Challenge

While providing free Wi-Fi services as expected by today’s guests, Hotels leadership understood that to actually achieve satisfaction and not risk the property’s reputation, free Wi-Fi must come with the ability to offer a fast and uninterrupted online experience. With a majority of guests now attempting to connect multiple high-powered personal devices, the property realized that its existing network infrastructure could no longer cope with the demands placed on it. The Hotels therefore sought out an upgrade that could guarantee high-performance online connectivity throughout all on-site areas regardless of the number of devices attempting to connect at any one time.

In deciding to partner with Activeprism Technology, The Hotels was able to achieve this goal throughout the property by leveraging the company’s leading expertise and access to the latest in network infrastructure technology. By installing advanced Activeprism's access points in strategic areas for example, Activeprism Technology could ensure that guest devices would receive a strong, consistent and fast Wi-Fi signal regardless of their location within the hotel. Also vital was HIS’ ability to implement a network that could accommodate a multitude of devices attempting to connect at any one time, guaranteeing that each device obtains a sufficient level of bandwidth to operate online seamlessly.

To further ensure that guests are able to receive only the highest quality in Wi-Fi connectivity, Activeprism Technology also provides The Hotels with Net4Guest Guest WiFi Management software, the ability to monitor network health in real time as well as the ability to maintain direct control over usage at all times. Additional features include the ability to analyze the number of users online as well as the option to open tickets with 24/7 support, minimizing the risk that any arising issue will adversely affect guest satisfaction levels.

Project Requirements

Implement a Wi-Fi network upgrade able to accommodate a multitude of guest devices and capable of providing high-speed connectivity throughout all hotel areas.
Ensure ongoing high-quality performance of the network to prevent any reduction in guest satisfaction.

Solution

Utilize Activeprism Technology expertise and use of the latest in network technology to install advanced Activeprism's access point hardware within strategic areas, ensuring a fast, strong and consistent signal for all guest devices.
Provide hotel staff with the ability to monitor network health in real-time along with the ability to receive immediate customer support on a 24/7 basis..

oday, great Wi-Fi is seems to be more about just connecting devices,but actually it is about connecting people with your brand. People spend more than 50% of their time on Wi-Fi. Your guest network must be able to not only handle this growing traffic, but also to identify and engage your most loyal guests.A growing segment of hotel guests, called Silent Travellers by  Skift , rely more on technology than human interaction and connecting with this group can be difficult. By leveraging the Wi-Fi, you not only add value to their stay, you open up countless doors for guest engagement.

Below we outline The Top 5 Hotel WI-FI Hurdles And How To Overcome with NET4GUEST:

1. Just offering Wi-Fi isn’t good enough, it has to be great

It used to be that hotel Wi-Fi was all about speeds and feeds. Local hotel IT managers solved slow Internet performance by throwing more bandwidth at the problem. Today, with the proliferation of mobile devices and bandwidth-hogging applications, hotels need to constantly upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with the voracious demand.At the same time, infrastructure needs (and therefore costs) have gone up, guest's willingness to pay for Wi-Fi has plummeted. According to Hotel Management, most business travellers would book directly if they got free Wi-Fi. Additionally, more than half of all travellers read online reviews before booking a stay. If your online reviews reflect any negativity towards your Wi-Fi, you are sure to lose some of those direct bookings and potentially loyal guests.

2. Bandwidth is just the beginning of great Wi-Fi

Having a big enough bandwidth pipe to support your guest Internet needs is important, but it’s really just the beginning of delivering great guest Wi-Fi. Hotels need to think beyond just a bigger pipe to solve their Wi-Fi performance issues.Throwing more bandwidth at the problem isn’t always the answer. In fact, many hotels have plenty of bandwidth. They just have no way of managing or even seeing how that bandwidth is utilised across the property.

3. Disparate systems and providers make Wi-Fi hard to manage

Property-level networking is a tricky business. Historically, guest Wi-Fi was something that was managed at the property level with local information technology or general managers selecting the hardware and service provider to manage the experience. This practice resulted in different experiences at each location within a brand. From inconsistent login pages and processes to varying prices, the guest Wi-Fi experience left a lot to be desired.A central authentication platform should make it easy to deliver high-performance Wi-Fi across all devices, locations, and providers. Dynamic authentication options, from short-form to Passpoint™ to social authentication, allow you to deliver a Wi-Fi experience that guest loves.A robust central authentication platform (like Eleven) streamlines the delivery of great guest Wi-Fi.

4. Wi-Fi is a commodity that’s hard to monetise

It’s important that we have started to shift the way we think about Wi-Fi. It’s no longer just an IT function; it is a true business asset. Investing in Wi-Fi should be a crucial part of your loyalty strategy. It’s important that you, your staff and meeting planners have control over the Internet service offered to various audiences, including hotel guests, conference attendees, and loyalty members. Not only is it valuable for guests to be able to choose their own plan, you can also recoup some of your network costs this way. In fact a recent study of ours showed that 17% of guests chose a higher tier of Internet service when given the option.

