What is worse than no hotel Wi-Fi, is a hotel Wi-Fi that is not working. If your WLAN in the hotel keeps failing or certain rooms have no reception, the reception or service team is constantly busy trying to make agitated guests feel at ease, console them and explain why the Internet is not working. This costs not only time, but ultimately also money and, in the worst case, leads to frustrated guests and unmotivated employees who do not identify with the hotel. All of this also affects the hotel’s turnover. If you are currently considering upgrading your hotel Wi-Fi or completely modernizing the hotel's WLAN system, you need to consider the following characteristics.
TOP 5 THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR A SECURE HOTEL WI-FI
Andrea Hausold
- Nov 2, 2020
The WLAN Coverage
Depending on the size of the hotel, a WLAN router is usually not sufficient to cover the entire hotel. And no guest wants to sit in the hotel lobby with 30 other hotel guests to check their e-mails because the WLAN reception in the hotel room is miserable. So, make sure that the WLAN covers your entire hotel. WLAN repeaters, Power-LAN or Access Points offer possibilities to extend the range of the WLAN in the hotel.
The WLAN Bandwidth
Without sufficient bandwidth, your hotel guests may receive the WLAN signal in their rooms, but listening to the latest podcast or watching a video on YouTube without interference is not possible. News sites, WhatsApp or Skype calls, on the other hand, require less Mbps. You should therefore adapt the bandwidth to the surfing habits of your guests. If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation that you only have 6 Mbit/s available to you due to the slow-progressing broadband expansion, it is advisable to throttle the WLAN.
Legal Security
Interference liability has been abolished. This does not mean that providers are no longer liable if, for example, media protected by copyright are illegally uploaded via their open network. No authorities have declared the Internet to be a law-free area, in which everyone can do and leave what he or she wants. Only the first warning notice, which was previously subject to a fee, is now free of charge. All hotels that provide an open WLAN are still liable for the misconduct of their guests.
The Login
To make your guests feel at home in your hotel, everything should be just as simple and uncomplicated as at home. So, make the login as uncomplicated as possible. This way you kill two birds with one stone: Your hotel receptionists do not have to explain to your guests repeatedly how the login works and your guests are happy about the simple and fast internet access.
Security of the Guests and the Network
The WLAN of hotels is increasingly a target for online attacks. Hackers are not only trying to collect hotel data but also to spy on the guests' data. The WLAN in hotels should therefore always be sufficiently protected so that your hotel guests can surf safely. Therefore, make sure to activate WPA2 encryption for your network and make sure to equip yourself with an up-to-date firewall. It’s also recommended activating client isolation so that your guests do not see each other in the network.
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