Hotels and internet access go well together. People book hotels for leisure and business accommodations which means they would love to enjoy their stay there. While most hotels have facilities in place that help their guests have a great time, none of them compares to internet access.
Lots of people love to share picture or videos of their trip. And with the advent of social media, the need to get friends and family to be part of one’s journey increased dramatically. Suddenly, hotels offering Wi-Fi access became more appealing than those that didn’t.
Did you know that 67% of guests consider free hotel Wi-Fi as a more important criterion than the location of the hotel (65%)?
Increased Demand for Guest Wi-Fi
With more and more people wanting internet access to stay connected even when on a holiday trip, the demand for hotel Wi-Fi soared. Hotel Wi-Fi quickly rose to the top as a must-have feature. Visitors would rather stay in a 4-star hotel with Wi-Fi than a 5-star without one.
Did you know that most hotel guests carry at least two internet enabled devices? If you are reading this article from a hotel, I bet you have got a mobile phone and a laptop computer. You also probably have a tab open on a video streaming site – YouTube, Netflix, or Hulu.
See what I mean?
Hotel owners began to cash in on the demand. They started to charge a fee for premium access packages. These premium packages included things like high speed browsing, video streaming, unlimited downloads, and more. They soon began to make a lot of money from offering Wi-Fi to their guests.
But it was not to last.
Slowly, customers no longer saw the need to pay for premium Wi-Fi access and more guests opted for the free package. Soon afterwards, the revenue generated from premium no longer measured up to the cost of running the Wi-Fi service.
There had to be another way to squeeze value from hotel Wi-Fi while offering to guests free of charge.
And there are…
Below, I will show you the two major ways hotels are getting more value from their free hotel Wi-Fi service.
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Hotel Wi-Fi Analytics Tools
While there may still be hotels who charge a fee for premium Wi-Fi access, it is slowly becoming a thing of the past. There is a new angle to getting value from free Wi-Fi and that is Analytics.
Hotel marketers can now gather invaluable customer data using Wi-Fi analytics tools. This transformed the way hotel marketed their properties. And so, instead of going to traditional advertising companies, they just collect data directly from customers.
With this data, hotel marketers have a better understanding of what customers want. This means they can now run more effective marketing campaigns, offer better services, and improve their customer experience.
This has led to significant increase in revenue from increased bookings for many hotels.
And the best part of it is – it’s totally cost-effective. As in, you can cut your marketing budget in half or more using hotel Wi-Fi analytics.
As a hotel owner, this is priceless.
Knowing your customers better is the key to unlocking their hearts and getting them to come again.
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Wi-Fi Monetization
Okay, I know you are thinking: “Didn’t you just say charging a fee for Wi-Fi access is a thing of the past?”
Yes, I did. But Wi-Fi monetization isn’t only about charging a fee for hotel Wi-Fi use.
Here’s how it works:
Most modern hotel Wi-Fi marketing platforms have a splash page that shows up when customers try to gain access to the Wi-Fi network. For hotels with a large customer base, this is a goldmine. They can charge businesses that offer hotel or hospitality-related services or products to advertise on their Wi-Fi splash page.
Many small businesses would jump at this offer to get their products or services in front of paying customers. As a hotel, you can generate ample revenue on the side this way.
Read our article on how to make money with your social Wi-Fi platform to learn more.
Wi-Fi technology has changed the playing field in the hospitality industry. Hotels that struggled to get customers now do so with ease just by offering free Wi-Fi.
With the need for internet access at an all-time high, free Wi-Fi has become an important asset to hotels. Hotel managers can take advantage of it using these two methods to grow their customer base and improve sales.
Looking for a robust Wi-Fi marketing & analytics platform for your business? Look no further. Just contact us and we’d get you started right away.
POSTED ON November 1, 2019Share:
