Thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices and the ubiquity of fast connections, Hospitality guests have an expectation of how a network should feel. When hotel networks don’t meet those expectations, the guest experience suffers.
It’s time for Hospitality properties that have been relying on the same network for years to seek out more modern solutions.
We are thrilled that Allbridge and Cisco Meraki have a trusted partnership to provide modern Wi-Fi and data networks designed to delight guests and future-proof your property as network needs inevitably change in the future.
Thanks to our partnership, your property can take advantage of Cisco’s cutting-edge network technology that mimics in-home networks and provides out-of-the-box analytics you can use to continually refine the guest experience. Meraki comes with all kinds of features—such as heat maps and location analytics—that give you a clear picture of what can be done to meet your guests’ needs on an even deeper level.
What’s more, you’ll also get access to Allbridge’s best-in-class installation, implementation, and support services—ensuring that you will be able to get up and running on your new network in no time.
Think your old network cuts it? Think again. Here are five reasons why Hospitality properties need to move to modern, cloud-based data and Wi-Fi networks if they haven’t already.
1. Wi-Fi is now seen as a requirement—not a nice-to-have
A decade ago, guests might have been pleasantly surprised to find out the hotel they were staying at offered Wi-Fi—and even more delighted if that service was complimentary.
However, much has changed over the last 10 years. Today, guests expect Hospitality properties to offer Wi-Fi. In the event this service isn’t provided, guests may decide to take their business elsewhere in the future—or, worse yet, leave bad reviews on sites such as Trivago and Expedia.
Having your Wi-Fi managed on the cloud also allows Allbridge to manage your bandwidth needs appropriately and troubleshoot issues proactively, relieving your internal IT team to focus on other priorities.
2. Guests want to connect their own devices to your network
A recent study found that the average American checks their smartphone 80 times a day. When guests are traveling, they are not going to give up this habit. They expect to be able to connect their own devices to your property’s network and use them the same way they would at home.
If you can’t meet these expectations, negative customer reviews may be in your property’s future. Because 84 percent of people trust customer reviews as if they were coming from their friends, this is a big deal.
3. Hospitality properties’ internal Wi-Fi demands are increasing, too
As Hospitality properties continue to seek new ways to delight their customers, their internal bandwidth needs are increasing, too. For example, leading Hospitality properties are adding features such as voice-activated assistants, mobile check-in, and even the ability to use your smartphone as a room key.
Old networks simply lack the scalability and network architecture required to accommodate this influx of traffic and support many of these use cases.
4. Rooms will become even ‘smarter’ in the future
From a technological perspective, the average hotel room has come a long way over the last few years. But the hotel rooms of the future will be even more advanced.
For example, brands such as Hilton and Marriott are experimenting with smart curtain shades, thermostats, televisions, and light switches—all of which can be controlled by devices. Hospitality properties, then, need reliable high-speed networks with scalable architecture that can keep pace with business growth.
5. Networks installed as recently as five years ago are already outdated
With guests and hotel staff requiring more bandwidth—and leading Hospitality properties innovating with smart technology that would require even more bandwidth—networks that were top of the line as recently as five years ago might already be outdated.
Ensuring exemplary guest experiences requires an enterprise-grade network equipped with the latest industry standards and delivered via the cloud. As a result, deployment and bandwidth management are simplified while user management tools enable you to make sure individual users don’t hog all of your bandwidth.
Are you ready to modernize your Hospitality property’s network?
If your property is still relying on the same network you’ve used for years, chances are it isn’t capable of keeping pace with modern demands—which means your guests are probably not too happy.
The good news is that moving to a modern network that delights your guests isn’t as hard as it might sound when you work with an industry-tested provider.
