And I used to think airport Internet access fees were outrageous
Suppliers and manufacturers are accustomed to the shakedown that takes place at every RV trade show around the country, but the scam taking place at the Kentucky Expo Center this year over wireless Internet access appears almost criminal.
Businesses have the ability to sign up for a wireless Internet connection at the blazing speed of 256 kilobytes per second – five times faster than dial-up – for the bargain price of $595 for three days of service. That’s nearly $200 per day.
That price is so out of line with reality, I thought it had to be a typo. But, no, the vendor supplying the service defended his charges. Here’s what Dennis DeMinter, the event coordinator at CCPI, e-mailed to me:
$595 is our wireless price. Our wired price for a 256k connection is $100 more. There is the cost of having technicians at the site to handle problems that might occur. Labor for placement of access points plus administrative costs to process the service is needed. We pay for this service year around whether any one uses it or not. Our overhead at a convention center is much greater than the overhead of a hotel. If you would like to place and order, please feel free to fax the order to the fax number at the top of the form. If not, we are sorry that you are disappointed and hope that you will still have a great show.
Hmmm. You would think a high-class facility like the Kentucky Expo Center would recognize that most people attending trade shows in 2006 would need to check their e-mail, or that most vendors displaying products would use the Internet to access their company’s website or gather more information for people visiting the booths. You would think the Expo Center would have the foresight to install the equipment one time and divide that cost into the fees charged for renting the facility. Apparently not.
McDonald’s restaurants selling $4 happy meals can provide FREE high-speed wireless Internet access to its customers. Rest stops in Iowa can provide FREE high-speed wireless Internet access to travelers. Hotels renting rooms for $59 a night can provide FREE high-speed wireless Internet access.
But, apparently, the hillbillies in Louisville haven’t figured out how to do it. You know, some airports (which cover the same amount of ground as the Kentucky Expo Center) offer FREE high-speed wireless Internet access. Even those airports that want to stick it to the travelers charge only $8.95 or less for a day of wireless Internet access.
But, not at the Kentucky Expo Center! There are nearly 400 manufacturers and suppliers that will be exhibiting at the show. They are already paying enormous amounts of money to lease space on the show floor, lay down carpeting, move boxes and – amazingly – pay union wages to have someone plug in a power cord to a power strip (something most people figure out how to do on their own by age 7).
If only 100 of the manufacturers and suppliers opt to take advantage of wireless Internet access, CCPI will rake in nearly $60,000 over the three-day period. That sounds like price gouging to me.
Nobody knows for sure whether RV dealers attending the event will also have to pay $200 per day for wireless Internet access, but bring your credit card just in case.
Businesses who agree that CCPI is engaging in price gouging can download a complaint form from the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, Division of Consumer Protection by clicking here.
Because CCPI is headquartered in Seattle and providing service in Kentucky (apparently there are no companies in Kentucky that can provide wireless Internet access), it also becomes an interstate business transaction. Businesses can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by clicking here.
The opportunity to gather an entire industry together for three days of intense business activity should not be an excuse for other companies to leech onto our manufacturers and suppliers and deplete them of hard-earned cash that could be better spent on product development than on Internet access.
December 5th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Actually, sounds more like yankee scoundrels than hillbillies…You’re correct in you’re assessment; however, remember that the center is taking a cut too - plus they have no continuing cost between shows…We’re going to pay one way or the other…The capitalist system allows us choice based upon an analysis of cost versus benefit…The market will either support or reject the wifi program, thereby verifying benefit or forcing change…Complaining to the government would put you in good company with Don Quixote…
December 4th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
We paid approx. $1,000.00 for what was actually two and a half days of service at the Kentucy Expo Center (RVIA Show). I complained in my follow up email survey that was sent to me, but I doubt it will do any good.
I went with the higher speed (closer to DSL) because if I was going to pay for the internet connection, I needed to be fast enough to do us any good. Thanks for bringing up the subject. I hope RVIA takes a double take. By the way, how about the higher rates we have to pay for booking rooms through the RVIA? I had a guy come in early to Louisville, and the hotel said, “We can get him a room, but it will not be at the “show rate” that you are paying through RVIA…” Translation: It cost us the regular, $149.00 rate, instead of the $179.00 per night that I had to pay for all of my other rooms that were booked through the RVIA system.
FYI
December 4th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Why do you have to get personal with the hillbilly reference? You seem to cloud an issue that you talk about with something derogatory or inflammatory, or is that the only way you can get an RVer’s attention?
December 4th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Greg, Just wanted to say it was nice visiting with you in Louisville. Concerning internet access,Louisville was a bargain compared to the RVDA convention in Vegas. The cost for internet service was $800.00 for the three days.
See you in AZ.
Alan Cooper
RVbay
December 1st, 2006 at 10:09 am
I could not agree more about the exorbitant fees charged by CCPI for internet “access” at this year’s RVIA tradeshow. As a technology company in the RV industry it would be impossible for us to exhibit our software products and services without a direct internet connection at the show. With no other alternatives available within the walls of the Expo Center we were held hostage by CCPI and paid nearly as much for internet connectivity as we did for our booth space.
To add insult to injury we were charged to two connections by CCPI since we had two computers in our booth. As almost all home broadband user’s already know, you can easily and inexpensively share a single “access” connection by installing a small router or switch on your internet connection and then easily share the connection and bandwidth across multiple computers. But as soon as the CCPI tech came over to hand our own technician a cable (that was the extent of their “technical support” responsibilities) and saw two computers in the booth, we we’re told we had to pay for two connections. Furthermore when our technician said “just give me one and we’ll use a router” he was told CCPI had software that would “shut that down”.
Clearly CCPI has a pricing philosophy which is out of line with the rest of the universe. To compare this with other venues (RVDA in Las Vegas for example) the pricing for a single connection at RVIA is 13 times more expensive than at RVDA!
So to your question about price gouging – I say YES. We’ll be filling a complaint with our local and state offices (we’re a Louisville based company) along with a letter to the RVIA about this ridiculous pricing.
I for one appreciate you bringing this up to the surface so RVIA exhibitors can influence some change in the future.
November 21st, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Keep rocking the boat. Someone has to ask the questions.
November 21st, 2006 at 1:28 pm
My thoughts for Sunline are the same. What is next? Well the bad news that Atwood is in Chapter 11 this will give us all great pains if they are not going to be able to supply or pay claims.
do you have any information on this?
chuck