Over the last few years, the global takeover of the smartphone has meant hospitality venues of all types have adopted their own mobile strategy.
As you’ll no doubt have noticed, consumers want mobile capability everywhere, including in your hotel.
Whether that means being able to book a room on mobile, order room service from an app or access a loyalty scheme on the move, people want it, nay, expect it these days.
And if you haven’t already cottoned onto the trend, well, you’re probably feeling the hit.
(Of course you’ve cottoned on – who on earth hasn’t?!)
But what can you do when customers can’t get their apps working or even just browse from their room, because your hotel’s suffering from poor mobile signal?
Your hotel can have the best mobile strategy in the world, but if poor signal’s still a problem when the world starts turning again, you’re going to frustrate your guests, miss out on increased in-app ordering, receive bad reviews and, ultimately, lose profits.
Poor mobile signal in UK hotels is a massive problem, thanks to the traditional materials used to build older venues and the huge metal frames used in the construction of more modern hotels.
But why exactly does poor mobile signal matter when it comes to running a hotel?
Here are five stats that might give you some idea…
1. According to Business Insider, guests typically spend 20% more
when ordering via mobile than with waiting staff
Think you’re doing ok in your hotel restaurant (or at least you were before the pandemic)? A 20% increase per order certainly isn’t to be sniffed at! But what’s even more exciting is that thousands of customer transactions reviewed in the study increased by 50-73% in spend per head, when ordered via mobile.
But if you’ve got a problem with mobile signal in your hotel? You’re going to miss out on that uplift in spending.
2. Hotelexecutive.com found an 18% increase
in room service orders when made via mobile
While many hotel operators have introduced deli-style room service or jacked it in altogether, those that have moved the service to app have reaped the benefits.
What’s more, room service needs to be an option for every meal if Diamond-rated hotels want to retain their AAA rating too. By creating a digital dining experience, you’ll boost room service orders and increase the reputation of your hotel – as long as you’ve got the mobile connectivity to support it.
3. Mobile coupons are redeemed 10 times
more often than traditional coupons
Not only do mobile coupons offer a great means to capture data and increase your leads for marketing purposes, but they’ll probably get you more customers too.
Giving discounts by mobile increases your chances of having coupons redeemed by a whopping ten times, and can encourage more downloads of your app too.
But when it comes to on-the-day bookings and restaurant orders, you’re going to seriously frustrate any customers who can’t redeem their coupons on site because of poor signal.
4. Consumers check social media via mobile an average of 20 times per day!
The rise of mobile connectivity and increased down time as a result of the pandemic means consumers are spending more and more time in the virtual world. And when things do eventually get back to normal and bookings pick up again, your guests will likely be shouting about getting away on their news feeds more than ever.
By including a social media function within your hotel app, you’ll satisfy your Insta-hungry guests and give them an invaluable channel to use to push your brand by sharing photos of their stay.
According to another survey by Hotel Marketing, 92% of consumers claim they trust word-of-mouth recommendations most when it comes to booking hotel stays, which is even better news for any exposure you can get via social media.
But if your guests can’t access their social media smoothly during their stay, you’re going to miss out on that reputation boost.
5. Hotel guests predict 3 biggest travel innovations by 2030 to be mobile virtual concierge, mobile payments and personalised mobile travel guides.
Mobile capability offers a huge opportunity for hotel operators and a recent study by Intelity suggests that your customers know it!
So now’s the time to build the foundations that’ll allow you to meet guests’ expectations.
Whether that means moving to a cloud-based system, creating an app solution or upgrading your estate infrastructure for faster Wi-Fi and more robust mobile signal, this year is the perfect time to do it.
If you suffer from poor mobile connectivity within your hotel building, you’re going to have a major problem.
You’ll be dealing with frustrated customers who can’t load a coupon to use during their stay…
You won’t make the most of the uplift in in-app spending if your guests can’t connect in the first place…
And you certainly won’t be satisfying any customers who want to connect with the rest of the world by making calls or surfing social media…
Thing is, Wi-Fi connectivity often isn’t enough.
In this day and age, nobody wants to be forced to log in every time they want to browse the Internet, and many prefer using their own data to guarantee a secure connection.
But the good news is that it’s easy enough to revolutionise your hotel’s mobile signal problem and create infrastructure that guests can rely on for social media, in-app ordering and calls.
With a safe, secure and 100% legal Cel-Fi Nextivity mobile booster, you can guarantee great mobile signal in every room of your hotel.
Consistent in providing high quality signal in areas and buildings where coverage is poor or non-existent
Compatible with every mobile network
So if you want to enhance the mobile signal in your hotel by as much as 1,000 times and offer your guests constant, reliable connectivity 24/7, let’s talk. Give us a call on 020 3823 7365 or drop your details in the form below.
Mark Rose
As co-founder of Signal Solutions, Mark's signal boosting knowledge is second to none. Mark has worked on a large number of signal projects over the years, from straightforward single-booster projects, to large scale installations across multiple buildings.
