STSN's head talks about Wi-Fi's adoption rate in hotels and the revenue model (requires subscription to read): David Garrison is asked, in Q&A format, about how STSN's business works. They charge $2.95 for 15 minutes and 10 to 20 cents for additional minutes up to $10 to $20 per day. They still have wired broadband in rooms, but are switching, at hotels' insistence, to more Wi-Fi.
But he undermines his own value proposition with this combination: Q. Are hotels making money off of this? A. Hotels are making money in a couple of ways. One is, they participate in the revenue stream with us. More importantly, the right secure technology is what helps meeting planners and guests select their property. So the hotel really makes its money from selling rooms, and food and beverages, and other conference services.
In other words, the revenue stream from the broadband is our business; running the hotel and making money from that the hotel's business. So why charge guests anything if you're only recovering some amount and paying a vendor to run it? Why not, then, have a contractor handle your broadband and not a revenue-seeking partner?