Do you have wifi?
I love travel. Any excuse I can find I will be packing my bags and heading off somewhere new, somewhere exotic, exploring distant lands and meeting interesting people. I love travel — as long as there is wifi.
It is not that I am addicted to social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter (although, if I’m honest, I probably am), and it is not that I have some sort of compulsion to upload hundreds of photos each day (although I do like doing that).
The real and legitimate reason is that I need wifi in order to be able to work. I am a travel writer, so my travels are never really vacations– I always need to be filing stories, collecting information, and making notes. I never really go anywhere without my laptop, and wherever I am I always seem to be searching for a wifi hotspot and a power outlet.
Doesn’t everyone need wifi?
It is easy to be critical of people who feel the need to log-on or check-in while on vacation. Surely you should be taking a break from all of that and just enjoying wherever you are and whoever you’re with! However the reality of our modern lives is that almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives requires the ability to connect to the internet – staying in touch with friends and family, keeping an eye on your bank accounts, or confirming your travel arrangements. Wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, you’re going to need wifi.
Don’t let wifi ruin your holiday
I am the first to admit that my never-ending search for wifi does quite often interfere with actually enjoying the place that you are visiting.
I was visiting New York City a few months ago with a friend, and he got totally fed up with me when I virtually spent the entire holiday sitting in the same small cafe on the Lower East Side. They had really good wifi and great coffee — what is there to see in New York that is going to beat that?
The worst example though was when I was a romantic mini-break to Florence. I was climbing the small narrow steps to top of the massive dome over the cathedral when my (then) boyfriend poked me in the ribs and said: “Do you really have to be emailing right now?” “But I’ve finally got a good signal!” I protested. He was not amused.
How can travel providers impress the modern traveller?
- Hotels need to be providing free, easy-to-use, high-speed wifi that guests can access in-room. There’s very few places in the world that don’t have the infrastructure to support this – the technology is there, hotels of whatever star-rating need to prioritise this as part of their investment and refurbishment programs.
- Restaurants, cafes, and bars may not always want their guests to sit around for hours sipping a coffee while they check their emails or upload photos, but you can earn a lot of brownie points (and reviews and social media coverage) by ensuring that your patrons know that you’ve laid on free wifi for them.
- If you’re a tourist attraction of any shape or form, you’ll probably have some sort of cafe as part of your operation. Make sure that your guests know that you have provided free wifi for them here – that will encourage them to stay and spend on refreshments as well has encouraging them to write a review and post social media updates about their experience with you.
Log-in and get ready to travel.
