Staying at the Marriott Marquis for Dragon*Con? Use Boingo. Duh.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Last summer, a kind LJer clued me in to the fact that Boingo Wireless, the pay service that offers Wi-Fi access in a bazillion airports and hotels, includes the Atlanta Marriott Marquis among their hotel partners. That means if you're a $9.95/month Boingo customer, you get to use the Marriott's Wi-Fi in your guest room or the common spaces, at no extra charge.

Figured I should share this wisdom again this summer, as I know many of us will be at the Marriott, and few of us want to spend $12.95/day to getting online when a single payment of $9.95 could cover us for a whole month -- not just at the hotel, but maybe also at the airports we're traveling through on the way to and from the con. (In other words, sign up before you leave home, and you'll be all set when you hit the airport.)

If you're feeling particularly charitable toward the Marriott or toward IBAHN, their Wi-Fi provider, feel free to cough up $65 over the course of the weekend. Or, just give Boingo $10. Tough choice? Hardly.

I wrote enthusiastically about Boingo last fall, if you're curious to read more:

http://upgrd.com/blogs/trebuchet/boingo-saved-bucks.html

Thanks once again to ubiquitous_a for this tip last year. If you want to buy someone a cup of coffee or a beer out of gratitude for the heads-up, it should be her. :-)

(Disclaimer: I don't get anything out of you using and enjoying Boingo, other than the satisfaction of sharing the love.)

Comments

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Just checked the Boingo site, and they also list the Hyatt. Sold!

[nerdycellist.livejournal.com]

... but not the Hilton.

So if I want to use wifi in the airport, I'll have to pay Boingo roughly $10 for that but it will cover both flights, the wifi on Delta is not Boingo and that will be about $10 per flight. The room wifi at the Hilton is I'm guessing a somewhat exorbitant price per day,unless I want to haul the laptop near a hotspot or drag it around the con and use the Boingo in the Hyatt and Marriott. Maybe I'll just read my nook.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Well, you may find the monthly plan doesn't pay if you'll only be in airports briefly, and in a hotel that doesn't buy into the Boingo plan. (Can't hurt to encourage them to, but I bet it's too late for this weekend.)

[nerdycellist.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I may do that. Looking at it, I think I'm more likely to use the wifi in the airports than on the actual plane.

I could also stop whining about inconsequential stuff and just be excited about going to DragonCon.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Awesome as Boingo is, it also won't help on the plane. That's the separate GoGo Inflight Internet service. (Wouldn't it be awesome if your monthly Boingo service fee covered that, too?!)

[mk1558.livejournal.com]

They also don't list the Atlanta Marriott Downtown (though they list four other Marriotts in Atlanta), so I'll have to stick with the hotel wifi.

[pagemasterjim.livejournal.com]

Did you see the Marriott Marquis? That is the actual one for the convention.

[mk1558.livejournal.com]

I'm not staying at the Marquis though. I'm at the overflow Marriott, the Downtown one. Which would be where I'd actually want to access it.

[pagemasterjim.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. Sorry for the confusion.

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

Call them directly and ask. You want to ask them if Boingo is one of their roaming partners for wifi. If all else fails, when you check in, ask if they can comp you the wifi....sometimes they will, particularly if you're a Marriott Rewards member.

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

Last summer, a kind LJer clued me in to the fact that Boingo Wireless, the pay service that offers Wi-Fi access in a bazillion airports and hotels, includes the Atlanta Marriott Marquis among their hotel partners.

That was moi. Glad to see you're still a fan of it, I know I certainly am! :)

ETA: Drinks are unnecessary, but are never turned down. ;p

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

And I haven't forgotten I still owe you a drink! If your number's still the same one you sent me last year after the con, I'll be in touch in a couple days. ;-)

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

Cool! I'm staying at the Marriott again this year, and will be arriving on Wednesday. Feel free to ping me whenever. :)

[maryquesera.livejournal.com]

My thanks too, ubiquitous! I signed up with Boingo on your recommendation before last year's con, and enjoyed using it before all my third-party apps crashed. Boingo was really good about canceling when I got back, and I re-upped this year before another con where they had Boingo service in the convention center. Looking forward to using it again this year.

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it!

