High-speed Wi-Fi is one of the foundations of hotel hospitality. Going on a trip and choosing a hotel, each of us takes into account the availability of Wi-Fi. Timely receipt of the necessary or desirable information is an extremely important category, and the fact that a modern hotel should have Internet access via Wi-Fi in the asset of its services is out of the question, and its absence may well become a reason for refusing accommodation. At the same time, it does not matter at all whether it is a large chain hotel or a boutique one, since the organization of WI-FI in a hotel is a mandatory measure to ensure the convenience of visitors and one of the main criteria for choosing a temporary place of residence.
Some time ago, Comptek started a joint project with Cisco on wireless solutions in the hospitality industry. Interesting? Then welcome under the cut!
Building any wireless network begins with the most basic task - oddly enough, building the network itself. How to simplify the whole process and achieve maximum results?
First of all, let's look at the requirements for access points and the solutions with which Cisco fulfills these requirements. What do you need from a wireless network?
- Virtualization and hardware reduction - ideally, of course, the rejection of expensive hardware controllers while maintaining all the conveniences and advantages of using a virtual controller.
The Cisco Mobility Express solution does not require a physical WLAN controller. Controller functions are performed by a central access point, while Mobility Express supports the latest advances in Wi-Fi technology - 802.11ac Wave 2 for local or local (on-premises) management.
- Interference resistance and high signal quality - in hotels, the quality of the signal is greatly affected by the surrounding space: walls, interior items, pipes, engineering structures.
Cisco Access Points use innovative Cisco CleanAir and ClientLink technologies to ensure the best Wi-Fi performance at all times. CleanAir is a proactive radio interference protection. This functionality detects and identifies sources of interference, evaluates their impact on network performance, and then reconfigures the network to achieve the best performance under current conditions.
ClientLink allows you to direct the signal towards Wi-Fi connected clients. The technology solves the problems of networks in which different client devices work simultaneously, while increasing the transmission speed for 802.11a/g, 802.11n and 802.11ac clients.
- Seamless roaming - a topic that has set the teeth on edge, but has not lost its relevance. Seamless roaming keeps guests connected as they move around the hotel. It also allows you to keep the same IP address for the guest throughout the entire stay. Thanks to this guest, it is enough to log in to the hotel network once and then use the Internet in any room of the hotel: lobby, restaurant or private room.
All Cisco access points allow you to create seamless roaming without installing a dedicated Wi-Fi controller, which can significantly reduce the cost of building a Wi-Fi network in a hotel of any size.
- Support for a large number of clients and high data transfer rates - for optimal load distribution, it is necessary to correctly manage the 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands.
Cisco access points use Cisco BandSelect technology to differentiate client devices by frequency. If a device can connect to an access point at 5 GHz, it will operate on that frequency to offload the more commonly used 2,4 GHz radio band.
In addition, Cisco access points use a radio resource management (RRM) algorithm that automatically adjusts the radio frequency channel, its width, signal strength and eliminates gaps in coverage in a dynamically changing radio environment.
- Power points using PoE technology - eliminates the need to install electrical outlets where it is inconvenient, and use bulky power supplies, as well as lay additional wiring.
Cisco switches support providing remote power to access points using PoE technology.
- Secure separation of guest and corporate networks - because the network is likely to be used by both hotel guests and staff working in it! Cisco access points use a policy classification engine (Policy Classification Engine), which allows you to implement detailed network access policies based on the user's role (hotel guest, employee, visitor), network access method, device type, application used.
Policies define access rights to different network segments, connection speed, restrictions and priority of applications used (Application Visibility & Control). This allows all employees and guests to use their own devices to connect without the risk of violating the information security of the corporate network.
What Cisco equipment is easier, more convenient and faster to build your network on? To find out, just visit our website. .
From expenses to income!
The monetization of Wi-Fi networks is still a widely discussed topic, and for the hotel business this topic is doubly important. How to monetize wireless networks in a hotel?
The Cisco CMX (Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences) solution provides Wi-Fi-based insights that enable hoteliers to make better business decisions.
Heat maps that provide information on which zone or site the target audience spends more time during the day or week, where the points of greatest concentration are located, what percentage of visitors are here for the first time, and how many of those who returned again. This is the most valuable business intelligence that is necessary for business development and that Cisco equipment can collect and process.
The simplest option for both administrators and bedriders themselves is an application for mobile devices that gives all the "goodies" in one window:
- Personal greetings for regular guests - the network recognizes the guest and greets him at the entrance to the lobby. If this is a regular customer, then you can conduct an automatic check-in, provide a number and turn the mobile device into a key;
- Notifications about services and promotions based on activity and location - using location data, you can send push notifications to the guest's mobile device with certain promotional offers (for example, if the guest is in the pool, then he receives an offer to try cocktails at a bar at a discount, or a guest, passing by a store, receives a notification that he is offered discounts ...);
- Hotel navigation - the used access points determine the location of the guest and show the path to the required place (shop, swimming pool, restaurant, conference room, etc.);
- Business Automation and Business Intelligence – using mobile devices of employees and knowing their location – you can quickly respond to all the wishes of guests, knowing the location of guests and tracking the guest flow, you can redirect staff to problem areas.
Here's what Cisco says about it:
Still have questions, want to learn more about standard solutions or get a preliminary calculation for your own project? Then welcome to the site !
Source: habr.com