Mr. Guest

Technology: Wi-Fi

In-Room Wi-Fi Success Stories: Rules to Live by

By Jason Guest, Account Manager, Americas, Aptilo Networks

Guest wireless is growing by leaps and bounds as today’s guests are bringing laptops, tablets, smartphones and even wireless-enabled gaming devices -- all in one room, and sharing a single broadband connection. Additionally, revenue-drivers such as video-on-demand are being cannibalized by on-demand movie streaming services.

How can today’s hotel keep up?

In-room wireless can be a huge opportunity to generate new revenue streams and cultivate loyalty. Tap into its full potential – and sidestep potential roadblocks – by following a few simple rules that will generate new revenue, cultivate customer loyalty and streamline your resources.

The “Capacity Crunch”

Bandwidth is a hot topic right now. At a recent hospitality-focused convention several speakers spoke about the “capacity crunch” that has descended upon the industry.

Why is this an issue now? Travelers of all types are bringing more wireless-enabled devices into hotels. Think of it: business travelers tote around a laptop, a smartphone and likely a tablet device for entertainment. Increasingly, these kinds of devices are Wi-Fi-enabled. Carriers appreciate Wi-Fi because it offloads some of the traffic from their data network, which is helping to drive the Wi-Fi ecosystem of products. Recreational travelers, too, bring laptops, smartphones, tablet devices and even gaming devices (such as the PSP, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360).

Guests are bringing in all of these devices to share the same Internet connection. One room must share an entire family’s myriad of devices. The same is true for business travelers.

Current Wi-Fi networks weren’t designed to handle all of these devices. Not too long ago, email access was the only application most users had for the Internet. Now, streaming video is nearly as common as email.

Manage Bandwidth

Managing bandwidth is critical to navigating this capacity crunch. A flexible wireless service management system will allocate bandwidth where it is needed most. Why feed, for instance, an empty convention center with a huge bandwidth pipe at 9pm when that bandwidth can go toward in-room guests?

The best solutions will allow on-site teams to “move” this bandwidth around very easily utilizing a common pool of Internet access. An example: if there is a large VIP gathering in the hotel lounge that is starting to eat up bandwidth, it is invaluable for desk staff to be able to accommodate the group with higher priority at a moment’s notice.

Capping Data

Capping data use is one way of simply putting a stop to heavy bandwidth use. One international chain caps users at a maximum bandwidth (for them it was 3-5 megabytes per second, or MB/s). Capping data use allows all guests to use the same amount of bandwidth, and no more. It frees up the network so that the hotel can anticipate bandwidth use. One of the downsides to capping is that it leaves little opportunity to generate additional revenue from the service.

Manage Expectations with Tiered Pricing

User expectations are high. Guests anticipate their hotel Wi-Fi connections will offer the same download speeds that they enjoy at home. With so many guests bringing so many Wi-Fi-enabled devices, all sharing the same bandwidth pipe, that’s a tall order.

Tiered pricing structures are a great way to meet and even exceed guest’s expectations, while giving the hotel a way to charge for the service. At check-in (or via the hotel’s Web-based splash page) guests are presented with options that can include faster data speeds and/or a larger “bucket” of data that can be used for the room, for a higher price. For instance, some guests may want to purchase 2 gigabytes of data to be shared among several devices. The hotel can sell that package at a premium price.

Bandwidth throttling is another alternative in addition to data capping or a tiered pricing structure. This is when the hotel gradually and automatically slows down the data speeds as the guest approaches their data download limit. The slowdown is made in steps as they cross certain download thresholds. Data speeds can go from a very fast 5MB/s down to something that will handle email and basic Web surfing only.

QoS

Employing Quality of Service (QoS) will ensure that no matter where you send the bandwidth, everyone who is using the Internet enjoys an exceptional user experience. If a guest has purchased 2GB of data, QoS will make sure that 2GB is available regardless of other users on the network.

Of course the user experience will be no better than the bandwidth you have back to the Internet. What QoS and bandwidth management allow you to do is to make sure that the people who paid a premium for extra bandwidth receive that bandwidth, and that the remaining bandwidth is divided evenly among the other users.

QoS will also allow the hotel to utilize every available bit of bandwidth they have. There’s no sense in having some availability go to waste if there’s a potentially high demand somewhere else – maximizing your opportunities to offer paid access.

Filter Out High-Bandwidth Applications

Peer-to-peer traffic from streaming media services – such as a streaming movie site or service -- is one of the biggest bandwidth hogs. Throttling is a good solution for this. Another is employing Deep-Packet Inspection (DPI) to eliminate this peer-to-peer traffic.

A DPI solution will “look into” or examine the data streams, digging deeper into the data to see what’s being used. It can then employ limits. For instance, DPI can allow lower-bandwidth applications or general Web surfing to go through, but stop streaming video services altogether.

Capture usage data

Make the most of strapped resources by capturing usage data, to see exactly where your bandwidth is being used the most, and how. This is critical especially in hotels that share Wi-Fi bandwidth with a convention or conference center.

The La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California is a great example of how capturing usage data helps them manage bandwidth. They are using the Meeting Room Manager solution from PSAV with Aptilo to identify times and locations where Internet use is at its peak. When they see that, for instance, more bandwidth is being used in a hotel lounge than was previously expected, the on-site team can alter the service’s bandwidth allocation to accommodate.

If paired with a paid Wi-Fi offering, one can see how understanding where and when Internet use is highest can be another way to generate revenue. Not to mention the customer satisfaction of offering exceptional Wi-Fi service where guests want it most.

Tying Customer Loyalty into Wi-Fi

Several hotel chains are tying their customer loyalty programs to the increased demand for Wi-Fi. At Omni Hotels, for instance, guests who sign up for their Select Guest loyalty program receive free in-room Wi-Fi. Membership in the program is free, and can be done online in advance of a guest’s arrival.

This idea of marrying Wi-Fi to loyalty programs is popular outside the U.S. as well. Aptilo customer Scandic is integrating their back-end system with their customer loyalty system. Doing so will allow VIP customers to login to the wireless Internet service with their personal username and password. To further improve efficiencies, Scandic is also looking at using SMS for sending out access codes to hotel guests.

Simplify Access

It is important that guests have a great experience with the wireless network even at the start of use. Make sure the Website splash page that greets guests at first signup clearly indicates how to access the wireless network, and details your pricing structure. Splash pages must also be adapted to handle different screen sizes to provide an excellent user experience even from a smartphone.

The splash page is also a branding opportunity for the hotel. The look of the splash page can be similar, yet different, for hotels in the same chain but different locations.

Wi-Fi Billing for Customer Loyalty

Busy guests appreciate a simplified billing process. Rolling Wi-Fi billing into a hotel’s Property Management System tacks wireless charges onto the hotel bill – a preferred method for business travelers. Guests can also receive an access code for Wi-Fi use via SMS on their cell phone, or even through their television.

Legal Intercept

Addressing today’s concerns for security, many governments require hotels to track and store their guests’ connection data, and to trace end users should that data be requested by law enforcement officials. Your service management system should employ this technology, called Legal Intercept.

In-room Wi-Fi is here to stay, and it’s going to grow in popularity with new devices being introduced every month. Stay ahead of the game with a strong wireless strategy that supports new trends, generates revenue and allows your network to grow.

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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