Having reliable wireless across your entire complex is no longer a luxury for most hotels these
Both modern travelers and modern conventions expect on-site hospitality WiFi, usually as fast as possible. If you can't provide it, they'll quickly start taking their business elsewhere.
For most businesses, the big problem with computer networking is how complex it got, and how quickly. Businesses didn't have time to keep up with ever-changing network standards, not without hiring specialized IT staff. For a lot of smaller businesses, this just wasn't an option.
The good news is, things have changed rapidly in small business IT.
Today's integrated network systems are designed so that an entire network can be controlled from a single console, anywhere in the world. The software has been streamlined into a windowed interface that virtually any computer-literate staff member can use.
The new technologies that have been developed, such as the new BlueSocket “plug and play”hotel WiFi system, make it easy for any hotel to quickly create the foundation of a future-focused network.
Even there's currently only one location in your hotel chain, you've probably got future expansions on your mind. If you're looking into wireless solutions for a string of hotels, you're probably already feeling the pinch from having to maintain multiple separate networks.
These new WiFi technologies, united through a common simplified Operating System, make distributed networking virtually as easy as on-site LANs. A BlueSocket-ready network can feed security settings to a new device as soon as it's authenticated, speeding setup.
Then, as part of a distributed online network, access points on opposite sides of town will see each other as though they're in the next room, creating a unified network that's always as large as your hotel needs. When installing new access points can be as simple as turning them on and registering their serial number in the system, network expansion becomes a snap.
This means faster, more reliable communications for your staff and the increased productivity that comes with it. Your valued guests will see the benefits as well, with an in-hotel network that stays steady even through the largest convention.
Where are you planning on being in ten years?
Wherever it is, you're going to want to have the next wave of business communication technologies on your side. As your hotel operations grow, there are a range of new Internet-based services at your disposal, but they rely on virtualized networks to function.
These could include:
In room videophones
Real-time collaboration with foreign partners with live automatic translations.
Unified telephone extensions and switchboarding across every location.
“Virtual” remote conference guest appearances.
In-room, self-administrated digital media distribution.
Wherever it is you're planning on taking your hotel, there are next-generation technologies available that will bring clear benefits to you and your most important bookings. That makes a reliable, future-focused WiFi network an investment that pays off on both sides of the counter.
That old network is going to have to be replaced sooner or later. If you've been putting it off, now's the time to start investigating the possibilities of a virtualized wireless network.
In the meantime, have any hotel owners done WiFi upgrades lately? How'd they go?