One of the ways, hotels run up the bill is through charges for phone service.

So it's refreshing to hear about a hotel chain that is offering phone service with Skype as a guest service to save money for the chain and its customers.

TMCnet's Shireen Dee reports on how the Firmdale Hotels, boutique chain in London and soon New York,
Is using VoSKY's system with Skype in conjunction with an existing telecom system to lower calling costs.

"The PBX-to-Skype Gateway enables customers to make overseas calls using Skype, and as a result is making Firmdale Hotels more popular among its guests," Dee said. "Using VoSKY's system, customers can now contact the hotels via the Internet, with no charges, thereby making a significant reduction in international calling costs."

Mark Rupert Read, group IT manager at Firmdale Hotels, said in a statement. "It was also extremely easy to integrate with our existing infrastructure, as it's literally plug and play."

He added: "We have been receiving up to 50 Skype calls per day, and our customers and partners themselves have remarked on the positive difference it has made to them."