TALLAHASSEE, FL— Guests checking into the Comfort Suites here no longer have to pack their laptop computers on business trips into this state’s capital, what with the all-suite property featuring Compaq personal computers with high-speed Internet access in each of its 64 guestrooms. Installed and introduced as a free guest amenity last year, this technological enhancement has proven to be “very positive, both for the guests and the Tallahassee Comfort Suites,” noted property owner Mani Patel. The cost of implementing this level of “computer convenience” was reportedly in excess of $100, 000. According to Patel, the hotel is “absorbing the cost into the rate purely from a long-term point-of-view. We’ve already gotten repeat business and, despite the slowdown in the economy, we’ve maintained our clientele and brought in new business— all without dropping our rates during these tougher economic times.” Of course, recognizing some travelers still refuse to go anywhere without their own trusty, personal work-station, the two-year-old property also offers guests the capability of connecting their own laptops to the hotel’s high-speed dataport jacks, providing them with the same no-extra-cost, high-speed Internet access enjoyed by those utilizing the in-room computers. In addition, the Sunshine State property further caters to the needs and wishes of its largely corporate customer base via an on-site business center as well.—Michael Billig
