I’m not quite as travel-intensive these days but reading Andy’s post on Working Anywhere got me thinking about some past experiences and frustrations. Reflecting back across the past few years, I can recall many times when hotel “broadband” was difficult to connect to or even impossible. I’ve had wireless only rooms that can’t get a signal – always a nice feature and of course the ridiculous price you get charged for a 24 hour session, which always seems to timeout if you leave your machine running overnight. I never expect the ports to be wide open, but it’s great when you can actually use a VOIP app or connect through to your VPN without issue.
My main needs are a clean modern room, good desk and chair with more than 2 outlets within reach and a reliable high speed connection. It’d be nice if the desk was near a window and not with your back to an HVAC unit — tends to make the temperature hard to regulate when working. In the past year the number of gadgets I carry has increased considerably and I prefer to have wired access in the room so that I can enable rest of my fleet with a travel router. I used to be content with just getting online, but now I really do look for the same flexibility I am accustomed to at home. Beyond my room, It is certainly nice when you find connectivity (that’s either free or that respects your existing login) in the lobby areas and even the hotel restaurants.
I don’t need the pampering that Andy seeks as I tend to spend little time sitting around the hotel other than pre-sleep and pre-breakfast.
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