Is your Wi-Fi fast enough?

In last week’s blog, we discussed online reviews and the top 8 things guests complain about.  Topping the list as the #1 complaint from hotel guests was extra costs for internet access.  We’ve all heard lately that free Wi-Fi has become an expectation for guests when staying at your property.  But someone has taken it to the next level by creating a new website that serves the purpose of “shaming” hotels for their costly or slow Wi-Fi.

Guests and travelers can now head to www.hotelwifitest.com to see how your hotels Wi-Fi speeds compare to that of other hotels.  Once your property’s internet connection has been tested through the site, you’re forever listed on the website with an “expected speed” in megabytes per second (mbps).  But the fun doesn’t stop there; alongside your property’s expected Wi-Fi speed lists your room rates and online reviews courtesy of Hotels.com.  If that isn’t enough, the results can also be shared to Social Media so people can tell all their friends how awesome or terrible your property’s internet is.  For those traveling on business, a strong internet connection can make or break a guest’s stay.  Business travelers are known for repeat business so this website can be very damaging to hotels which rely on this type of customer.

The website does suggest that most hotels offer free Wi-Fi, but many also still charge for access.  A survey released by Telegraph Travel  suggests over 90% of European hotels currently offer free Wi-Fi access.  Free internet access alone is no longer enough, as the website reads, “Nothing could be more disheartening than turning on your laptop, only to realize that the hotel’s Wi-Fi is so slow it will take four hours to view the thirty-minute video.”  Now imagine that thirty-minute video is part of a business traveler’s presentation that he has to give that afternoon?  Needless to say, he won’t be back.

While the chatter of guests expecting free Wi-Fi seems like it just started last week, at the rate technology progresses it’s no surprise they’re already expecting more.  Free Wi-Fi is great, but now it’s only as good as your connectivity.

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Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10995868/Hotels-named-and-shamed-over-slow-costly-Wi-Fi.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/10797654/British-hotels-among-worst-for-Wi-Fi-charges.html

5 Free Technology Tools for your Hotel

With thousands of apps, websites and programs all looking to solve your problems, nobody has the time to sort through which ones are worth using.  Fortunately, there are people who have done the hard part for you.  Here are 5 technology tools that can be used in hospitality for your benefit – for free!

1. Google Alerts.  This one I use personally and professionally.  Google allows you to set up “alerts” based on keywords of your choice.  It compiles a list of articles (news and blogs) relevant to any number of keywords you choose and sends you a daily, weekly or monthly email with all relevant news.  This can be great for salespeople and revenue managers to monitor their market and understand current economics in the industry.

I personally use it to monitor the industry and any trends/news that may be relevant to our clients.  It can also help you monitor things like competitors and management changes in your area.  The possibilities are endless with this tool.

2. Yesware.  This program is designed to track your email efforts.  Yesware will allow you to track who has opened (or not opened) your emails, where they opened it, the date and time they opened it and even how many times they opened it.  It may sound a little too invasive, but it’s effectiveness can’t be disputed.  This can help you develop your subject lines, sales pitch and display name to figure out what provides you with the highest number of opened emails.  Develop a template from the more successful emails and send it out to your sales team to use.

3. Boomerang.  This program helps you to track the chaos in your inbox.  It allows you to set up reminders to save you from several problems everyone suffers.  For example, you can set up an email to be sent again if a response is not received within a certain timeframe.  Want to remember something coming up such as a flight or an event?  You can schedule the email you’ve already received to be sent to your inbox again at the time of your event or flight.

4. SmartRecruiters.  SmartRecruiters is a complete hiring tool that is FREE for companies to use.  It allows you to post a job opening and it will post the position to several free job aggregate sites.  Want to expand your search scope?  It also provides a list of ALL job aggregate sites that you are able to post to for a fee.  This site allows you to post your job openings to almost every job aggregate site out there from a single platform.  It’s easy, quick and free.

5. If This Than That (IFTTT).  “IFTT is a simple solution to a complex problem.”  It merges two separate networks and shares data when a trigger is released.  For example, it can be setup so that if a customer posts a photo of themselves on their Instagram and tags your hotel, that photo will automatically create a draft post on your blog.  This allows you to do two crucial things, engage your guests on a personal level and create digital content on your site.  Creating daily content can be challenging, this program syncs with several other tools such as Google+, Twitter, Gmail and more to allow you to be present at all times on your social media channels with live, guest generated content.  While this sounds complicated, it’s extremely simple to setup.

The best part about all these programs is that they’re free!  By not utilizing these tools you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to expand your digital presence and simplify your current practices.

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Source:

http://hotelnewsnow.com/Article/13215/5-free-tech-tools-for-hoteliers