Hotel guest shocked at $450 wi-fi bill

IMAGINE this guest’s shock when she was served a whopping wi-fi bill for just one night. Is this the most expensive hotel internet service?

Hotel guest slapped with $450 wi-fi bill

THIS hotel guest had the shock of her life when she was dumped with a $450 (€300) wi-fi bill for just one night.

Staying at The Majestic Barriere hotel in Cannes, France, the woman only noticed the whopping bill upon check-out. Reported in the Telegraph, the woman claimed she was never made aware of the hotel’s wi-fi costs.

“There was absolutely no mention of such an insane cost when I requested the password for the Wi-Fi,” she told the Telegraph. “When I was checking out an amount of $450 (€300) appeared on the bill.

“I asked for the GM, as there was no way I was going to pay this, and eventually they reduced it to $13 (€9). He backed down quite quickly — perhaps they hope people just won’t notice it?”

Guests of The Majestic Barriere relax on the French Riviera. Picture: K Raw.

The hotel confirmed to the Telegraph that the fee was charged to any guest that used their high-speed service. They also explained that they offered a medium-speed option for $300 (€200) and a low speed service for $13 (€9).

This three-tier system had only been introduced two months ago, prior to that all guests were charged a flat rate of $22 (€15) a day. A spokeswoman for the hotel insisted that the terms, conditions and costs are always explained to customers before they connect to the Wi-Fi network.

“The majority of guests — perhaps 90 per cent — use the low speed option,” she told the Telegraph. “But when someone needs to work they sometimes choose the faster service.”

And it’s not the only time a guest has been gob smacked at the high cost, when asked if other guests had been surprised the spokeswoman replied, “of course.”

The debate over free wi-fi in hotels is gaining momentum with many guests believing it should be included in the cost. A survey conducted earlier this year by hotels.com showed that guests ranked free wi-fi as the most important in-room amenity when making hotel bookings.