Partner Article

Should You Be Offering Your Guests Free Wi-Fi?

Should you be offering your guests free Wi-Fi?

In 2014 it’s almost inconceivable for many consumers to think that hotels, restaurants and cafes don’t offer a free way to connect to the internet from their mobile devices. Whether or not to offer free Wi-Fi internet in hotels has long been a subject of debate and there are various viewpoints. Bal Rana, a Wi-Fi hotspot expert and founder of FreedomHotspot asks “So should you be offering your guests free Wi-Fi?”

Travellers certainly seem to think so. A 2013 survey of 8,600 people carried out last year by Hotels.com found that two thirds picked free Wi-Fi as the facility they most wished to become standard at all hotels. Just 11 per cent were willing to pay for Wi-Fi during their stay.

Does offering free Wi-Fi give a good ROI?

Offering free Wi-Fi comes at a cost to the hotelier, but so do all amenities like a swimming pool, water and heating. These costs are recouped in the cost in the room. So what is the rationale for offering free hotel Wi-Fi?

For a start, guests expect it. They get free Wi-Fi in shops, shopping centres and chain restaurants so expectations of free Wi-Fi in hotels is high. Charging highly for Wi-Fi is also counterintuitive, with guests often shocked by costs that can equal their monthly costs for their home Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi is actually now cited as a key consideration when booking the hotel.

Not to mention the effect on the reputation of the hotel. Offering free Wi-Fi means guests are more likely to leave positive reviews and recommend your hotel to others. Some hotels are of the opinion if they offer free hotel internet then customers stop buying in-room entertainment, or indeed that nothing should be considered free as they’re running a business. Hotels need to evaluate what market share they’re possibly losing by not offering the service and that choice depends on your brand and your typical customer or market share you have as to what strategy you employ.

What strategy should we use?

You can offer free Wi-Fi in public areas only or in public areas and rooms. A free amount of data can be set and capped so users pay beyond a certain usage. Others might choose different paid for options based on day and hourly rated packages.

What are the other advantages of Wi-Fi?

Beyond customer satisfaction and increased establishment allure, there are other compelling reasons to offer free internet to guests. For instance customer data collection means that the investment can also provide better and more targeted marketing so you can spend less time on planning the marketing and easily channel your resources into a well aimed strategy that will be beneficial to gage with your users needs.

Ultimately it’s up to individual hotels and groups to decide whether they will invest in free Wi-Fi, but in 2014 it really would seem that when free Wi-Fi is considered an amenity rather than a luxury and should bear that in mind as well as the potential ROI.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by VP .