Used to say, half seriously, that one could live anywhere with indoor plumbing and a dial tone. That was before wireless. Trot the globe, we do, laptops on our knees. Can't live without wi-fi.
Oui, le wifi, on a ça," they say proudly at the hotel desk, pronouncing it "oui-fee," like Fifi the dog. This past month, have tried to connect from hotels in a dozen cities across France and Italy with mixed results. Often the signal is limited to the lobby, sometimes, despite assurances, there's no connection at all. Pourquoi? one asks politely, only to be met with that infuriating Gallic shrug that says "Pff," I don't know, it's beyond my control. "Je n'y comprends rien," the girls say. "C'est le modem, je pense." The modem, right!
Have these people never heard of the reset button? C'mon, folks. Connecting to the Internet is not a luxury, not an upgrade, not an toy. Nowadays, access to broadband is almost as essential as running water. It's as important to tourism as the phone or the fax machine. Even before we start raling about extortionist pricing, this message for innkeepers: when you install wi-fi, two things: first, buy a reliable system and second, teach the staff how to keep it running! < /snark>
Thank you, Ronald.