With the ever-growing need to stay connected while on the road, travelers are seeking fast, reliable and secure ways to log onto the Internet. To answer that need, Red Lion Hotels and WestCoast Hotels in the United States and Canada have launched “Net4Guests,” a proprietary high-speed wireless Internet access (WiFi) service, giving all guests staying at participating hotels free, password-protected access in guestrooms and public areas of the hotel.

The Net4Guests service utilizes the company’s GuestAwards frequent traveler program to provide members instant log-on access using their member numbers and passwords. As an additional benefit, GuestAwards members can access Net4Guests service any time they are visiting a participating Red Lion or WestCoast property — whether they are an overnight guest or not. The hotels become their “hot spots” while they’re on the road.

Guests with compatible wireless hardware will not need any special software to connect to Net4Guests and will not have to make any changes to their PC configurations. Those who do not have wireless capability can check out the easy-to-use and fully supported (24/7) Net4Guests Quick Start Kit containing a PCMCIA card and a software CD.

If a guest is not a member of the GuestAwards program, the guest is given a User ID for use during that stay, or the guest can enroll on the GuestAwards Web site and receive a member number instantly.

The Net4Guests WiFi capability is enabled by Air2Data technology and is based on the 802.11b protocol so that it is accessible to the largest group of travelers with wireless functionality on their laptops and handheld devices. A variety of security measures are built into the system to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.