WiFi leading the charge against falling Hotel stays
Published on Mon 22 Mar 2010
WIFI LEADS THE CHARGE AGAINST FALLING HOTEL STAYS
News that the credit crunch has reduced the average number of hotel stays and REVPAR has been met with a ‘technological fight’ according to WiFi specialist Airangel.
Dean Wilkinson of Airangel said: “The credit crunch is forcing people to think twice about their expenditure and it’s making hoteliers work harder to sell bedrooms and offer added value. WiFi is one area where we’re seeing renewed investment and we’ve had an 35 per cent surge in enquiries over the last 12 months.”
Global Hotel Relations Group (GHRG) commissioned the survey which revealed that the average length of stay fell from 1.9 nights to 1.5 nights in 2008 and that some guests were opting for lower star ratings to minimise expenditure.
Dean continues: “Hoteliers know that the fastest, most reliable and most intelligent WiFi service is critical to their business and are actively upgrading or investing in systems to weather the downturn. The good news is that WiFi also offers real marketing benefits too and can have particular use in driving food and beverage spend on site. This benefit is often overlooked.”
Airangel already works for hotel chains including the Radisson Blu, Malmaison and De Vere and supplies WiFi services to more than 12,000 hotel bedrooms across the UK. It offers a virtual concierge service to its clients.
Dean continues: “Savvy hoteliers are using their WiFi welcome page to display up-to-date information about the hotel, its facilities, partners and special offers, thereby increasing dialogue with the guest and building brand loyalty. Equally, there’s scope to use the virtual concierge as a means to earn advertising revenues from external advertisers, be that taxi-firms or entertainment venues.
“Hoteliers are using technology to give them the edge and should be reassured that this is one investment that can work doubly hard on their behalf. WiFi is helping hoteliers hit back.”
