Has anyone find a workaround for 40-bit WEP hotel connections?

Has anyone found a way to connect to 40-bit hotel routers using WEP security? I am stuck (again) at a hotel that uses WEP and nothing I have read here or elsewhere will make it connect successfully. I get timeouts or else a self-assigned IP. Nice. Even my bottom-end Android tablet connects perfectly but my Macbook Air (late 2011) will not connect at all. Why?

What really angers me is that I CAN connect to the internet using my iPhone 4s. The iPhone connects to the WEP router easily and I can then connect my MBA to the phone. It smokes my battery so it is not a solution but does prove that Apple is full of BS regarding WEP. The iPhone supports WEP so why not a Mac?! Thanks in advance.