Wireless Internet is ushering in a new paradigm shift in the hotel industry. There’s a tremendous demand for wireless access – for overnight guests, corporate use, and for conferences and trade shows. Video streaming, audio streaming and voice-over-IP will all be competing for the same Internet pipe with email and Web surfing. This is compounded by the growing trend for trade shows and conferences to offer high-speed wireless data service to their attendees, which can slow Internet traffic to a crawl.
How easily can you deploy wireless Internet access, and how nimbly can you manage an increasingly complicated field of usage types, how much (meaning “how often” or “how much does it cost”?), when does it start, stop, and for whom? All of these impact a hotel’s bottom line. Significantly.
Wireless Internet is very much here to stay. And that’s good because it can do two things: create a strong differentiator between your property (or properties) and the competition, and serve as a revenue-generation stream.
Managing Bandwidth
Gone are the days when in-room Wi-Fi was meant for guests who were simply checking email. Streaming video, peer-to-peer downloads, audio and soon-to-be-ubiquitous voice-over-IP programs are today’s bandwidth hogs. Managing bandwidth is a challenge that presents unique issues to hotels because of the myriad types of people looking to utilize the service in a number of different capacities.
A key solution is to selectively allocate bandwidth. For instance, a trade show that may require huge capacity for streaming video and heavy Internet use by attendees will need a larger allocation than, say, hotel rooms during the day. A flexible wireless management system could switch these roles in the evening shifting the higher priority to the hotel’s overnight guests and away from the convention floor.
The Right Bandwidth Drives Business
The ability to switch bandwidth practically at will can really save the day for a frazzled manager juggling multiple conferences at a large facility with many guest rooms. It also can increase guest satisfaction to help drive new business, so being able to make changes “on the fly” can make, or break, your bottom line.
The Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina is an example of how allocating bandwidth adds value for customers. The hotel implemented the Meeting Room Manager solution from PSAV Presentation Services, a leading a/v and event technology provider in the hospitality industry. At a recent convention, the customer was looking for a way to keep audience attention focused during presentations. The Meeting Room Manager allowed the hotel sales manager to restrict Internet access to only those presenting on stage. The client was floored, and said the audience was more engaged than with most of their other events.
Needless to say, that client will likely come back next season.
The PSAV Meeting Room Manager is used in conjunction with a service management and access control solution from Aptilo Networks. Service management and access control is part of the software end of a wireless installation. It’s the critical point where decisions - such as who accesses the wireless service, when, where, how much bandwidth, etc. - are made. It’s also the place where security rules are implemented, so employing a robust, flexible solution at the service management point is where your wireless service can stand out.
Unfortunately, the decision as to which service management solution is part of your network is often made at the end of the installation process. Be sure to ask about the capabilities of this critical part of the deployment at the beginning, so you’ll be ready to leverage the full benefits of a truly flexible, robust wireless solution.
Tiered, Premium Services Generate Revenue
Making an investment in wireless offers many opportunities for generating new revenue streams. Adding wireless Internet to your pricing structure for overnight guests can certainly add to your bottom line. Providing that service to meetings and conventions can do the same.
Adding tiered pricing - where a guest (or meetings customer) pays for a certain amount of guaranteed bandwidth, a higher price for a wider pipe, etc. - can also have a significant impact. Premium services can be offered through tiered levels of bandwidth, which can be allocated for different rooms.
Capture Usage Data to Streamline Service
The La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA, is also using their wireless guest Internet access solution to capture usage data, so the hotel staff knows exactly who is using the bandwidth and how. This kind of information helps the sales team identify times and locations where the Internet usage is at its peak. For instance, if more bandwidth is being used in a hotel lounge than was previously expected, the on-site team can alter the service to accommodate guests.
Simple Interface for On-the-Ground Teams
Key to a successful wireless guest Internet service, especially for the hospitality sector, is the ability to make changes to the service immediately. Typically, sales staff roam the hotel grounds checking up on conference guests. When they’re approached by a meeting planner in urgent need of new access codes for unexpected guests, it is invaluable for the sales person to be able to take out their mobile device and generate new codes on the spot.
The same is true for front desk staff, who are responsible for generating vouchers or access codes for guests checking in. Distribution of access codes through the in-room TV system is another way to simplify the process. This also reduces the workload for front desk staff busy with other duties.
Once word gets out that your Internet solution is easy to use and to deploy, it will drive use (and more revenue). The La Costa Resort and Spa is a great example of this principle. The more manageable access has prompted more people to buy in, with an average of 10-15 additional people per day coming in to ask for access.
Hosted Wireless or Owned
Many hotel chains use a hosted (Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS) model of wireless Internet access. This is a huge benefit, as the complete administration, upkeep, support, etc., are all handled off-site. Even reporting and statistics are generated via this centrally managed solution. Alternatively, wireless guest Internet access can be owned and operated by the hotel, an option ideal for those with an experienced IT staff and the policy to operate the whole IT infrastructure in-house.
Billing
Simplified billing maximizes revenue opportunities. A flexible wireless guest Internet access system will allow numerous billing options. Prepaid is effective, where staff or the guest himself generates vouchers in advance, detailing how much (bandwidth) and how long the access is needed. Another option is to use SMS for delivering the access code. The guest’s identity is secured via their mobile phone number and tied to their specific guest Internet account.
Jason Guest is Account Manager, Americas, Aptilo Networks
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