We travel a lot, and admit to rarely tipping the maids in North America. We probably should, but usually just forget because we check out at the front desk and then leave. But we do tip everybody in Cuba, and in other more impoverished areas, because we know that almost every working person in those poorer countries supports their entire extended family on that meager salary. But we don't just tip with money...we often tip with both money and goods that we know aren't available or affordable.
In all of our travels, we've rarely ever been charged for wi-fi here in North America...it was common to be charged extra in Europe for WI-fi in the room, but many hotels now have computer centers where the Internet is either free or fairly cheap; Internet access is still very expensive in Cuba.
The extra fee that we detest the most is the parking fee. We always check before booking now to make sure parking is included. If not, we choose another hotel.
Just a side note...we recently traveled through southern Ontario, staying in the Howard Johnson en route. While the local calls were free, the phone system was apparently not able to make calls to cell phones. The friend we were visiting only had a cell phone, so it was terribly inconvenient. I had to download Skype on my laptop (which took me about two frustrating hours over a free but VERY SLOW Internet connection) and then go buy a headset in order to be able to make phone calls from the hotel to this friend. Very frustrating. Although I like having Skype on my laptop now.
