The Most Judgmental 'Amenity' in Hotels Today

Let it be known, I did not ask for them to turn off the Wi-Fi.

Subscribe to Matador Network’s
Free Insider Travel Substack

Now, this gripe doesn’t apply to places that really can’t get Wi-Fi. If you’re a super remote jungle lodge or a backcountry ski hut or a tented camp in the Gobi Desert, cool, no problem. I’m talking about the places that could offer internet access, but just choose not to under the guise of mindfulness or wellness or other whatever high-horse thing they want to call it.

Remote work in Northern BC after viewing grizzlies all day. Photo: Suzie Dundas

The reason I want a signal on a trip isn’t that I can’t stop looking at my phone. It’s that 90 seconds with my email a few times a day tells me whether anything is urgent or on fire, and if it’s not, I can put my phone back in my pocket and head out on another hike. But if there’s only Wi-Fi in one common area, I’m glued to that space. Not knowing what’s going on when you’re a freelancer and your work depends on being available isn’t peace. It’s more stress, wondering if me choosing to go on vacation means I missed an assignment.

And another thing that bugs me about the no-Wi-Fi rule: it’s not “Hey, we suggest you unplug.” It’s “we demand you unplug.” And it implies hotels think guests have no self-control, that the only way to encourage people to leave their phones alone is to make it physically impossible to doomscroll. That’s something individuals should take some responsibility for. You’re a grown person. You can hold an object that contains your email and not open that email. You shouldn’t need a hotel to force you to go cold turkey. Just put your phone in your pocket and look up once in a while. You have willpower. Use it. Or don’t, because it should be your decision.

My job doesn’t work if I ignore everything for a week or more at a time — and that’s an arrangement I like, because it also doesn’t come with limits on when or where I work. It’s probably similar for people who have unlimited PTO. But if your job does offer the chance to check out for a few days (i.e., has traditional vacation time), use it. Don’t book a hotel that doesn’t have Wi-Fi because you don’t have the guts to just tell people you’re going on vacation and don’t want to work. You can ignore an email whether or not the router is on. Set some boundaries, be an adult, and tell your coworkers to get bent until you’re back. And if you’re in a role where you can’t do that, well, that’s why you need Wi-Fi — so you can check if anything is urgent and ignore everything that isn’t.

Me, working remotely, from literally everywhere I can, including Costa Rica, Kenya, and Patagonia. Photos: Suzie Dundas

I’m not saying disconnecting is pointless or that you shouldn’t do it. It can have real benefits. But my point is it should be your decision, not a hotel’s decision masquerading as a benefit for you — thanks, Big Brother. If you genuinely can’t offer Wi-Fi to guests, okay. But what I can’t handle is an ordinary hotel that decides to withhold a connection to the outside world, and then frames the absence as a gift I’m supposed to thank them for.

Leave the Wi-Fi on. If I don’t want it, I won’t use it. That’s genuinely all this requires.

And by the way: the cheap two-star La Quinta our dog likes has absolutely fabulous Wi-Fi.

See you online,

–Suzie Dundas, Matador Network

Subscribe to Matador Network’s
Free Insider Travel Substack