What Hoteliers Need To Know About Net Neutrality

On December 13th, the FCC voted to reclassify the internet so that the Federal Trade Commission, not the Federal Communications Commission, will oversee its implementation. This overturn of Net Neutrality could have giant impacts on the way that consumers and businesses use the internet, and hoteliers need to be aware of how this could affect the way they conduct business.
The relationship between hotels and guests could also be affected, but for now it is unknown on how. For example, with the new disbanding of regulations, your ISP could slow speeds to websites not under contract. If your hotel offers a certain internet speed or streaming service as apart of the perks, then would be up to the hotels to decipher whether those perks are affected by the internet provider.
Richard Sherwin, CEO of wireless ISP Spot On Networks, says that hotels need to reach out to their local provider and get their relationship covered in writing- what they will pay, and what their guests will pay. “A contract takes precedence over regulation, or lack thereof,” Sherwin says. “A smart hotel will get it in writing.”^[1]