Do most smallish (RS style) hotels have wifi now?

I agree with the others, I have found that most hotels have it. Some require one to pay for its use, which I usually don't. WIFI hotspots are easily found in most cities. So, don't feel you must rely on hotels only for internet access. I take my Itouch. I can check email, websites, text using TEXTNOW, and listen to music or podcasts. I, too, take a Kindle, but prefer using my touch.

Yes and no. Most likely it does but once you find out the name of the hotel check the website or call the RS travel advisors. Personally, I'd take the Kindle.

My experience is that most places have it. Often it might only be available in the lobby, but for just checking email it works fine. Some places do charge, especially if it's available in the room.

It is a lottery. Most hotels that are staffed all time will have wi-fi, but sometimes it is spotty, and prices vary wildly (from free to outrageously expensive).

I have all of my booking for a 14 day trip to Germany (Freilassing, Berchtesgaden, Frasdorf, Zwiesel, Bad Schandau, and Freising) and Czech Rep (Prague). Of 7 places, 3 (6 nights) have Wifi (called WLAN over there). For the rest of the time, I plan to get a SIM for the air card that attaches to my netbook (www.pennymobil.de). It will give me unlimited Internet access for €2,49/day). BTW, I would describe most of my accommodations as "sub-RS".

Thanks for the responses. Actually, I don't have the Fire yet & am trying to decide if I 'need' one. I already have a Kindle 2 for reading and an IPad 1 which I will not take as it's too heavy & bulky. But, the fire is about the same size & weight as my kindle reader which I plan to take. I'm wondering if between hotels and cafes, I might find enough free wifi to make buying the Fire a reasonably good idea.

On my previous trip in 2009 (Germany & Austria, 13 nts), only 2 places (3 nts) where I stayed had WLAN. In four other places (8 nts) I was able to find WLAN connections (Internet cafes, TI office, etc), although they weren't always convenient (limited hours in some). Once I used a stand-at Internet terminal in a hospital lobby (at least it was free) because the cafe was closed when I finished my day's sightseeing. Innsbruck had free WLAN Internet access all over town, but they had Hotmail blocked so I couldn't get to my email.

Rose, Which ETBD tour will you be taking? I've found over the past few years, that most tour Hotels have offered Wi-Fi. This is usually free, but occasionally there's a charge. For some reason, it's usually the more "upscale" Hotels that charge. The tour Hotel in Brussels charged €5 per hour for Wi-Fi, so I resorted to walking across the street to the T.I. as it was possible to get a signal standing outside (even if the office was closed), and it was free! It's usually necessary to obtain a Password from the front desk, and this is usually changed every 24-hours. Italy seems to have the most rigorous password requirements. In some cases Wi-Fi is only provided in the Lobby area, but more commonly it's also available in the rooms. Most of it works well, although I experienced some "difficulties" at one Hotel in Italy last year, as the Wi-Fi was somewhat intermittent. My suggestion would be to pack along the Kindle Fire as you shouldn't have any problem finding Wi-Fi on the tours. Happy travels!

Exclusively in B&Bs for my latest trip...all had Wi-Fi. Three of the four places were quite small...two had two rooms each, and one had three. So, it's often available at even the smallest places these days. Also, try Google searching Free Wi-Fi and add whatever country you're visiting...you should get a wiki with a list of free Wi-Fi spots in cities throughout the country.

Thanks everyone. I ordered the KF today. It's no bigger than the Kindle reader I planned to take & there's a good chance I'll be able to send/read emails and save on phone calls home. It's not an extravagance. It's a bargain:)

Everywhere we stayed on two recent trips (Nova Scotia/Maine and Ireland/London) had wifi; most of the places didn't even require a password to log on. With one exception, all of the accommodation was either B and B or small inns and the wifi was free. The one exception was a large Marriott (chosen for its harbour view) which wanted $15 per night to use the wifi.

Just returned from a trip to France, and would agree with everything Ken of Vernon, Canada said. Small hotels usually have WiFi and don't charge but require a password, and service is sometimes only in the lobby. Bar/cafes can also be a good place to use WiFi. Just look for the sign.

Every hotel had it on our recent trip, including little pensions with bathrooms down the hall. Some of the signals/bandwidth weren't very good.

Went on the Venice-Florence-Rome Tour last fall. All hotels had wi-fi..mostly available in a lobby or computer
room. It was free..all you needed was the password.

We found Wi-Fi in several small places we stayed but the bandwidth was often a bit limited. You could easily do your email and things but for me, I needed a bit more bandwidth for my project work which I'm dumb enough to take with me.