everyone
is aware of, including the employer when they started the business.

The 'bribe the front desk' is not in the same category imo.

I think if you aren't willing to consider where you think the line is as the
customer, you are ignoring the impact of your actions which is generally not
the best idea.

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gk1
Linkbait title. How do you go from "I tipped someone very well and they did me
a favor" to "This will work every single time for any person"?

Want to know a trick to get favors like this _without_ bribes? Be nice to the
people serving you! Whether it's someone at a hotel front desk, at the
customer service call center, or a bartender... They get treated like crap all
day, so when you act nice to them and make their jobs more enjoyable, they'll
be much more likely to bend the rules in your favor (if you ask).

~~~
lbr
I worked in customer service for four years. I treated nice people the best
(as you suggest). But treated nice people who also tip even better. I don't
think being nice, and tipping, are exclusive behaviors.

I'm not sure what that says about me... but. I think humans are reciprocal
creatures.

I don't think this will work 100% of the time. But I think it will work enough
that it's worth trying. In this case. I paid $20 for a service that typically
costs $140. So even if this fails the next 5 times I try - I'll still be
ahead.

~~~
mathattack
Bribing is efficient, otherwise it wouldn't work. Would your opinion be
different if you were the hotel owner, and the person bribing the clerk was on
an expense account anyway? (I know - not the current situation)

~~~
lbr
I think the hotel owner would be glad to know that this was going on. I've
invested in this hotel front desk agent. If I come back to SF, I'll come back
to the same hotel. Tip the same front desk agent. She'll get to know me.
She'll help me out. I'll help her out. And in the end of the day 1.) I'm
staying at the hotel. 2.) I'm booking through the hotel, not a discount site
like hoteltonight or expedia

------
dl8
I tried this once to upgrade my room to a suite, you basically put $20 in
between your ID and credit card when you check in, and ask if there are any
complimentary room/food/credit upgrades with a smile.

However, I was with a coworker who knew the 2nd-in-command boss of the hotel.
So one night I was having fine dining with them and got pretty drunk on the
free wine that was served to me. I accidentally spilled to the boss that I got
upgraded to a suite just by tipping the front desk person, he got pretty
furious about it and I think I cost that front desk person his job :/

------
drzaiusapelord
The problem with these social hacks is that they continue to incentive shitty
service. So instead of paying $30 for internet I'm paying $20, and to one of
the few people who can possibly yell at the lazy internet vendor to fix things
or to management to lower the price. Now, of course, she won't. So what if the
login page is broken (or doesnt work with any iOS or Android browsers) or if
the speeds are terrible. She got her $20, you got the backdoor employee login,
and now the regular guests continue to suffer.

Even after my bribe/complaints/payment I'm stuck with yet another sub 1mbps
internet that is literally useless to me. I just end up using the LTE
tethering on my phone and minimize my usage so I dont hit my 5gb cap. I travel
6-7 times a year, usually to nice hotels, and am constantly shocked at how
terrible the internet service is. Ironically, the cheap Super8 or Holiday Inn
tends to have faster and cheaper/free service compared to the nicer hotel.
Before my wife and I could afford nice hotels, we had much fewer internet
issues. I imagine those cheaper outlets are actually competing for the dollar,
while the fancier chains know that Joe Business traveler doesn't care about
$20 a night internet because his company is paying for it anyway.

Worse, some hotels advertise 'free wifi' but once you show up you get a login
page that tells you that 256kbps is free and if you want full speed its $20 a
night. 256kbps is useless to me.

Has anyone started a wifi wall of shame yet? I was going to setup a small
wordpress or drupal site just to post my speed results to warn other
travelers, ask others to contribute, but the only time I'm motivated to do
that is when I'm in the hotel frustrated, and of course then, the internet is
far to slow to develop a new site on.

The real question is why is hotel management culture so broken and blind to
the basic needs of their travelers. Imagine if the bathroom had a per use
toilet paper fee and the paper was over-priced and of low quality. Would we
stand for that? Hell, I'm going to start that site tonight. Catchy names
anyone?

~~~
joezydeco
_256kbps is useless to me._

So _you 're_ the guy trying to hook a Roku or AppleTV to his in-room TV and
watch Netflix all night while all I'm trying to do is get my email and perhaps
send a photo to my wife and kids.

