A recent survey of internet access in hotel rooms put New Zealand in second place after America. Photo / Thinkstock
On a recent stay at a very reputable New Zealand hotel, I couldn't figure out how to get the wi-fi to work for my laptop.
The woman at reception cheerfully told me down the phone: "Oh, we don't have that."
"You don't have wi-fi? So is there a cable I have to plug into?"
"No sir. We don't have the internet."
I groaned, thinking this seemed typical of New Zealand's medieval approach to internet access. Our shame in the eyes of international travellers.
But a recent survey of internet access in hotel rooms has proved me wrong. The survey (covering 700,000 hotels globally), by hotel price-comparison site Trivago, put New Zealand second (behind America) with 82 per cent of hotels offering internet via wi-fi or ethernet cable. In the States, they're at 89 per cent.
In third place was - perhaps surprisingly - Romania, with 78.65 per cent. Our transtasman cousins lagged in 16th spot with 66 per cent of hotels offering internet.
Busy travellers, armed with electronic gadgets to help them better plan and enjoy their holidays, are right to expect excellent wi-fi access.
We should hope to see our 82 per cent head towards a good old New Zealand 100 per cent.
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