Nothing ruins a hotel stay faster than an unreliable internet connection. Work stalls, video streaming buffers, and communication grinds to a halt as frustrations rise. A recent study by HighSpeedInternet.com evaluated national hotel chains to identify which offer the best complimentary, premium, and overall WiFi performance.
The report ranks the top 20 U.S. hotel chains by their average internet speeds across properties, using data collected from HotelWiFiTest.com. Chains were evaluated separately for complimentary and premium WiFi, as well as overall performance.
Among complimentary WiFi offerings, Rodeway Inn ranks highest with an average download speed of 7.66 Mbps. Close behind are America’s Best Value Inn, Quality Inn and Suites, Super 8, and Days Inn, with Days Inn averaging 4.79 Mbps for complimentary service.
For premium WiFi, Econo Lodge leads the list, averaging 8.48 Mbps. Following Econo Lodge are Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton Hotels, with Hilton’s premium service averaging 7.73 Mbps.
At the slower end of the spectrum, Hampton Inn and Suites offers the weakest complimentary WiFi measured in the study, averaging just 1.9 Mbps. A notable contrast appears at Hilton properties: complimentary Hilton WiFi averages only 2.42 Mbps, while its premium tier reaches significantly higher speeds.
Overall, the study highlights that many hotel WiFi speeds—even some premium tiers—remain modest for modern needs. Activities such as downloading large files and smooth high-definition streaming typically require higher throughput; streaming alone can demand anywhere from roughly 1.5 to 25 Mbps for a stable experience depending on quality.
HighSpeedInternet.com selected the top 20 hotel chains based on the number of properties in each portfolio, then calculated average speeds using HotelWiFiTest.com data to produce the rankings. The findings emphasize how WiFi quality can vary greatly both between brands and between complimentary and paid tiers at the same chain, offering a useful reference for travelers who depend on reliable internet access.