Connectivity is key when it comes to hotel guest satisfaction, and 5G will not have a big impact on the hotel high-speed landscape in 2020 and beyond. These are just two of the major insights gleaned from hotel CIOs and technology directors in the results of
Hospitality Upgrade’s 2019 Connectivity Study,
available now on the company’s website.
Half of the CIOs surveyed believe that 5G will never diminish the importance of hotel HSIA services, leading to a very strong belief that HSIA is here to stay. While the CIOs’ reasonings for this
view varied greatly, the opinion on this point was very strong. To that point, the rankings of investment priority for 2020 include HSIA infrastructure followed by bandwidth upgrades. The current investment strategy is drawn in large party by guest satisfaction measurements. Other factors include qualitative measures of consumption and the fact that many companies are in contracts that call for upgrades approximately every three years, making updates timely and cost-effective.
“The survey confirms that for the fastest growing segment of hotel guests, connectivity is the primary influencer of guest satisfaction. And the impact goes beyond guest experience to affect hotel reviews and ultimately future bookings and revenue,” said Mark Holzberg, Cloud5 president and chief executive officer and a sponsor of this report.
Looking ahead to future investments, the hotel executives pointed to usage increases with safety, tracking and communication technology like panic buttons and tracking devices for people, property and luggage as factors that will increase in 2020 and beyond. Hospitality Upgrade Managing Editor Geneva Rinehart said, “While the numbers and statistical responses tell us a great deal, the open-ended comments by the CIOs provide real insight into how this group thinks and is currently dealing with HSIA and connectivity.”