Rapidly evolving technology, and an increased reliance on that technology, is reshaping the hospitality sector - guests have increasingly come to expect seamless connectivity, while businesses are profoundly reliant on dependable networking to stay responsive and agile at every stage of the customer journey. Businesses in the hospitality sphere are also handling more data than ever (both of their own and of customers) and it’s crucial that this data remains secure. With the amount of competition out there, a hotel's network needs to be unimpeachable - guest satisfaction is of course of critical importance, but it’s only one consideration, and in the increasingly interconnected world it’s more and more common that if the network goes down, everything comes down with it. Clearly, then, investing in reliable, scalable networking infrastructure is absolutely essential.
The Challenges
Guest Satisfaction
In the span of a few short years, having WiFi on the premises of a hotel or leisure centre has gone from a luxury to an absolute necessity; no WiFi is either the hallmark of the most budget of budget hostels, or as part of a ‘talk to each other and pretend it’s the nineties’ gimmick.
For the vast majority of hospitality establishments, however, WiFi is a must - most guests will not compromise on this, and neither should the hotels serving them. A quick Google search reveals hundreds of one and two star reviews for hotels, with the single cited pain point being slow or inconsistent WiFi.
A hotel will understandably want to avoid this kind of reputation, but at the same time it’s hard not to empathise - most guests will want to connect at least one device, with many requiring two or three simultaneous connections, and these all need to be high speed, with seamless roaming at every part of the establishment, and secure to defend everyone’s data from bad actors. It’s a tall order for the Hiltons and Marriotts of the hospitality sector, let alone smaller boutique hotels that don’t have thick budgets to spend on networking equipment and a full-time on-site team of IT professionals.
The Day-To-Day
A good, dependable network can smooth out all the rough edges in a guest’s stay - when the check-in desk links seamlessly with the guest-management CRM, security measures like access control systems for all the rooms and IP security cameras can be quickly monitored and managed, and mobile VoIP phones keep all the staff in the loop from minute to minute of every day.
Great when it works - but what about when it doesn't?
Having so much of the day-to-day operations linked so inextricably with the network is a blessing and a curse - hoteliers are balancing guest satisfaction on, more often than not, a single point of failure, with catastrophic implications if it goes down.
Safe & Secure
Hotels are handling more and more sensitive data than ever before from guests - names, addresses, card details, browsing habits and a hundred other factors makes them an extremely attractive prospect for hackers and bad actors. Any establishment with this kind of data filtering through their network has to be confident that they can withstand anything from the toolkit. Malware, DDoS attacks, SQL injections, exploiting unprotected cloud services - hackers are creative and relentless, and keeping up in this game of cat and mouse requires constant vigilance and evolution of security measures.
How can DrayTek help?
Devices
DrayTek can provide a device for every step of the network installation, from modems like the V167 all the way through to high-speed, high-capacity access points with mesh capabilities for seamless WiFi roaming throughout the space. Access points like the VAP918RPD can offer dependable WiFi 6 for up to 256 simultaneous connections at once - perfect for high density, busy networks - and can even be mounted outdoors and uncovered thanks to its sturdy IP67 rated chassis. This means that hotels can keep up with the demands of steady, fast WiFi everywhere from the car park, to the garden, to the swimming pool.
Alternatively, for blazing-fast indoor speeds, the VAP1060C can provide up to 3.6Gbps speeds over WiFi 6, and supports mesh with self-healing capabilities to eradicate any awkward WiFi dead-spots. This compact access point can be ceiling mounted to maximise space and maintain a room’s aesthetic, and can function as a root AP to manage others on the network from a single interface.
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| VAP918RPD-K | VAP1060C-K | VAP1062C-K |
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This takes care of guest’s WiFi demands, but access points can’t function without a network switch that can provide power, security and connectivity; a switch like the VSP1282-K features 24 x Gigabit ethernet ports and a sturdy 400W PoE budget for access points, IP cameras, VoIP phones or any other device needing both power and connectivity.
For smaller deployments, or for a powerful and affordable edge switch, the VSP2100-K can support eight devices and two SFP ports for superfast fibre connections, and can still provide 140W power - plenty for multiple access points servicing an entire floor of a large hotel, or ideal to serve as the backbone of an entire network for a boutique hotel or retail outlet.
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| VSP2100-K | VSP1282-K |
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Their portfolio of routers are no less impressive, and can offer two factors that are becoming increasingly crucial in the hospitality sector - security and redundancy. DrayTek can supply routers with built-in, intelligently implemented VPN tunnels and up to 800Mbps VPN throughput as well as high-speed WiFi 6, like the V2866AX, and even cellular failover.
These routers, such as the V2927LAX-5G, feature a dual SIM slot and are specifically designed to offer seamless failover in case of a massive network failover. This can be the saving grace of an entire network, saving time, money and untold stress.
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| V2866AX-K | V2927LAX-5G-K |
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Software
Through using DrayTek’s versatile, powerful hardware, a hospitality network can achieve seamless uninterruptible network failover, secure VPNs for private communications and asset sharing between remote sites, and tight security to prevent cyberattacks; however, all the hardware features in the world can’t do a network much good if they can’t be monitored and managed effectively.
To support their suite of powerful, affordable networking products, DrayTek have released VigorACS - a remote management platform designed specifically to strip the confusion and expense out of managing a network. This is especially ideal for systems admins and IT professionals managing a hospitality network; achieving the oversight and network security normally only available to an on-site team of engineers can now be achieved in moments.
Key features under the ACS umbrella include automated device provisioning, network monitoring, real-time traffic statistics, and VPN wizard tools for quick IPsec and SSL tunnel creation. Additionally, administrators can schedule maintenance tasks, generate detailed network reports, and ensure efficient device management across multiple sites - perfect for smaller network teams needing 24/7 oversight without the ability to be on-site all the time. Also on offer are easily accessible and manageable captive portals, ideal for quickly and easily logging many guests onto the WiFi network.
For SD-WAN orchestration, VigorACS 3 offers a quality-driven dashboard that tracks WAN/VPN interface performance through metrics like latency, loss, and jitter. This helps administrators prioritise optimal network quality, especially for VoIP services, with real-time adjustments for better performance - perfect for hotels, leisure centres and retail outlets that rely exclusively on VoIP for their comms, both internally and for customer-facing use cases. With the rapidly-approaching PSTN switch-off (the effects of which we describe in detail here!), that will soon be all businesses - it’s never made more sense to make sure that your network is well-equipped to handle VoIP traffic with efficiency, speed and reliability.
Conclusion
Investing in reliable, high-quality networking infrastructure is no longer optional - a slow, unreliable network can bleed through to affect every aspect of a hospitality business. Guest satisfaction, staff communication, data security, site security - all of these factors can take a significant hit from the network not being up to scratch. Conversely, a decent network setup and straightforward topology can single handedly solve many of these issues - staff can communicate more easily, guests can connect their devices with no hassle, and everyone’s data remains safe and secure.
DrayTek are keenly aware of the huge positive effect that a well-implemented network can have on a hospitality business, and have leveraged both this knowledge and their experience gleaned over a tenure of nearly three decades in the industry to manufacture devices that can deliver. From ensuring smooth Wi-Fi for guests to safeguarding the business’s most valuable data, DrayTek’s products have proven time and time again to be the trusted choice for businesses looking to enhance operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.
