In recent years, fast, reliable hotel WiFi has evolved from a guest perk to a standard expectation. The availability of WiFi has become a major factor in how people choose their accommodations, both for business and pleasure. It seems even small, independent hotels are now including “Free Hotel WiFi” on the ever-growing list of guest room amenities. So, is the mere promise of fast, reliable internet service enough? Not anymore. If you can’t back up that claim by actually offering a quality connection, you could be losing business to competitors with better hotel WiFi.
How Does Your Hotel WiFi Rate?
Hotel guests jaded by spotty service, limited bandwidth and slow speeds, no longer simply trust a hotel’s claim. It’s not uncommon for guest reviews to mention the WiFi experience and websites, such as HotelWiFiTest, now make it easy for guests shopping for a hotel to test the speed of your hotel WiFi before they even book. The service uses crowd-sourcing and machine learning to identify the best and worst hotel WiFi available by travel destination. It also allows users to leave a venue tip on foursquare or mention the hotel’s Twitter account in a tweet.
Why Do Good Hotels Have Bad WiFi?
An unfortunate truth is that many of the most expensive hotel chains have the worst hotel WiFi, but why?
Loyalty Programs
Business travelers, who are the most likely to balk at slow internet speeds, typically belong to loyalty programs, which often waive the fees associated with faster WiFi. If the hotel’s most valuable customers aren’t complaining, then they may feel they have little reason to upgrade their hotel WiFi network. And that’s exactly the type of thinking that allows small competitors to steal business from the large chains.
Old Contracts
Many luxury hotel chains were early adopters of hotel guest WiFi. The problem is that technology moves fast, and their WiFi network is now outdated and weak. For those who signed on with third-party service providers in the early years, they may feel stuck in long contracts with slow speeds and poor service. If this sounds like you, consult with a corporate lawyer who may be able to find a way out of these contracts.
Supply & Demand
It’s worth considering that the need for more bandwidth has increased exponentially in a short period of time. Guest rooms now have multiple devices clamoring for bandwidth, and hotels may simply be struggling to upgrade at the same rate. All the more reason to work with a hotel WiFi service provider who can provide scalability.
Bureaucracy
Small, independent hotels have less management to go through and a bigger financial incentive for repeat business, strong customer reviews and direct booking. Plus, for many chains, the decision of who to use for hotel WiFi may be out of their hands. Luckily, Deep Blue Communications is an approved hotel WiFi service provider for Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham Worldwide, Hyatt and more.
How Can You Make Your Hotel WiFi Better?
Deep Blue Communications continuously undergoes rigorous testing to meet and exceed the highest hospitality & hotel WiFi standards. We have engineered and installed over 2,500 WiFi networks since 2004, and we pride ourselves on having one of the most experienced, professional and knowledgeable WiFi engineering and WiFi installation crews in the industry.
To find out how we can help your business, request a site survey or call 1-838-386-1510 to speak with a hospitality & hotel WiFi business analyst.
