I own and run a hotel that has 3 internet connected computers that the guests can use for a fee per minute. Till now I always simply kept track how many minutes they used a computer, and put the appropriate amount on their bill. It would be much easier though, if I could use the system that is used in many internet shops: customers pay a certain amount beforehand, and than get a slip of paper with a password that enables them to log on and use the internet for a certain number of minutes. Does anybody know where to find the software to set up such a system? Ideally it should also be possible that I can check how many minutes a guest has left unused, so that I can give a refund when the guest leaves. Thanks for any replies.

Hi,

I'd be interested in something similar.

At the moment all of our PC's are wifi connected and we do allow wifi connections for those customers with their own laptops, in those cases we use DLink kit - a DSA3100 with ticket printer. This could work in your situation, but you probably dont want to install new (wifi) hardware just to print tickets.

For our (wifi connected) desktop PCs, I have the FREEWATCH freeware program front-ending all internet access programs (IE, FF, MSN, SKYPE etc), so a timer pops up whenever one of those apps is opened. It's not ideal, but it could probably be expanded to print or display a ticket.

I think NETTIME is the sort of application you're looking for, but I didn't have much success trialling it.

Two of the easiest, no-brainer ways: Skyrove and Instant HotSpot

For folks with the technical know-how, there is Chillispot.

Google "hotspot software" for more.