Seaport Hotel appropriate for 802.11 Planet conference in two weeks: Free wireless in public areas; free wired in rooms. I guess that answers the question on one of the panels I'm moderating, "Will People Pay?" at 802.11 Planet.
After noting Wyndham's free By Request affinity program, which provides free wired and wireless broadband in rooms and public areas for free, I spoke to a Marriott PR person today, who noted that Marriott has a very successful new offering: $9.95 per night for unlimited local calls, long-distance (US) calls, and high-speed service. This is far from free, of course, but it's often the consistency and single price that drive the business market.
As the Marriott spokesperson pointed out, cell phones don't always cut it in hotel rooms, and offering this ten buck package certainly will appeal to travelers trying to have a predictable bill. At a recent stay at the Westin Santa Clara (California), they offered the same kind of package but for about $15 per night.
I continue to think that the end game will involve hotels realizing that performing 2.5G and 3G cell phones remove the modem and casual data market, requiring them to really understand how to charge for those services (if they charge at all) moving forward.