The $20 upcharge sounds good to me.

~~~
drzaiusapelord
Naww I'm the idiot who pities creators too much to install ad block or heaven
forbid tries to open an attachment. Or browse a facebook photo gallery, upload
photos, or use google maps without the patience of a buddha.

It doesn't help that tourist websites are poorly optimized and are unusable at
very slow speeds.

------
joshmn
This is referred to as the "Twenty Dollar Trick" and is very widely used by
frequent (and savvy) travelers.

[http://thetwentydollartrick.com/](http://thetwentydollartrick.com/)

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mherdeg
I guess "nobody ever tips them" is usually true re: bribing the front desk.

But in Las Vegas, it's de rigueur. Look at the results for a Web search for
[the $20 trick].

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CSDude
Some hotels have 1-hour free internet per day, you just need to fake your MAC
address. They do not even have a cookie, which is probably not an issue, since
it can be cleared.

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patricklorio
If you're at a Marriott internet is free, well sort of. Just add ?marriott.com
to the end of your URL and tada. Pro tip: write a proxy that appends
"?marriott.com" to the path in your request.

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mholt
You just gotta pay for the bribe.

Still waiting for the day when Internet is treated as a standard utility like
plumbing... imagine if you had to pay to get water to your room (in the US).

~~~
lbr
agree. Its amazing that in this day and age its so expensive for internet in
some places.

~~~
danielweber
It's expensive in expensive hotels with business customers who will just put
it on the expense account.

------
baldeagle
I worked as a maintenance guy at a mainstream hotel that starts with 'H' a
couple years ago. I used to get upset that housekeeping would get tips for
delivering a set of towels, but all I ever got was anger for unclogging
toilets and hauling up new tvs when theirs was on the fritz.

I remember there was only one case of a customer trying the $20 trick while I
worked there, he was 'famous' and got treated very well.

~~~
bhandziuk
This is why tipping is very silly. It's arbitrary, not proportional to effort,
not everyone tips equally, and most people get excluded. It usually seems to
me like it is sympathy money. "wow you have a go-no-where job. Here's a few
extra bucks"

Ideally there would be zero tipping and people would just get paid more.

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whitehat2k9
I prefer the good old MAC address spoofing trick. It's free!

~~~
scott_karana
I use that trick too, but unfortunately, it doesn't scale too well to non-
technical users, especially when they have some permutations of smartphones,
tablets, and laptops...

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mikeash
With tethering on my smartphone and LTE service, I don't feel a need for any
local paid service. I'll use WiFi if it's free and reasonably stable, but if
not, no skin off my back. I feel like the era of paid WiFi is already near its
end.

~~~
bhandziuk
Totally. Even if you have data caps, the cost of overages is probably less
than 20 $, and certainly less than 140 $.

------
ZoFreX
Many hotels give you completely free wifi if you sign up for their loyalty
scheme - which is usually free and just involves giving your email address.

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chrisgd
Hyatt and all Intercontinental Hotels offer free internet to people in their
membership clubs. Just join those for free. That is at Hyatt hotels (not Hyatt
Place or Hyatt house) or at Intercontinental (not Holiday Inn). At the places
in parenthesis, most internet is already free.

If you are member of a hotel points group, you can request and usually get it
for free

------
bttf
Bribing for small favors is hardly anything new.

~~~
lbr
I think it's quite old actually. So old that few in my generation do it.

It's seen as stogy, or awkward. A thing of Frank Sinatra did at restaurants
(with a handshake). Or that you do at clubs or bars. But the point of this
article is that you can do it in hotels. And you should.

And, that you should tip the front desk. Not the concierge.

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mistermcgruff
Another way to get free internet in hotels is to tell them it was shitty
internet when you check out. It always is shitty (just try watching a movie on
it!). They always credit it back to me.

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espinchi
No need to eavesdrop the network and fake MAC addresses, then? At first, I got
disappointed about the actual "hack" in the post. And then, amazed.

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poopsintub
Nice title. Pays poor man in back alley to stand there with huge wifi
antenna...Aim it more towards the right!

~~~
lbr
It's true - I paid. But I paid a steeply discounted rate. And it's the gift
that will keep on giving this week.

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lbr
How did this go from front page, #2. to third page, #72 in a matter of
seconds?

~~~
dpritchett
Last time I checked the flagging penalty was about 40 spots. Maybe it's more
nuanced and now it's 70 spots. Maybe dang knows.

Edit to add: I imagine this has some interesting overlap with YC's "tell us
about the time you hacked something other than a computer" and sama's "Founder
Ethics" advisory.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/s2014form](https://news.ycombinator.com/s2014form)

[2]
[http://ycombinator.com/founderethics/](http://ycombinator.com/founderethics/)

~~~
lbr
Interesting that this got flagged. It is about hacking something other that a
computer. It's about my opinion that tipping is not a crime. It helps me, it
helps the person at the desk, and it helps me create a connection (and loyalty
with the hotel). Hotels DO NOT tell employees not to accept tips. Its part of
the game.

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Grue3
I never book a hotel without free wifi. Problem solved.

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hellbreakslose
I think she wants you brother, go for it!

