PSA: WiFi can get you on the Internet, but it is not the Internet

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

"continental breakfast" means "complimentary"

That one I think could be due to a few things

1) Our brains see those words are similar enough and associate the more commonly seen and used word such as complimentary
2) Continental is not in our normal jargon to use except in hotel usage
3) mid-to-lower end hotels often have it as free and people get used to it (though that is changing it seems in the industry).

I've never confused the two but I can see why some people would mostly because continental is just an uncommon word, it's a type of breakfast but not how people in everyday life describe their breakfasts.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is like hotels advertising 'Parking is available'. None of us here are confused about what that means.

To be fair on that one a hotel isn't always upfront there. To clear confusion it's much better for a hotel to use "paid parking" vs "complimentary or free parking" rather than parking is available which just means they have it on site. At least at a hotel where it can go either way, could depend on the franchise owner, etc

For example the Hyatt we're staying at in Atlanta next month next to the airport just lists self parking. You have to go to a different area of the website to find out it is a charge for parking. Now sure you could make the case that self parking is in contrast to valet parking but would it have been difficult for the hotel to have just added "paid self parking" or if they just used symbols to use the dollar sign with it.

The OP's example of wifi is a tad different there as wifi itself is different especially in 2025.