May 19, 2004 -- Free, high-speed, wireless Internet in a $32 hotel room? Sounds like a dream. But budget hotel chain Microtel (www.microtelinn.com) is bringing full-on Net access to their 266 motels around the country, raising the bar on the level of free stuff you expect to get for under $50 per night.
Their network hubs use the popular 802.11b "Wi-Fi" protocol, so you'll need to bring a laptop with either a wireless card or built-in wireless access.
If you don't typically carry a laptop when you travel, Microtel has another high-tech way to seduce you: free long-distance calls. Free local calls are apparently so 20th century -- stay at a Microtel, and you'll be able to call from Miami to Seattle without dropping a dime.
Microtel isn't unique in offering free, high-speed Internet in its rooms. The Net is becoming a popular free 'extra' in a lot of midrange business hotels. Wingate Inns (www.wingateinns.com), for example, promise free high-speed Internet in all their rooms, and they've got pretty decent rates, with rooms costing as little as $66.75.
For the first time, though, Microtel brings high-tech amenities to a true budget motel. With their current 'Spring Fling' promotion, rates are as low as $32 for single rooms and $42 for doubles through the end of May. When we checked rates ahead for July, they weren't much higher -- think $45 a night for up to two people if you book at www.microtelinn.com.
If you're thirsting for a cheap connection, make sure to call ahead. Microtel told us they're in the middle of installing their wireless hubs right now; they'll have all 266 hotels hooked up by the end of the year, but for now, some properties have 'Net and some don't.
The high-speed upgrades have already started at hotels on the East Coast, Microtel told us, and they'll sweep west. Hotels in Dunwoody, GA; Philadelphia, PA, and Rock Hills, SC are among the Microtels already (un)wired, and every room in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas will be hooked up by early summer. Expect hotels further west to see the upgrades this fall.
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