Accommodation providers are understanding more about the importance of excellent guest wifi and investing in what’s required to keep guests happy and returning.
There is still one area of guest wifi that needs more focus and investment and it continues to evolve at a rapid pace.
Bandwidth!
I’m continually telling my clients and potential clients that there is no point spending a lot of money on the latest equipment to get good signal throughout the complex unless you have the engine to run it!
That engine I am referring to is bandwidth and speed!
It’s like having a Mercedes with a Vespa engine. You are not going to get the full potential out of the equipment and the guest experience would be terribly disappointing without the correct speeds to run it.
Some of the issues guests are getting very vocal about come from dropped connections and slow speed. Bad reviews about a guest being disrupted during their Zoom call or Teams meeting while staying with you can be costly.
We’ve seen units with 19 devices connected! When you start to add up how much bandwidth is potentially needed for one unit with this many devices, the figures can be staggering.
Nowadays streaming is the norm. Netflix, Paramount+, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, Stan, Binge. Just
to name a few. Most families have a minimum of two streaming services understanding the convenience and flexibility these
services offer. Most of their children have the app on their devices. So multiple streams in one unit or room is extremely common.
Do you know how much bandwidth you require for ONE clear, uninterrupted video stream?
It does depend on the video resolution you are streaming in.
High Definition (HD) requires a minimum of 5 to 8 Mbps to play smoothly and Ultra High Definition (UHD) – 4K –-a minimum of 24Mbps – that’s ONE stream on ONE device!
When you start getting multiple devices streaming at the same time in one unit, the bandwidth requirements can be immense.
Netflix are starting to create most of their new content only in UHD – 4K.
Investing in telecommunications infrastructure is crucial. Fibre connections are starting to decrease in price and offer a stable, fast environment to run the guest wifi and your office through.
Don’t lag behind the technology curve. Invest in a fibre connection and a fibre plan.
With all our guest wifi proposals, we always use the amount of units or rooms you have as the guide to potential bandwidth requirements and include our recommendations.
We monitor bandwidth continually and if there is more available at a site, we can remotely increase the speeds to all units and rooms.
You don’t have to be an expert in this area or spend a lot of time monitoring it. You don’t want to be paying for speed that is not required yet.
Most fibre providers have 36 month plans and if you need to increase the speed during that time period they will do so, and a
new 36-month period commences. You don’t have to pay out or see through the initial plan length. You can always increase the speed of the plan to your site with a phone call to your Internet Service Provider when more speed is needed.
Be guided by the experts.
Judy Senn Director, Time Out Internet www.timeoutinternet.com
