All 2,300 Best Westerns in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean will offer free Internet access by Sept. 1: While Best Western claims its the first chain to offer free service in all its hotels, this is more of a semantics issue. Last July, Marriott International said that its 1,200 Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and SpringHill Suites would have free broadband (wired and Wi-Fi), and its Fairfield Inns during 2004. (This article notes indirectly that Marriott's plans are behind the curve.) Marriott charges for Wi-Fi and broadband in its premium hotels, however.