Travel Tips

Hotel Lobbies: Free Wifi for Your Meeting

Using hotel lobbies for informal meetings is nothing new. What is new is that hotels are now trying to cater to not only their own guests — but non-guests, too. Here’s what it means for you.

Hotels like the W chain or the Giraffe Hotel in New York actually encourage short meetings in their lobbies, even by non-guests.

For the hotel, it’s good publicity. For you and your fellow business travelers, it’s free wireless Internet access — and usually, comfortable chairs.

Other hotels are happy to let non-guests use their lobby’s Wifi, provided they buy a drink or snack from the lobby bar.

Now a cocktail at a lobby bar probably won’t be a cheap drink, but if it comes with free Wifi, it could be worth the price.

Just remember — a hotel lobby isn’t an office, your presentations won’t be private and it could be noisy. But for a cheap, convenient meeting place, a hotel lobby could work well.

Check out our Hotels section for more tips.