16/04: Is Wi-Fi the new Color-TV?
I decided to drive down the California coast to visit an old friend on Los Cabos, Mexico. While I could have certainly flown down, I was looking forward to the beautiful drive with the top down. I wasn’t sure of my exact pace, so I simply stopped when I got tired in pretty coastal towns along the way.
The hotel signs were more than signs for the hotels, they were signs for our times. Hotels old and new, big and small, had signs proclaiming that they had Wi-Fi in the rooms. I remember growing up when our parents would load us up in the blue Rambler and take us on a trip across the country. The hotels and motels then would advertise things like Color TVs and In-Room Phones. Over the last twenty years or so, the signs were updated to advertise in-room HBO. Now it is high speed wireless internet that they brag about in big letters.
The cost and complexities of offering Wi-Fi have both dropped dramatically. While companies still use Wi-Fi as direct revenue generator, many have simply added it to the list of amenities. Establishments such as restaurants and coffee shops, looking to lure you in to stay and spend money, are offering Wi-Fi for free. Wi-Fi becomes a marketing tool for these businesses.
I came to a crossroads of sorts, where a brand new Holiday Inn Express was opposite an old local travel-inn motel. Two places to rest from two different eras.
Both had signs for Wi-Fi.
The hotel signs were more than signs for the hotels, they were signs for our times. Hotels old and new, big and small, had signs proclaiming that they had Wi-Fi in the rooms. I remember growing up when our parents would load us up in the blue Rambler and take us on a trip across the country. The hotels and motels then would advertise things like Color TVs and In-Room Phones. Over the last twenty years or so, the signs were updated to advertise in-room HBO. Now it is high speed wireless internet that they brag about in big letters.
The cost and complexities of offering Wi-Fi have both dropped dramatically. While companies still use Wi-Fi as direct revenue generator, many have simply added it to the list of amenities. Establishments such as restaurants and coffee shops, looking to lure you in to stay and spend money, are offering Wi-Fi for free. Wi-Fi becomes a marketing tool for these businesses.
I came to a crossroads of sorts, where a brand new Holiday Inn Express was opposite an old local travel-inn motel. Two places to rest from two different eras.
Both had signs for Wi-Fi.
