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If you stay in hotels often, you have probably used the Wi-Fi because it feels convenient and free of hassle. No roaming charges. No hotspot juggling. You connect, check a few emails, maybe upload a file, and carry on with your day. The catch is that hotel Wi-Fi is a shared space. Everyone nearby is on the same airwaves, and not every network is built or maintained with strong protection in mind. The result is a mix of comfort and quiet risk.

I have heard more than one traveler say they connected in the lobby for five minutes and later noticed odd login alerts or a mailbox rule they never created. That is the kind of small clue that something was off on the network. It does not mean every hotel is unsafe. It does mean guests and hotel operators should understand how problems actually happen so they can put simple, practical defenses in place.

Why hotel Wi-Fi is different

A hotel network serves many people who will never come back, which makes identity and trust hard. Devices change every day. Access points might be old or misconfigured because turnover is high and budgets are tight. The hospitality sector also attracts attackers because it handles payment data and personal details. Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report shows Accommodation and Food Services facing thousands of incidents, with most breaches tied to system intrusion and social engineering. That is a useful reminder that hotels and their guests are routinely in the crosshairs.

The threats behind the welcome page

Several risks matter more than people expect.

An evil twin is a fake wireless network that copies the hotel’s name or style. It looks legitimate in your Wi-Fi list, so you connect without thinking. Once you do, the attacker can watch traffic or steer you to look-alike login pages. This technique appears in the MITRE ATT&CK framework as Adversary in the Middle over Wi-Fi, which is a reliable reference point for security teams.

Another nuisance is a deauthentication attack. An attacker sends special frames that quietly boot your device off the real network, then your phone or laptop reconnects to the attacker’s hotspot. The fix for this at the wireless layer is management frame protection, known as 802.11w or PMF. When PMF is required, those spoofed disconnection frames get rejected.

Session hijacking and passive packet capture are still concerns on poorly protected guest networks. Encryption at the Wi-Fi layer, plus end-to-end encryption such as HTTPS and a trustworthy VPN, makes these tactics harder to pull off. CISA’s current mobile and telework guidance continues to recommend using a VPN as soon as you join a third-party network, which fits hotel scenarios well.

Smart habits guests can adopt today

You cannot rewire a hotel, but you can change how you connect.

1. Treat the lobby SSID as untrusted until proven otherwise. Ask the front desk for the exact network name and whether there is more than one. If you see two similar names, connect with caution and avoid sensitive tasks until you confirm.
   
2. Use a reputable VPN. Turn it on right after you connect so your traffic is encrypted from your device to the VPN provider. This helps even if the local Wi-Fi is noisy or hostile. CISA explicitly advises enabling a VPN immediately on third-party networks.
   
   
3. Prefer official apps and HTTPS sites. The padlock is not a magic shield, but it prevents many casual snooping attempts and pairs well with a VPN.
   
4. Disable auto-join for public networks and forget the SSID when you leave. That reduces your device’s tendency to reconnect later to a copycat network.
   
5. Turn off file sharing and AirDrop or equivalent features while traveling. Limit the attack surface until you are back on a trusted connection.
   
6. For truly sensitive work such as wire approvals or HR records, use your mobile hotspot or wait for a known secure link.
   

What hotels can do to make Wi-Fi safer

Hotels can raise the baseline quickly with the right mix of configuration and communication.

1. Adopt WPA3 wherever client devices support it. WPA3 makes Protected Management Frames mandatory and offers stronger encryption, while Enhanced Open (OWE) adds encryption for open guest networks without passwords. This combination improves confidentiality and makes it harder for attackers to force disconnects or passively sniff traffic.
   
2. Require PMF. Even if older devices need a transition period, make PMF required on staff and infrastructure SSIDs, and at least capable on guest SSIDs. This is your frontline control against deauthentication tricks.
   
   
3. Enable wireless client isolation on guest SSIDs. Client isolation prevents guests from talking directly to one another, which blocks simple lateral snooping or worming between rooms. It is a low-effort setting with a big payoff on public networks.
   
4. Segment the network. Put guest traffic in its own VLAN with tight egress rules and keep it away from property management systems, payment devices, IPTV backends, and building controls. Hotels that flatten everything into one network create unnecessary exposure.
   
5. Monitor like an enterprise, even if the footprint is small. NIST’s guidance on securing WLANs emphasizes standardized configurations, ongoing assessments, and continuous monitoring. A lightweight wireless IDS or cloud management platform can alert you to rogue access points and odd traffic before guests notice.
   
6. Publish clear instructions. Print cards at the front desk with the exact SSID and a QR code. Add a line that says to avoid similar looking names. Tell guests you recommend a VPN. Small, honest tips build trust and reduce help-desk calls.
   
7. Keep infrastructure current. Update controller and access point firmware on a schedule. Replace aging gear that does not support WPA3 or PMF. Disable WPS and default admin credentials on routers and gateways. These are the basics, yet they block a surprising number of attacks.
   
8. Protect staff networks with 802.1X and multifactor sign-in to hotel systems. Staff devices should never ride the guest SSID, even for a minute. That boundary prevents a lot of bad days.
   

A short scenario to make it real

Imagine you are at a conference hotel and you need to send a contract before dinner. You glance at available networks and see Hotel_Conference and Hotel_Conferene. You choose the first one and the captive portal looks normal. The internet is slow, your VPN drops once, and a few minutes later a text arrives about a login attempt on your account.

What probably happened is simple. You connected to an evil twin that copied the name and portal look. A deauthentication nudge kicked your device off the real SSID and your automatic reconnect latched onto the fake. If the hotel had PMF required on the legitimate SSID, the deauth trick would be less likely to work, and if you had kept the VPN on from the first second, your traffic would have been harder to read. Client isolation on the real guest network would not stop a fake hotspot, but it would reduce guest-to-guest noise on the true SSID. In other words, layered defenses on both sides change the outcome.

A quick packing list for your next trip

Bring a reputable VPN subscription. Keep device updates current before you travel. Carry a small privacy screen if you handle sensitive material in public areas. Back up before you leave home. Most of all, remember that hotel Wi-Fi is a convenience, not a guarantee. Treat it with the same caution you would bring to any crowded place.

Final thoughts

Hotel Wi-Fi does not have to be scary. It just needs a practical mindset. Travelers can raise their safety by verifying the SSID, using a VPN, and avoiding risky actions on shared networks. Hotels can raise their safety by requiring modern encryption, isolating guests from each other, and monitoring for look-alike access points. None of this ruins the guest experience. Done right, it improves it, because reliable and safe connectivity is part of hospitality now.