What is a Managed Wi-Fi Service?
If you outsource the management of your wireless network to a third-party vendor, you are subscribing to managed Wi-Fi services. These vendors offer advantages over unmanaged Wi-Fi services by providing custom and comprehensive solutions. Enterprises choose managed Wi-Fi services for their skilled human resources, infrastructure, and industry certifications.
Managed Wi-Fi services are cost-effective and offer comprehensive services, including:
- Site assessment to ensure a smooth installation and equipment recommendations
- Configuration settings and deployment process for wireless devices
- Continuous monitoring for security
What Managed Wi-Fi Services offer the Hotel Industry — A Case Study by Cisco Meraki*
The Problem
Boutique Hotel Collection (BHC), located in San Luis Obispo County, California, oversees 13 properties that employ roughly 1,000 people. Despite picturesque ocean views and top-notch amenities, BHC found it challenging to ensure their guests were fully satisfied due to poor wireless connectivity in rooms at their main hotels.
This problem arose because the company was using consumer-grade wireless systems. What’s more, BHC was using different vendors from site to site, with no centralized management or reporting options. Troubleshooting was also time-consuming.
On top of troubles with network deployment, The Cliffs Resort — built in the 1970s — also posed some physical challenges, including thick, concrete walls and metal walls that absorbed the RF signals emitted by the wireless access points (APs). These issues often caused equipment to fail, which would cause guests to submit complaints that could only be solved with expert IT help.
The Solution
Chris, the IT Team Leader, started looking for solutions and investigating the options available in the market. CISCO Meraki's managed Wi-Fi services immediately caught his attention, owing to the incredible benefits it can provide such as scalability, simplicity, and centralized control. Soon, Meraki MR access points were installed across BHC’s property.
A small team of three IT professionals quickly deployed 200 Meraki APs across 13 sites thanks to plug-and-play functionality.
How CISCO Meraki can improve wireless connectivity for your hospitality business
CISCO Meraki APs are built using top-quality components that are carefully optimized to deliver a seamless user experience for hotel guests. These high-quality APs provide faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls.
Specific benefits of CISCO Meraki services include:
- Unlimited personalized experience:Cisco Meraki solutions come with a wall-plate access point, the MR30H, which allows you to use great features like out-of-the-box location analytics, integrated Bluetooth, and full-stack offerings. These features allow your IT team to manage all of your network components from a single, web-based dashboard with highly scalable Meraki cloud management.
- Location analytics:Integrated location analytics allow you to quickly gauge guest traffic, dwell time, and repeat visits across hotel chains or even in specific areas within buildings. This gives you vital insights into:
- The number of guests using facilities daily
- Popular amenities across your hotel
- Time spent by guests at the lobby bar, restaurant, etc. every week or on a specific day of the week
- The number of guests returning to the same property on a weekly or monthly basis
- Guests that could be targeted for VIP offers or promotions
- Heat maps: Visualize guest density over time and leverage trends to make informed staffing decisions for your front desk and other facilities.
- Bluetooth: The MR30H AP features integrated Bluetooth for data transmission and advertising as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon. This allows it to integrate seamlessly with third-party applications designed to interact with battery-powered or wearable Bluetooth tags.
- High-quality Wi-Fi
- Higher speeds with gigabit throughput
- Multi-user MIMO architecture to support multiple devices at once
- Slim and sophisticated aesthetics
- Isolated, secure guest Wi-Fi access in just three dashboard clicks
- Enterprise-grade security and authentication
- Layer 7 traffic shaping to easily throttle, block, or prioritize applications and prevent bandwidth hogs.
Harness the full potential of CISCO MERAKI with Telekom
Telco operators from the ‘T’ family offer expert support to hotels looking for technological and digitalization support. Our services enable entire hotel groups to leverage fast WLAN internet services to provide guests with a seamless internet surfing experience. Guests can look forward to a smooth check-in and check-out, digital door locks, mobile invoice accessibility, and much more. We can help you take your hospitality business to the next level. If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact Martin Jurca
*Case Study: https://meraki.cisco.com/customers/boutique-hotel-collection-the-cliffs-resort/