Finding Hotels with Quality Wi-Fi...

Alert Cronovirus (COVID-19)

     Almost everywhere, many shops and restaurants are shutting down, opening fewer hours or takeout only. The same is increasingly true of hotels and motels, especially high end hotels in urban areas. The facilities near the Interstate Highways might be the best bet. But be sure to call ahead right before you depart.
   If you do decide to stay in a facility soon, see our ideas on how you might lessen your exposure.

       So you want a hotel with wifi. That would be all of them by now! What you really need is a hotel with a functioning, safe, usable speed wifi connection.

       Safety First!

   But having said that, you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't planning on using public wifi spots. So here's a few ideas on how to lessen your risks:
If just accessing sites with no login required and no personal info will be entered...

• If asked during access if you want others to see your stuff, say NO
• Make SURE you change any file shares you have from "everyone" to "authorized users"
• Make SURE you don't have a file named "passwords", or better still any file with passwords in clear

If you must access anything using any of your passwords, do the following in addition to the steps above:

• If available, use any VPN connection or Remote Desktop connection immediately.
• If not, consider using your mobile data instead of the hotel wifi
• If all your passwords are the same, assign separate complicated ones to all your "money" sites using your mobile data immediately before proceeding and use different ones for sites that can't rob you.
• If using windows "home", upgrade to "pro" version ASAP, then encrypt all the directories with sensitive data. This will also be helpful if your machine is lost or stolen.
• Finally, even though this page is about wireless access, if your accessing sensitive sites, consider connedting to a wired connection if available. If your device lacks an ethernet port, click here

Fast

Everyone want's fast. Problem is, all public hotspots are basically shared access. That means the more people log on, the slower it gets for everyone. Another problem is the strength of the wifi signal. Some ideas for increasing your speed:

• Use an Ethernet cable if a socket is available and your device permits it.
• Ask at check in for a room close to a repeater
• Ask before booking about the quality of the internet service
• If it's important, spend a little more money for a national upscale hotel.
• Plan to log in at off peak hours

A few examples...

The Worst of the worst

  Our experience has been that Motel 6 is the worst of the worst. Some have no wifi at all, most of the rest have terrible coverage that's limited to just a few rooms, most charge a daily fee, with only a few available slots. So if you check in in the evening, they may be sold out and you won't have any access even though they advertise "wi-fi available".

A Little better

  Our experience is that Super 8's are mostly franchised and turnover is frequent. So the internet access is undependable. In addition, some of them have no password required, which makes the connection extremely easy to hack into. Recommend you call ahead and verify a password is required, and ask how often it's changed.

 

Much better

Price no object

You get what you pay for, usually. National chains that don't franchise or actually monitor the ones they do generally offer a major step up in quality of internet access.