Mr. Guest

Wi-Fi

Generating Revenue From In-room Wi-Fi

By Jason Guest, Account Manager, Americas, Aptilo Networks

Wireless Internet is changing the way business gets done in the hotel industry. There’s a tremendous demand for wireless access – for overnight guests and even for conferences and trade shows. It’s not just for email and Web surfing anymore. Video streaming, audio streaming and voice-over-IP are all competing for the same Internet pipe. 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.

This demand means opportunities for new revenue streams. Wireless has also created new ways for hotels to connect with their guests to generate loyalty.

Wireless Now a “Must-Have”

Offering in-room Wi-Fi is becoming a “must-have” for the hospitality industry. In the past guests would expect a hardline T-1 connection or cable (some hotels charge for the cable). This quickly became the standard. Now, however, with iPads, wirelessly enabled smartphones and other devices in every businessperson’s briefcase, pocket or pocketbook, the ability to jump onto a Wi-Fi connection in your room is quickly becoming the new expectation and the new standard. Many hotels tout in-room Wi-Fi in their marketing to compete for business.

Guests are using in-room Wi-Fi for more than just email. Today – in a shift that’s far different than, say, even five years ago – guests expect to be able to download movies onto their laptop, iPad or iPhone. They may be using a streaming video service such as Netflix or Hulu to watch their favorite flick or TV show, or watching videos on YouTube. They may be downloading music for the plane ride home, or just emailing very large PowerPoint files among colleagues.

Wi-Fi for Meetings and Conventions

Adding wireless Internet to your pricing structure for overnight guests can certainly add to your bottom line. Providing that service to meetings and conventions brings an even larger value that’s quickly becoming a must-have service for these customers as well. Being able to offer fast, reliable Internet access is a competitive differentiator that can generate revenue and make your property stand out.

A flexible system that allows the hotel to allocate bandwidth anywhere in the property, and quickly, is also a tremendous benefit. Imagine the ability to be able to deliver Internet service – at an instant – to a meetings customer who hadn’t planned on making Internet access available to their guests. Or the value you can bring to the customer who has an unexpected surge in attendees and needs additional Internet capacity allocated to an overflow room ASAP.

The improved end-user experience that bandwidth management will bring to guests in your hotel will ensure their repeat business at your property.

Generating Revenue from Tiered, Premium Services

High-bandwidth services all compete for the same Internet pipe, and they compete for bandwidth with other guests, conventions, meetings, events etc. This presents a problem and an opportunity: managing bandwidth appropriately and charging for premium access to that pipe.

Hotels can offer premium Internet service, meaning, higher bandwidth availability, to guests looking to be able to access these bandwidth-hungry applications. Premium services can also be offered through tiered levels of bandwidth. Adding tiered pricing is when a guest (or meetings customer) pays for a certain amount of guaranteed bandwidth, a higher price for a wider pipe etc. Tiered levels of bandwidth can be allocated for different rooms or even areas of the hotel (such as a meetings hall or even the lobby).

Managing Bandwidth Appropriately

Managing bandwidth is a challenge that presents unique issues to hotels because of the many types of constituencies looking to utilize the service in a number of different capacities – these include in-room guests, lobby visitors, and meetings clients.

A key solution is to selectively allocate bandwidth. For instance, a trade show which may require huge capacity for streaming video and heavy Internet use by attendees by day will need a larger allocation than, say, hotel rooms. 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.

Using Bandwidth to Build Business

The Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina is an example of how the ability to allocate bandwidth for a meetings customer adds value. They 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 was deployed 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 is the critical point where decisions such as who accesses the wireless service, when, where, how much bandwidth, etc. is made. It is also the place where security rules are implemented, so employing a robust, flexible solution at the service management point is critical.

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 important part of the deployment at the beginning, so you’ll be ready to leverage the full benefits of a truly flexible, robust wireless solution.

Supporting On-the-ground Teams

A simple administration interface on a mobile device helps staff make changes to the service immediately. Typically, service and sales staff roam the hotel grounds checking up on conference or hotel guests. When approached by a meetings 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 Internet access codes for hotel guests checking in. The faster the process the better it is for your staff and the guest. 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, that also drives use (and more revenue). The La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California 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.

Capture Usage DataI

The La Costa Resort and Spa is using their wireless guest Internet access solution to capture usage data, so they know exactly who is using the bandwidth, where it is being used (in the lobby or in the room, for example) and what kind of bandwidth is needed. This kind of information helps the sales team identify times and locations where the Internet use 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 so the bandwidth will be greater where it is needed and at the right times.

Billing

Simplified billing maximizes revenue opportunities. A flexible wireless guest Internet access system will allow for a myriad of billing options. Prepaid is effective, where staff or the guest himself generates vouchers in advance detailing how long the access is needed, and how much (bandwidth). 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 and/or credit card.

A commonly used method of billing is to integrate the charging of the Internet service with the hotel’s PMS (property management system) so that the guests can be charged via their hotel bill.

For the La Costa Resort and Spa, ease-of-use has prompted a significant increase in wireless service purchases. With a simplified login process, easy administration and optimal Internet speed always available in the right locations, guest satisfaction is at an all-time high.

Jason Guest is an Account Manager for Aptilo Networks, the global leader in pre-integrated management solutions for control of billing, user services and access in Wi-Fi, WiMAX™ and LTE networks. Mr. Guest is responsible for sales in North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Prior to joining Aptilo, Mr. Guest was responsible for information technology sales at Regus plc., the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions. While there he helped to introduce and implement the sales strategy for a new information technology products and services division. Mr. Guest can be contacted at 917-414-9262 or jason.guest@aptilo.com Extended Bio...

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