Laptops and hotels

I am leaving for Tennesse tomorrow. I was wondering if anyone knows how to get hooked to internet service at a hotel. ( Or what I need to do) I know there is a way. If anyone can help me this it would be great. If not I will talk to you all monday. Have a great day. I have so much to do. I will be on later. Hugs to all Barb

Hi Barb, I used to travel a great deal of the time for the USPS, and have stayed in many hotels. Most cater to business travelers and have internet access available in your room, most at no cost to you. Some have a computer in a business room for people away from home. If you have a personal laptop, you can more then likely connect through the phone line in the room, slow but it works for short time use. Almost every hotel that I stayed in had a desk area in the room so that I could leave my laptop connected to the entire time that I was there. It just depends on the hotel/motel that you stay in. If you know where you will be staying, I'd call and ask what type of internet service that they offer. Have a great trip! Cathy

Thanks Catey, That Is what I wanted to hear. I do have a phone cord. So i shoulnt have any problems then. I will call them up. Thank you and have a great weekend Barb

Ann, Most have either a wireless connection or an ethernet connection. If you don't have an ethernet connector, most hotels will loan you one. I found that my wireless picked up on thier networks without any trouble. Cathy

ethernet connector (What is that.) My laptrop is under a year old. I know it has a internal modem. I do have a cord to stick in my cell phone. I have road runner service would I need a srevice provider. Thanks for your help Barb

The ethernet connection on your computer will look like a phone jack (a little different in size). You should have a connector for your phone modem and another for ethernet. If you use the ethernet, you are connecting through the hotel's network and you don't need a service provider. Same with a wireless. If your laptop is less than a year old it may have wireless. In which case, just open up your Internet Explorer and see if it connects to something. Be sure before you leave home to go to Road Runners homepage and download their dial-up program. They have one that if you are away from home, you can use their dial-up service for 10 hours a month free. You shouldn't have to use this in most hotels. I use it at my condo that doesn't have high speed networking. The program allows you to search for local phone numbers to use.

Warning, some Mariott hotels want to charge you $5/day to use the internet. Check their website amenities, it will list free internet availability.