I've been doing a bit more traveling lately and as a standard practice I've used a small TP-Link travel router while in hotels. Usually its main function has been to work as a WiFi repeater to boost the WiFi signal into the room. Some hotels still have active CAT5 jacks which would usually result in even faster performance without having to be throttled to paid wifi. Now that It's about 5 years old, it seems a bit sluggish.
Last week I upgraded to a GL.iNet GL-MT1300 (Beryl) travel router. Amazon product ASIN B08MKZXGBY This little guy is really a full function router with built in capability to connect through paid VPN services. I set it up at home last week to connect through my paid ProtonVPN service using Wireguard protocol. Thus weekend I had my first chance to test it out while staying at a Hampton Inn. The router has a phone app interface so that I could easily connect to the hotel WiFi and input my room number and last name into their login gateway. The router connected right away and created my own personal WiFi network that was routed through ProtonVPN. It worked flawlessly and my wife liked it even better because once she setup the travel router login on her phone she didnt have to keep logging into the hotel WiFi each time we left and came back to the room. I tested out some youtube videos which played without interruption. A speedtest comparing the hotel WiFi direct connection with the VPN connection through the travel router both yielded about 9.4Mbps DL speed and 1.5Mbps Upload speed. Crappy when compared to my home network but about normal for free hotel wifi.
So if you do a lot of traveling and want to maintain a bit more control and security over you internet connections while traveling, you may want to look into getting a travel router with VPN. The Beryl is $69 but the next model down the Opal is only $35 and operates at 300mbps max which is still way more bandwidth than you would likely find at any hotel.
Last week I upgraded to a GL.iNet GL-MT1300 (Beryl) travel router. Amazon product ASIN B08MKZXGBY This little guy is really a full function router with built in capability to connect through paid VPN services. I set it up at home last week to connect through my paid ProtonVPN service using Wireguard protocol. Thus weekend I had my first chance to test it out while staying at a Hampton Inn. The router has a phone app interface so that I could easily connect to the hotel WiFi and input my room number and last name into their login gateway. The router connected right away and created my own personal WiFi network that was routed through ProtonVPN. It worked flawlessly and my wife liked it even better because once she setup the travel router login on her phone she didnt have to keep logging into the hotel WiFi each time we left and came back to the room. I tested out some youtube videos which played without interruption. A speedtest comparing the hotel WiFi direct connection with the VPN connection through the travel router both yielded about 9.4Mbps DL speed and 1.5Mbps Upload speed. Crappy when compared to my home network but about normal for free hotel wifi.
So if you do a lot of traveling and want to maintain a bit more control and security over you internet connections while traveling, you may want to look into getting a travel router with VPN. The Beryl is $69 but the next model down the Opal is only $35 and operates at 300mbps max which is still way more bandwidth than you would likely find at any hotel.