Is your guest WiFi offering good enough?

  • 6th June 2017
  • News
  • Carol Jones

Recent research across the UK and USA consistently highlights how vital it is for hotels and other tourism businesses to offer free, good WiFi.

A few research findings

  • The poll of 2,000 people for online retailer Pixmania revealed that 31 per cent of Britons regard access to WiFi as the second most desired ‘comfort’ while on holiday, ahead of having a clean room!

In fact, the top Top Five most desired holiday ‘Comforts’ were found to be:

  1. A nice view
  2. WiFi access
  3. Clean hotel
  4. Good mattress
  5. A Great hotel restaurant
  • HotelChatter found that 94% of people cite WiFi as the most important amenity with 38% of hotel customers say they would book elsewhere if there was no WiFi available.
  • A similar survey amongst Americans found that WiFi was more important to hotel guests than breakfast and parking; and here WiFi came in second only to cost when choosing which hotel to book.

Business travellers want WiFi in order to stay connected on the road; whilst millennials like to stream music or play video games – so whichever way you look at it, high speed WiFi is an important attraction for guests, whether you are offering hotel, B&B or self-catering accommodation.

Are you WiFi savvy?

If you are engaged in a hotel property search, researching the quality of the local broadband available is a must these days and should be researched thoroughly.

And once, your hotel is up and running then good connectivity will allow you to be pro-active about communicating with (and promoting your services to) your guests, including:

  • Using social media channels to promote your business, research your customers to make your marketing more targeted and effective, identify your repeat customers etc.
  • Using your WiFi to see where your customers spend most of their time e.g. café, reception, gym, garden, restaurant etc.
  • Encouraging social media referrals – create a simple way for customers to provide referrals through Facebook or Trip advisor with the aim of increasing word of mouth.
  • Make sharing easy – encourage customers to share pictures and experiences with friends via social media promoting your company and raising brand awareness.
  • Keeping your customers up to date through your WiFi landing page. Use this to publicise upcoming events and offers e.g. timetable of kids activities, evening entertainment, restaurant offers

Need to look at your hospitality finance options?

Whether you run a hotel, a B&B or self-catering accommodation, if you are looking to purchase a upgrade your WiFi offering to guests (and/or invest in digital marketing) you may well be needing to source finance and we, at Stewart Hindley & Partners, specialise in the hospitality finance sector.

So, whether you are needing hotel finance or B&B finance, we can advise you on the best deals to suit your individual business circumstances.  Take a look at our online Business Mortgage calculator for an initial guide to how much hospitality finance you might be able to raise or call our friendly expert team now to explore the possibilities further.

Sources: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2654182/WiFi-access-important-holiday-requirements-British-tourists.html

https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article90435.html