Broadband Internet Solutions for Hotels

Broadband Internet has become an essential component of the hotel industry. Patrons have come to expect broadband Internet to be available in their rooms. In addition, hotels must maintain web sites and online reservation systems, and broadband Internet must be available to office staff to make sure that online patrons are serviced efficiently. Lastly, the hospitality industry services a large cross-section of people from all over the world. A hotel may be making and receiving phone calls not only around the country, but also around the world; and long distance charges can be substantial.

Keeping those long distance bills in check is the domain of the business VoIP solution, which delivers high quality phone service, additional features for the convenience of patrons and staff, and tremendous cost savings.

Most hotels will have a set of quality standards, and those standards extend beyond the hotel restaurant, room service, and cleanliness standards. Those standards extend to quality of the entire experience, starting from the first time the customer calls into the reservation desk. Call quality is vital. If the call is choppy or fuzzy, then the caller may get frustrated, and that experience will color their perception of the hotel, even if everything else is superior. Business VoIP can deliver superior voice quality of service, although it is important when acquiring the VoIP service to establish ahead of time the level of call quality, and whether or not a service level agreement is available and on what terms.

When using VoIP, ensuring call quality is both a function of selecting the best service provider, and ensuring that adequate bandwidth is available. A larger hotel will need a T1 or at least a fractional T1 to ensure high voice quality, and enough bandwidth to service all other needs such as Internet access for hotel guests.

Hotel Internet is no longer a mere convenience or "extra" for guests, most see it as an essential component of their stay. And guests expect the Internet access to be easily available, of good quality, and fast. Checking email in the hotel room before dinner should be quick and painless. Having to wait for a connection, and then experiencing slow access or download times, will cause frustration and result in a poor experience for the guest.

Similarly, more guests are aware of security-related issues, especially related to WiFi and wireless access. When access is provided to guests, whether it is wireless or wired, guests must be reassured that the connection is secure as well as fast. This may involve the implementation of firewalls and authentication systems, which may require guests to use a password or a hardware token to gain secure access to the network.

Hotel guests also need easy and high-quality access to telephone service; and VoIP can provide this as well. Often, the IP PBX can provide additional features for delivering quality service to patrons, and accounting functions for billing calls to the room.