5. Managing guest Wi-Fi is too expensive

Delivering and maintaining a great guest Wi-Fi experience is an investment in guest loyalty, but it doesn’t have to be too expensive. In fact, this final hurdle isn’t really a hurdle after all. For the same cost as stocking your guest rooms with shampoo, you can deliver killer guest Wi-Fi. You won’t lose loyalty over some lousy shampoo, but you will over poor Wi-Fi.

overcome all the wi-fi hurdles in your hotel by just choosing a solution with https://www.activeprism.net/net4guest.html

 Hotel Wifi Management Problems And How To Fix Them

1. Till recently, hotel Wi-Fi access per night was less than 20 percent of the available room nights - not the actual room nights rented. Now hotel Wi-Fi access per night is well over 80, if not 90 percent of all the rooms rented. Those subtle differences in how things are tracked change the whole game a lot. Today, leisure travellers are known as heavy bandwidth users, while normal business guests are considered moderate consumers. Due to the influx of handheld / mobile devices, average leisure travellers carry at least three net devices for their location. Hence, a family of four could have as many as 12 devices in a single room. Multiply this number by 100, 150 or even 300 guest rooms, and the number of connections becomes a little overwhelming – enough to crash any unplanned network. If all log-on to the hotel’s network simultaneously, even the best network could experience major strain, causing guest frustration and ultimately, dissatisfaction.

SOLUTION:By using Activeprism’s Net4Guest Software, the guest can be allotted specified bandwidth and even FUP(Fair Usage Policy) can be implemented.

2. The list of handheld / mobile devices are multiplying day-by-day. New devices with much higher capabilities and bandwidth requirements are appearing in the market. Many hotels are increasingly coming under pressure by the flood of these net enabled systems (like, iPads, smartphones, eBook readers and portable gaming devices), arriving to the hotel as guest devices. Little they have realised that this trend towards BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is gaining momentum and this is going to place a big burden on to the hotel networks. Further, modern gadgets like Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, travellers pocket router, etc are changing the economics of how hotel Wi-Fi is being abused.

SOLUTION:To overcome such issues, Net4guest provides QoS( Quality of service ) and bandwidth management functions in hotel wifi network.

3. Recently, I was called by one of my old clients for troubleshooting one of the unique issues they were facing on their Wi-Fi. The hotel offers Free Wi-Fi as one of its prime attractions. Despite having the best Wi-Fi coverage and well worked out backend Internet Bandwidth (BW), they were routinely getting negative feedback from some of their guests – specially from foreign leisure travellers. System logs revealed that each one of them consumed several GB's of data during each day of their stay – still complaints? Since there was no BW throttling, the guest felt that Free Wi-Fi means, unlimited BW, unlimited downloads!

SOLUTION:Whether your Hotel is interested in improving Wi-Fi coverage, internet speed, login simplicity, security or even reducing costs, Activeprismwould love an opportunity to present some options.

Every Hotel is unique so every solution is customised to meet the needs of that particular Hotel.

Whether you choose to charge your guests for Wi-Fi or give away unlimited free Wi-FI, Activeprism has a solution for you. We have a range of different login gateway's available which are customised with your Hotel's branding.

With every new enquiry, we like to sit down with you in order to get a gauge of what you are looking to achieve. Our technical team will conduct a full site survey of the property and we will come back with a cost-effective solution and quote.

We released the SMS Authentication option.

When turned ON, users have to enter a phone number on the landing page and they will receive the UserID/password through SMS in the mobile which they can use to login to WiFi Zone.


The SMS authentication can be used for the following purposes:

- In some countries (f.e. Pisanu Law in Italy) user identification is necessary in public hotspots

- You can turn this option ON if you want to reduce the abuse of the system

- You can collect phone numbers and send information, advertisements, etc. to those phone numbers (especially useful in free hotspots). WARNING: You have to replace the NOTE text and tell users that they will get SMS messages if you want to use their phone numbers for this purpose. 

WiFi in hotels

Wi-Fi Systems for the Hospitality Industry

Wireless high-speed Internet access is quickly becoming a service that business travelers as well as consumers are expecting at hotels, convention centers, and other hospitality establishments. Hospitality management sees broadband wireless access as a way to maximize occupancy, increase customer satisfaction.

When evaluating Wi-Fi for your property ask yourself these questions:

How many residents used your pool today?  5?
 How many residents used your gym today?  10?
How many residents used the internet today?  Everyone !

We understand the problems that poorly designed WiFi systems cause for hotels – room switches, lost repeat business, general dissatisfaction. With Activeprism system, your guests are provided with safe and reliable Internet access no matter what time of day or night. Our services ensure that guests have a 5-Star experience when connecting to the Internet, so they’ll be happy to come back, and even recommend your property to their friends and associates.
Your guests aren’t the only ones who will love a Activeprism's Net4Guest WiFi system. 

Your staff will not need to handle any guest support issues and can concentrate on customer service. And since all of our systems exceed brand standards, ownership and brand executives will be thrilled as well.

It’s time to improve the way you experience the Internet while adding a vital amenity to your property. Forward-thinking property managers and owners are looking to ActivePrism to bring wireless Internet to their properties. WiFi connectivity makes a property more attractive, competitive, and more modern by enabling users to make use of high-speed Internet services that are fast and easy. With simplicity, reliability, and efficiency at our core, we are revolutionizing wireless delivery of Internet services to communities of all sizes.