Wifi solutions for the accommodation industry

Q&A with industry experts: What you need to know about wifi

AccomNews Wednesday, February 23, 2022

0 6 minutes read

The need for speed is real when it comes to wifi. AccomNews asked what wifi solutions do accommodation properties need to provide and how?

The demand for your wifi system across your whole accommodation property increased exponentially once COVID restrictions changed work and leisure practices and expectations. Your guests and staff want more, therefore AccomNews put some important questions to several experts in the field.

Here is a taster but you will find full Q&A in the new Summer edition of our AccomNews magazine.

Expert: Rob Fleischer. Role: Technology Solutions Manager, Delion

Q. How have guest wifi needs changed since COVID?

A. COVID has increased guest wifi usage because guests have tended to spend more time in their rooms. COVID hasn’t changed the trends in wifi, but rather accelerated them.

Q. How can accom managers/operators deliver internet service to guests while also marketing smarter?

A. Guests just want to connect so they can get online. They don’t want to be hit with advertisements. The faster they can connect the happier they will be. However, guests also accept that there are some hurdles to getting online. Logging in to the service is an accepted part of using the hotel wifi.

As part of this login process hotels can get some marketing and operational benefits. Asking the guest for their email address as part of logging into the wifi is readily accepted and offers the hotel lots of benefits. Gathering, not only the booking guests’ email but the email of all the guests using the wifi is a great way to build an email database. Hotels can remove the annoying request on registration cards for the guest to complete their email (and no need to transcribe it into a database). This constantly growing database can then be used to market to the guests during or after their stay.

The wifi can also be used to engage your guests during their stay if done smartly. For example, we have seen great outcomes by asking guests to rate their stay when logging in. It has to be quick and simple and under no circumstance compulsory or lengthy. A quick “rate how many stars you would give us” is very effective in building feedback, identifying unhappy guests, and using the wifi as an entry point for further guest interaction.

Q. What solutions ensure a high-quality service is maintained throughout the whole property – conference rooms, in-room guest services, pool, bars, restaurants and the administration network?

A. It’s all about design, monitoring, support and experience. The old days of throwing up an access point here and there are gone. Guest behaviour and usage today means wifi has become a highly specialised business with real challenges.

Too many access points and interference increases and it affects the service. The wrong access point and more than a few guests connecting at the same time means streaming services won’t work. Manufacturers will say their devices can connect 200 users simultaneously, but it’s a bit like when you buy a car, and the manufacturer gives you the fuel efficiency. You never get the results the manufacturer says you can get. So, experience is important. Knowing the real capability of the hardware being installed and not just what the specs say.

Monitoring and support are also big keys to success. Problem areas need to be identified and solutions found. An area with weak signal strength won’t go away and the hotel or wifi provider needs to be constantly reviewing performance and investigating any problem areas.

Q. Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers about your industry?

A. Wifi has been a weakness for many hotels for many years. It’s understandable. The rise in usage and changes in guest behaviour have made new systems redundant relatively quickly. Wifi and internet connectivity represents a cost that traditionally hoteliers never faced and those costs have continued to increase. At the same time, the number of companies that have the skills and expertise to deliver well-designed solutions has diminished. Both guests and hoteliers are frequently frustrated by the wifi.

However, guests today expect good wifi. It’s not going away, and the guest expectations will demand good wifi or the guests will not stay at the hotel. Good wifi is becoming as ubiquitous as having sheets on the bed. The hotels that differentiate by offering good connectivity and the hotels that plan for the future will have a great advantage over those that don’t.

Expert: Jeff Rhode. Role: Director at Liveport

Q. How have guest wifi needs changed since COVID?

A. With many guests continuing to remain socially distanced within their rooms instead of venturing out into more public areas, property wifi services have become even more crucial in meeting guest needs and maintaining satisfying experiences. From entertainment to locating hotel information or requesting amenities, today’s guests want to be able to use personal devices as a safer, more convenient service alternative that requires a working and trouble-free internet connection. More guests simultaneously using a property’s wifi to accommodate a growing range of online behaviours has stretched the capabilities of networks which for a significant number of properties, means the need to perform an upgrade to maintain fast speeds and high service quality. As guest-facing services increasingly become digitalized, including the availability of digital keys, self-service kiosks and mobile app-based F&B ordering, property networks will undoubtedly require additional infrastructural investments as issues such as insufficient bandwidth become more prevalent.

Q. What wifi flexibility is required to meet the variety of guests’ needs and the demands within different types of accommodation properties?

A. A hotel’s wifi is now expected to accommodate a wide range of online guest behaviours, from browsing websites and content streaming to hosting video conferences and downloading files. However, guest needs are constantly evolving especially when it comes to technology. A network once able to comfortably address guest connectivity expectations over the last couple of years may no longer have the capacity to accommodate more bandwidth intensive behaviours. To sidestep the need for a costly network replacement each time either technology or guest expectations progress, hoteliers must work to adapt scalable networks that can be enhanced with new capabilities and functionalities without calling for complete hardware overall. This can include common scenarios such as when a hotelier seeks to adopt faster speeds, enhance network security or expand effective wifi coverage to new onsite areas.

Q.What are the best solutions?

A. Wifi brands such as Ruckus or Aruba have a proven track record for meeting the industry’s needs and are approved for the most stringent of brand standards. For new network builds, Liveport recommends placing wireless access points in rooms where guests are located to ensure a strong and consistent signal, so hoteliers should be sure to add cat6 cabling in each room when planning out their network.

Q. Tell us about in-room connectivity solutions, how can accoms provide a reliable high-speed connection to meet standard expectations of today’s travellers?

A. Ensuring that guest devices receive a strong and consistent wifi signal comes down to effective network layout planning as much as it does siding with any particular type of hardware. For years, many property network designs consisted of access points being placed in hallways which while once sufficient, is no longer enough to accommodate today’s more high-powered devices. Hoteliers now recognize the need for such access points to be placed within guestrooms to ensure adequate signal penetration, and by working with a reputable provider, can design a network, placing access points within strategically located guestrooms to minimize costs without reducing service quality.

Expert: Judy Senn. Role: Director, Time Out Internet

Q. How have guest wifi needs changed since COVID?

A. The biggest change we have seen, particularly in the last few months with lockdowns prevalent, is the need for speed. Guests are travelling with at least 3 devices each. They are working on their holiday which is involving Zoom video calls and requiring a lot of bandwidth. Netflix is also releasing a lot of their new programs in 4K Ultra High Definition which automatically means you need 25 Mbps per device available to watch the show. With 80 percent of guests wanting to cast their own content and use their own subscriptions, security is of the utmost. You can’t have someone’s content being cast on the television in the unit next door.

The requirements for speed have doubled and tripled.

Q. Tell us about the future of wifi technology within hospitality?

A. I think you will see more voice activation requirements for in-room devices, such as lights, curtains and air conditioning. A lot of the fittings and fixtures are coming down in price so retrofitting properties is becoming more common practice and I think we will see more of it as prices reduce further.