I recently stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel — the Spa King rooms are wonderful — and each room is provided with free, wired, Internet access.

I was astounded at the slow speed of my Internet connection when I first started using the Marriott provided backbone — but I washed off the slow by not expecting much for free.

Then I kicked in my VPN client and the Marriott broadband connection instantly came to life!  I was surfing on the Internet at incredibly fast speeds.  What a delight!

When I disconnected my VPN client my speed remained fast and clean. It was then I realized that Marriott loves business people and they cater to the high end needs of those on the move.

Most regular patrons don’t require — or even notice — a slow Internet connection while a business person will die-on-the-vine without a fast broadband connection.

The next day when I started my Internet connection — the speed was slow again — until I fired up my VPN client.

The key to getting a great Internet speed at a Courtyard Marriott is to fire up a VPN client — any VPN client — for a minute or two so the Marriott system “sees” you’re a “business” client with VPN intent and then stand back and watch out when you disconnect your VPN client as your overall Internet connection blossoms in what you expect it should have been from the start when making a regular web connection.