[ktetch dureek (from livejournal.com)]

The other alternative is to use something like a clear 4G spot. You can get really good reception up in the rooms of the Marriott (8mbit down, 3mbit up on the 41st floor last year) but it's a little pricy. $65 for the modem (which will handle 8 devices at once) and then another $45 for a months unlimited service. It's kinda pricey, but if you're in a clear zone a lot, it might work out well.

OR find someone who has it, and see if they'll let you use it, maybe for a few bucks towards the bandwidth rental...

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Definitely a smart approach if you spend a lot of time traveling or outdoors, and aren't reliably in range of free or easily-subscribed-to Wi-Fi service! I got to use a friend's Clear hotspot while she and I were in St. Paul for a hockey tournament this spring.

[ktetch dureek (from livejournal.com)]

Or, like my friend who owned the spot, you live in the coverage area. Of course, him and his wife have upgraded to androids now, so they'll probably just tether to their phones.

[pixiekingtom.livejournal.com]

I don't see on the site, do they require a contract?

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Nope. Sign up when you want, cancel when you want. I paid for a few months in a row last year before my travel slowed down, then started again this spring.

[pixiekingtom.livejournal.com]

Good to know! And you just need the hotspot finder program, no extra devices??

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Right. Technically, you don't even need that, but it automates the process of signing on if you're in a location with Boingo-supported Wi-Fi. If you don't have the software installed, you can still select the right Wi-Fi network, and typically pick Boingo from a "roaming partner" menu or the like.

[soliscjw.livejournal.com]

I have been reading reviews on Boingo online and there are a lot of negative reviews of it. I know from working in retail that people who have a negative experience are more likely to talk about it than people who have a positive one but both Cnet dot com and measuredup dot com. have way more bad reviews than good ones from users. The Cnet one has a good editor review but bad review from users. Has anyone else used them? While I trust con goers just two people who have used the service is not enough for me to get over the bad reviews

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

I'd be curious what the complaints are. For my purpose, though, either it works or it doesn't, and you ought to be able to figure out pretty quickly whether it works for you. They cover several airports I find myself in from time to time, and, vitally for me, they cover the hotel I'm about to spend five nights in. :-) If you're going to be in the Marriott, it seems worth the gamble.

[tim farley (from livejournal.com)]

I can confirm that Boingo is still serving the Marriott via iBAHN (along with several other providers including T-Mobile) - I checked it myself last Friday.

I gathered that info, and a bunch of other facts about WiFi in the other hotels, places you can get free WiFi near the convention, 4G details in Atlanta and much more in a digital guide to Dragon*Con (http://skeptools.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/digital-guide-to-dragoncon-2011/) over at my blog. Check it out, lots of good info there.

Cheers.

[j-hotlanta.livejournal.com]

I've been a Boingo customer for a couple of years and am largely pleased with their service in US airports and hotels that offer them as a roaming provider. I'm realistic on the service - if I'm at the end of a crowded concourse or in a crowded conference room then service will probably be slow and spotty. When I've roamed on them internationally I've been less pleased but I've managed to connect from some places that are definitely off the beaten track. If you sign up, please note the distinction for "roaming" - if you are in the air on Delta or at Caesar's Palace you can "roam" on Boingo but will have to pay a (sometimes significant) upcharge.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Right... it turns out you can now sign onto GoGo Inflight Internet using your Boingo credentials, but the price doesn't change. You're just using Boingo's sign-on and billing process, so you get a single provider's bill rather than two.

[alladinsane.livejournal.com]

Tried and got connected in both Hyatt and Marriott...

And jsut now actually comnnected in the Hilton lobby thru hhonors...

of course this is Wednesday before con...your mileage may vary...long as it works in my Hyatt room no complaints

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Yay! See you in a few hours. :-)

[alladinsane.livejournal.com]

Didnt have any more luck in the Hilton, but worked nicely in my room and the Hyatt bar where I needed it...didnt have any luck in the Exhibitor's Hall, but I think the hotel blocks it in there...

Overall very positive experience with Boingo, and will likely use it next year too! Thanks!

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

I found an "ibahn conference" (or some such) network in some of the ballrooms in the Marriott, which I'm guessing is their effort to charge $150/day, rather than $13/day, to conference organizers. Luckily, my cellular connection worked fine in most parts of the hotels' public spaces, with registration over in the Sheraton being the biggest exception, so I only had to worry about using Boingo up in the room.