Learn Hardcore German: Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos. - The Wi‑Fi in the hotel is free of charge.

WLAN is an abbreviation of Wireless Local Area Network. In everyday German, WLAN is the standard word for what English speakers usually call Wi‑Fi.

So:

das WLAN = the Wi‑Fi / wireless network

Why is it das WLAN and not der or die WLAN?

Every German noun has a grammatical gender: masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das).

By convention, WLAN is neuter, so it always takes das in the singular:

das WLAN – the Wi‑Fi
ein WLAN – a Wi‑Fi / a wireless network
kein WLAN – no Wi‑Fi

There’s no logical rule that would let you predict the gender of WLAN; you simply have to learn das WLAN as a fixed chunk.

What exactly is im in im Hotel?

im is a contraction of:

in + dem = im

So im Hotel literally means “in the hotel”.

in dem Hotel – grammatically correct, but sounds stiff in speech
im Hotel – natural everyday German

You use dem because Hotel is neuter (das Hotel) and after the preposition in (meaning location “in”), you need the dative case:

das Hotel (nominative)
im Hotel = in + dem Hotel (dative)

Why is it the dative case in im Hotel?

The preposition in can take either dative (location) or accusative (movement):

Wo? (Where? → location) → dative
Wohin? (To where? → movement) → accusative

In the sentence:

Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos.

we are talking about where the Wi‑Fi is free (location: in the hotel), not moving anywhere. So we use the dative:

in dem Hotel → im Hotel (dative, location)

Why is it kostenlos and not kostenlose or kostenloses?

In “ist kostenlos”, kostenlos is a predicate adjective after the verb sein (“to be”). Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings.

Compare:

Predicate adjective (no ending):
- Das WLAN ist kostenlos.
  (The Wi‑Fi is free.)
Attributive adjective (with ending before a noun):
- das kostenlose WLAN
  (the free Wi‑Fi)

So:

After sein, werden, bleiben, adjectives usually have no endings:
- Das Hotel ist groß.
- Das WLAN ist kostenlos.
Before a noun, they do get endings:
- ein großes Hotel
- kostenloses WLAN

Can I say „Das WLAN im Hotel ist gratis / umsonst“ instead of kostenlos?

Yes, but with some nuance:

kostenlos – the most neutral and common in formal and informal contexts.
gratis – also common, a bit more “advertising” / catchy style:
- Gratis-WLAN im Hotel!
umsonst – can mean:
- free of charge, but also
- in vain / for nothing (wasted effort)

In this specific sentence:

Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos. → perfect and neutral
Das WLAN im Hotel ist gratis. → fine, a little more casual/advertising style
Das WLAN im Hotel ist umsonst. → understandable, but many speakers first think of “for nothing / wasted” if context is unclear, so it’s not the safest choice on an info sign.

Is “frei” a correct alternative to “kostenlos” here?

Be careful with frei:

frei can mean:
- free / available / vacant (not occupied)
- free in the sense of liberty

For Wi‑Fi, frei often suggests:

open / not password‑protected
available, not necessarily without cost

So:

Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos.
→ clearly: you don’t have to pay for it.
Das WLAN im Hotel ist frei.
→ could mean: it’s open/available (no password), not automatically that it’s free of charge.

To say “does not cost money,” kostenlos (or gratis) is the safest standard choice.

Can I change the word order, e.g. „Im Hotel ist das WLAN kostenlos“?

Yes. German word order is quite flexible as long as the finite verb stays in the second position in main clauses.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos.
→ neutral; topic starts with “Wi‑Fi in the hotel”.
Im Hotel ist das WLAN kostenlos.
→ puts more emphasis on “in the hotel” as the place with free Wi‑Fi.
Kostenlos ist das WLAN im Hotel.
→ marked / emphatic, focusing on the fact that it is free.

They all mean essentially the same, but the focus changes slightly.

How do you pronounce WLAN and kostenlos in German?

Approximate English-like pronunciation:

WLAN:
- W like English V
- L as in English
- A like “father”
- N as in English
  → [ˈveːlaːn] (roughly “VAY-lahn”)
kostenlos:
- ko like “kaw” in “coffee” (short ‘o’)
- sten similar to “shten” (the st at the beginning of a syllable often sounds like “sht”)
- los like “lohs” (long ‘o’)
  → [ˈkɔstn̩loːs], roughly “KOST-n-lohs” (with a short ‘o’ in the first syllable, long ‘o’ in the last)

Why is Hotel capitalized?

Because Hotel is a noun, and all nouns in German are capitalized.

In the sentence:

Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos.

the capitalized words WLAN and Hotel are both nouns.
Adjectives like kostenlos stay lowercase unless they are at the beginning of the sentence or part of a proper name.

Why don’t we say „Das Internet im Hotel ist kostenlos“ instead of „Das WLAN…“?

You could say:

Das Internet im Hotel ist kostenlos.

but it’s not exactly the same:

das WLAN – refers specifically to the wireless network you connect to (Wi‑Fi).
das Internet – the internet connection in general, possibly via cable, or conceptually the service.

In hotel contexts, WLAN usually emphasizes wireless access for guests’ devices. Many hotels offer:

WLAN for guests in rooms and lobby,
maybe LAN (cable) for business desks, etc.

So “Das WLAN im Hotel ist kostenlos” is very natural on a sign or in information for guests.

Is „WLAN“ really more common than „Wi-Fi“ in German?

Yes. In Germany (and many other German‑speaking areas), WLAN is the standard everyday word:

Gibt es hier WLAN? – Do you have Wi‑Fi here?
WLAN-Zugang – Wi‑Fi access
WLAN-Passwort – Wi‑Fi password

People will understand Wi‑Fi, especially in techy or international contexts, but native speakers much more often say WLAN in normal conversation and on signs.