Gamechanger: We can finally figure out real Wi-Fi speeds of hotels before we decide where to stay

There are plenty of things to consider when booking a hotel room: price, location, amenities, whether the lobby feels like a nightclub on any given night, and increasingly free Wi-Fi. Yet, Wi-Fi speed is rarely, if ever, a part of that hotel room calculus, and that's on because it's hard information to get your hands on. After all, what good is free Wi-Fi if it's too slow to use?

Thankfully the game could soon be changing with the launch of Hotel WiFi Test's Content API. The interface will allow for the website's crowd-sourced Wi-Fi speeds to be placed in hotel search results for direct comparisons. All it takes is an application and an integration with an existing service.

The availability of this information now places the onus on hotels and third-party intermediaries to be transparent regarding the true speed of the on-property connection. Business travelers are clamoring for free Wi-Fi wherever they go, and so it's high time to share this information and address this important segment's needs.

This sort of speed information is vital, especially as more business travelers expect Wi-Fi as a travel right. For some, paying more for Wi-Fi in specific locations (such as planes) is well worth the expense. For others, the idea of a tiered Wi-Fi payment system makes the most sense so those with heavy use and speed requirements aren't lumped in with those who are more price sensitive and less needy on the bandwidth front.