Believe it or not, a visitor’s experience of a venue can quickly turn into a bad one if they discover they have problems connecting to the guest WiFi or worse still, there is no free guest WiFi.
According to Travel Trends Today, guests overwhelmingly see WiFi as “no longer a luxury but a necessity”, so how do you balance the technology investment to provide the level of service customers expect?
Charging for WiFi or premium connectivity is an option, but it’s not always popular with guests and can impact on their reviews which are key to winning future bookings.
However it is possible to make your WiFi pay for itself by using it to generate additional revenue:
1) Sponsored landing pages and third-party advertising
WiFi landing pages can be valuable to sponsors and advertisers because there is only one focus – signing up for WiFi. Sponsor’s branding and advertising is more visible, as the layout is often cleaner, and you can guarantee a captive audience with most of your guests.
Dynamic landing pages personalise offers even further by using regular guests’ data to let them know about promotions that appeal to them. You can serve promotions which directly target their interests, whether it’s archery or wine tasting, and avoid diluting the message with offers that might put them off. This increases the likelihood of a positive response and your business gaining advertising vital revenue.
2) Upselling your venue’s products and services
As soon as your guests register for WiFi, you can use their SMS and email to engage with them in real time about special deals and facilities. You can highlight anything, from spa treatments to gym access and printing facilities, depending on where you have capacity to generate income that day.
It’s also the ideal opportunity to add value to your guest’s stay and your brand by providing useful city information – which might help those guest reviews as well as increase the chances of them returning themselves in future.
3) Promoting loyalty scheme membership benefits
Loyalty schemes are a great way to maintain your relationships with customers and can offer incredible value, but customers don’t always want to think about it when they’re checking in or moving on to the next part of their itinerary.
By highlighting selected loyalty scheme benefits as part of the WiFi registration, you are reaching potential members when they can see what’s on offer. Illustrating how they could use points for free room upgrades, gym visits, and meeting room facilities will appeal to them much more when they are in-situ.
You could also use the WiFi sign up information to send them an SMS inviting them on a personalised tour to see facilities for themselves, which is much more effective than sending an email once they’re back home.
Demand for WiFi connectivity is only ever going to increase, so make sure you use your WiFi interface to not only cover the cost, but increase your revenue and keep your customers happy at the same time.
