Connected & Intelligent
More than half (54%) of hotels are upgrading or changing WiFi suppliers. What trends or enterprise needs are driving the need for robust hotel networks?
JADY WEST: There are expected to be more than 64B IoT devices worldwide by 2025. Take this statistic, cascade it to hotels and then to hotel rooms. In the coming IoT world almost every item a hotel guest touches will be connected to some network that will need latency free high capacity connectivity. In addition, in the era of hyper-personalization, every connected device will produce large amounts of data that the network, with the help of AI, will need to to make decisions on and serve up a personalized answer to guest queries. A subpar network could be the difference between a guest having an “okay” experience to a “wow” one simply because of the speed with which devices respond.
Improving analytics remains a top strategic objective for hotels. How can technology -- and WiFi and hotel networks specifically -- be used to improve data strategies from pre-stay to post-check-out?
WEST: Hoteliers need to move to master guest experience metrics versus network performance metrics. The data that a property’s WiFi network produces should inform guest experience metrics that drive many aspects of a hotel’s operations, including and maybe more importantly than the marketing department. A hotel’s marketing team can then integrate the data from metrics to craft better guest experience strategies. An example of a guest experience metric may be measuring how long after check-in does a guest log on to a property’s network and how fast does the property’s WiFi landing page deliver relevant content to the guest.
Are there any areas you feel hoteliers under-utilize when it comes to improving guest experience?
WEST: Digital signage is a medium that has evolved dramatically. The quality of the displays, improvements in CMS systems, and the quality of content have moved past the point of utilizing screens to push out standard graphics and advertising. Digital signage should be better leveraged to “answer the questions” guests may have while passing by a specific screen. For instance, a display in the lobby should provide answers to the most common questions that lobby staff receives, but you wouldn’t place that specific content near the parking garage entrance. Hoteliers should strive to leverage digital signage to provide guests with timely, relevant and engaging content.
What data and analytics should be considered to make smarter decisions to drive engagement and business? How can/should the network be a part of an analytics strategy?
WEST: The networks of today can provide hoteliers with a level of detailed data and insights that a normal guest survey simply is incapable of delivering. Ask yourself these questions: does your WiFi network track every mobile device on your property; and are you using the data to improve hotels operations or make better decisions on where to place digital displays? Maybe the data tells you there is a queue bottleneck that is recurring near the lobby coffee shop at an odd hour. Having consistent and reliable data to answer these scenarios is a powerful way to arrive at better strategic decisions.
COX Business/Hospitality Network LLC
