( CNN ) -- We asked what you thought about hotels charging their guests to access Wi-Fi . As the subsequent influx of tweets and story comments showed , the issue generates strong and often divisive opinions . Some of you said that hotels charge exorbitant rates to access the web because they know guests have no other option if they want to go online . Others said that the cost of installing and maintaining a reliable wireless network for use by hundreds of people at a time comes with extensive costs that hotels must recoup through user charges . But is the issue as simple as that ? Individual hotel policies on internet access and pricing are almost as divergent as the opinions the subject creates . Some mid-to-low budget hotels provide free access throughout their facilities while others only do so in selected areas , such as in the bar , lobby or restaurant . At the other end of the spectrum , some five-star resorts have been known to charge more than $ 40 a day on top of room rates for guests to access the web . So what did you have to say ? Some of you were adamant that hotel Wi-Fi should always be free : . You get what you pay for . While some respondents were near evangelical in their demands for free web access , others said they were quite happy to pay for the internet as long as the price was reasonable and commensurate with the service received . Among them , Jingledew commented : `` I 'd happily pay a buck or two for the convenience of a connection , but $ 10- $ 30 per night on top of $ 150 room is just pure extortion . If it was a true hardship , no hotel would offer it free . '' Overcharging is getting old . Another popular theme to arise was that hotels that charge for internet access are damaging their own commercial prospects when others are providing the same services for free . For example , Todd_in_BMore commented : `` I have to admit I get truly insulted when I go to an upper-tier chain hotel who charges for usually poor quality internet access , knowing the mid-tier brands tend to offer it free ... `` Hotels really need to review their business model : overcharging for food , ( telecommunications ) and in-room entertainment is getting old fast . Even business travelers these days give some pause to paying for ( convenience ) , we do have to justify those expense reports to clients more and more . '' Hotels have to recoup costs . Others contended that hotels are well within their rights to charge for the costs they incur for for providing internet services to their guests . Dkf295 commented : `` I work for a company that installs and supports hotel Wi-Fi . People expect four to five bars signal and enough bandwidth to stream video at all times . `` For a 200-room hotel at close to full occupancy , where half the occupied rooms are using the internet , that 's 1Mbps a person -- if they 're paying for a 100Mbps fiber circuit that can easily cost $ 750 or more a month . What if they 've got a bunch of business travelers using up more bandwidth ? What if they 're watching Netflix on one device and browsing on another ? `` A solid , reliable network might cost a quarter million dollars for such a hotel too ... if you need to spend a quarter million dollars every four years for a new network , 40 grand for the ISP , $ 12,000 for 24/7 tech support for the network and its guests , as well as money for any maintenance or equipment failures , suddenly charging people for internet makes a bit more sense . '' Pay by use . And some of you supported a tiered-payment structure , where basic Wi-Fi is free but users pay for using more bandwidth . `` I support that method . I think that 's perfectly reasonable , '' said nordicnews . CaptainVic commented : `` You do n't expect to pay for standard TV in your room , but you ( do ) for 'pay per view ' movies . So the same should apply to Wi-Fi . `` The acid test of any tiered system will be an acceptable level of base connectivity , and the option to pay for a step up in bandwidth , be it for rich media streaming or to avoid the automatic hourly drop outs which is so annoying when you are trying to keep a remote connection open to your office network . '' Wi-Fi is a must-have . But many of you felt that these days , unlike many hotel facilities , free Wi-Fi is an essential . Aznsk8s87 commented : `` In this day and age , it 's completely unreasonable to charge for Wi-Fi . If you 're traveling internationally , odds are that you need the internet in order to conduct business . `` Fortunately for a lot of international business travelers , this will go on the company tab . But even so - it 's a service that is far more important than pay-per-view or whatever is in the minibar . '' And @ s77W tweeted : . What do you think ? Share your thoughts in the comments section below .
Many hotels charge for Wi - Fi -- we know what you think of the internet fees . Many of you said Hi - Fi should come free as standard . Some of you thought of tiered payments for different types of usage .