Question : Another wireless networking utility is communicating with the wifi adapter

I am getting this message and don't know how to sort it out - whilst ensuring that I do not lose the conneection that I have. ( I am away from home in a foreign coutry.. Currently I am using a vodafone dongle to connect.  However I am unable to topup that account with money as I cannot access the account online, the computer/web page will not let me enter my pin number).  But whilst I have the connectivity I do have via the dongle I want to understand why I am getting the message  "Another wireless networking utility is communicating with the wifi adapter" even when the dongle is not in use.  Please can you help me configure this so that it does not upset the dongle connection availability as well.  The hotel here has a free wifi connection that I should be able to use.  
I am a total complete beginner with Wifi.  If I am in the wrong zone here please advise.
Thanks

Answer : Another wireless networking utility is communicating with the wifi adapter

More info would be usefull, such as what brand/model laptop you have, what WiFi card it has in it (if known), the operating system used...

You should be able to unplug the vodafone adapter (3G adapters sometime disable all other network adapters so you can't share their connection with ICS), and connect to the hotel wifi using the information they provide. Often they'll have time-limited codes you need to input; other sites include it in the room charge, and use no encryption. In the latter case I would limit my surfing on that connection since anyone would be able to capture your session and essentially replay everything you do (exposing usernames, passwords, et cetera) if not connected via secure sockets layer (e.g. SSL or https sites).