For those of us that live and die by our laptops, WiFi access at hotels is often a necessary — and occasionally costly — evil. But some hotels are now experimenting with pricing levels that offer guests a discount if they’re willing to accept a lesser internet connection.

A writer over at USA Today recently checked into the InterContinental New York Times Square and was surprised what she saw when she went to access the internet:

When I logged on the InterContinental’s system, I was asked to choose between a $10-a-day option for low bandwidth (good for checking emails and reading online articles) and a $15-a-day option (good for VPN access, sharing PowerPoint presentations and watching movies).

She checked with InterContinental, not known for offering anything at a discount, to see if this was something they were doing elsewhere. A rep for the deluxe hotel chain confirmed they are testing the program at hotels in NYC, San Francisco and Chicago.

Has anyone seen any other hotels offering this sort of pricing for internet access?

Upscale hotels offer guests cheaper Wi-Fi rates, but there’s a catch

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