Presenting your in-room broadband service to achieve maximum return!
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We all know that most guests expect easy access to the internet from the comfort of their room,
and if you already have broadband installed, that's great.
But you also need to promote it. There are a number of ways of achieving this that will ensure you maximise your revenue while making your guests' stay more enjoyable. Advertising that you have broadband installed, in your brochures, on your website, reservation confirmations, banquet quotes and on your 'on hold' message is important, as is staff training. However, in-room presentation of the service is just as important and is often overlooked.
Guests are more likely to use your broadband service if it is easy to access and user-friendly. When it is well-presented you will get repeat usage and therefore more revenue.
Many accommodation managers and broadband providers believe that guests travel with their own cables and therefore they don't need to be provided in the room. Some have cables available at reception. To me this is like assuming that guests will bring their own shampoo and therefore you don't need to provide any in the room. There are some who will bring their own shampoo, but if you decided not to supply it as a matter of course you would annoy a lot of guests. It's the same with supplying a cable in every room.
There are a number of issues with supplying cables from reception. You will need to closely monitor the stock of cables. If you run out this leaves the guest with no way of using the service. Also, theft or loss of cables is costly on two fronts. You must keep replacing the cable and there is a lost revenue opportunity when the next guest can't use the service because previous guests have taken them. You and your staff will then have to deal with frustrated guests and your earlier promotional work will have been for nothing.
In writing this article I asked a number of very regular travellers, three questions.
1) Do you travel with your own ethernet (network) cable?
Fewer then half of those surveyed travel with their own cable. This is quite low considering the survey group travel once or twice a month for three to four days at a time. Our survey group also contained a large pool of 'tech savvy' users. They were often in IT or work for IT companies. I would therefore expect that the real number of guests travelling with their own cable to be less than a third at best. So by not having a cable in the room you are creating a barrier for two thirds of your guests who may wish to use your broadband service. Some of the respondents who do travel with a cable admitted that they sometimes forget to take it!
2) Would you bother calling reception for a cable if there wasn't one in the room?
Option 1 = Definitely; Option 2 = Only, If I had important email to send or work to do; Option 3 = Wouldn't bother.
The result: 66 per cent would definitely call reception for a cable if there wasn't one, while 34 per cent would only call if they had an important email to send or work to do.
3) How important are instructions for the broadband service to you? (Do you expect to see them on the desk?)
Option 1 = Very important, expect to see them on the desk; Option 2 = Only need them when using a new system for the first time; Option 3 = I don't need instructions.
This one surprised me as the audience are very seasoned travellers and must have used broadband in accommodation complexes hundreds of times by now. However, 83 per cent said they definitely expect to see instructions on the desk. Just 17 per cent said they only need them when using a new system for the first time. No-one said they don't need instructions.
If you make it easy for guests to use your broadband service, they will use it! So, what is the ideal way to present broadband access in the guest room?
The best solution for the guest and for your hotel from a revenue point of view is to have a cable and instructions permanently available in every guest room. Not only should there be a cable and instructions, there should also be a cable holder or cable management device. Why? Because a good cable management device can achieve the following:
• It acts as a point-of- sale piece, promoting that broadband exists in the room.
• It provides a location for instructions and the help desk number.
• It holds the cable in place, making sure that it doesn't fall behind the desk or onto the floor.
• It prevents the removal of the cable by the previous occupant, ensuring that it is there for the next guest.
What are the characteristics of a good cable holder?
• It needs to be heavy enough to hold the cable. A paper or cardboard tent card just isn't heavy enough
• It must have the ability to hold instructions. A slot to hold a small instruction booklet is the most common.
• The instructions need to communicate that this is a broadband service and it should outline the connection steps in a straightforward manner. Finally, the instructions must contain a help desk number. The guest needs to know who to call if they need help or have a question. The question may be as simple as "How much does it cost?" Approximately seven out of every 100 guests who use the broadband service will call the help desk.
• It can be fixed to the desk ensuring that it stays in the same position and that the cable never leaves the room.
• It should have space on it for your logo should you wish to display it.
You can even get a cable holder that can convert the existing wired signal to wireless, providing both wired and wireless access within the room so guests can check emails whilst sitting in bed.
Can installing a cable holder make a difference? It sure can. One 200-room hotel that added cable holders and instructions saw an immediate increase of approximately two per cent use of the service per day.
In summary, a good cable holder improves the guest's experience of the broadband service and also increases revenue. How? By promoting availability and by making it easy.
A good cable holder pays for itself in no time. Generally, one or two additional broadband users per room will pay for the cable holder.
