What this means is that currently it s either difficult or impossible for business travelers at many hotels to log onto the Internet or to get a fast, clean connection. From our conversations with hotel industry experts, tourism marketing executives and technology industry visitors there seems no doubt that currently our hotels do not provide the kind of Internet access that business travelers need to get their email and to connect to the web. In many of the hotels, modern business centers are also lacking. Without these amenities we believe it will be difficult, if not impossible, to attract high tech conventioneers in large numbers. Nowadays it s apparent to anyone who picks up a newspaper that the Internet is not simply just a tool for business travelers.
Laptops are an extension of people s offices and their personal lives.
When they get to a hotel travelers demand a decent Internet connection whether it s for day trading, checking back with the office or keeping tabs with friends. Richard Moody s comments were echoed by visiting executives from Microsoft. We canvassed a number of individuals all who stayed at top properties in town and all of them we spoke to were visibly frustrated by the lack of connectivity or poor bandwidth. The comments of Lance Horne, a Microsoft technology specialist from Washington, DC, were typical. The best I can get is 16 to 18kps which is really slow.