HOTELS CHARGING FOR WIFI

Some Irish hotels are charging guests up to €20 a day for wireless internet (wifi) connection despite the fact that it  is free in most  public spaces. A Sunday Business Post survey showed that many of the country’s top hotels, including the Shelbourne and Westin in Dublin, and Dromoland Castle in Co Clare, are charging between €12 and €20 a day on top of room rates for access to their wifi network.
Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland,  described the prices as “outrageously high” and warned that  these charges would put business people off selecting certain hotels. Jewell said there was an assumption that, when paying high prices for top hotels, the cost of wifi “if not very small, will be waived entirely”. He said that some hotels in Europe charged for wifi but nothing like the outrageous cost of €20 a day.