What Nerds Want in Hotels

Hey, it’s the best “Nerd in a hotel room” pic I could dig up on short notice.

The article What A Global Nomad Wants In A Hotel To Work Anywhere, which appears in the Working Anywhere blog, lists these 15 must-haves for a hotel serving global nerds:

1. Good broadband — at least 1.5 megs, symmetrical to boot.
2. Both wired and wireless access in the room.
3. Lots of outlets. I’m very on-board with this one! I hate it when I find all the outlets in the room are already being monopolized by the TV, lamps and so on. There should be a couple of free outlets by the desk, as well as extra outlets for things like my phone and camera chargers.
4. Reading lights over the bed. Handy, but not so high a priority on my list. A bedside lamp would do me fine.
5. An in-room safe large enough to accomodate a laptop. I generally trust that my laptop won’t get yanked by the hotel staff, but I’d much rather be able to put it in the safe.

6. Relaxing and Inviting Lobbies and Bars with Outlets. Hear hear! Back when I was an indie consultant, I got a lot of programming work done at my local cafe, and still enjoy getting some laptop work done in a cafe, bar or lobby — as long as it was a nice and inviting one. Let’s face it, if the bar is either sterile or sad, I’d better be off working in my room.

   I’ll give high marks to the Westin Boston Waterfront, home of the fall 2006 Ajax Experience, for its nice, comfy and inviting lobby/bar, with handy-dandy in-hotel Starbucks around the corner.

7. 24 Hour Room Service WITH a 24 hour menu. A nice thing to have, but I think I might be able to live without it.
8. A Hot Restaurant With A Killer Chef. I like hot restos with killer chefs as much as the next sensualist, but isn’t that what checking out the city is for?
9. Seven Day A Week Laundry. I pack heavy, but I suppose it would be nice to have one.
10. Early Check-In. Yes! There are so many times that I’ve arrived in the morning or early afternoon, dying for a nap, only to be told that the room wouldn’t be available until 3 p.m..
11. A Fluffy and Warm Bathrobe. Not absolutely necessary, but I do take advantage of it whenever one’s available.
12. Flat Screen Wide Screen TV That’s 23″ or larger. Once you’ve been to a hotel room with one of these — once again, the Boston Westin Waterfront had these, and they were sweet! — there’s no going back.
13. A Larder. I’ve never been to a hotel with one of these, but it could be pretty handy.
14. High Quality Bottled Water. Perhaps. Vending machines full of Diet Coke are on my must-have list, but I’m trying to cut down, what with all those stories about it being neurotoxic and carcinogenic.
15. Soundproof windows. Street noise doesn’t generally bother me, but a little peace and quiet is nice to have.

What do you need in a hotel room?