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Three Mistakes Hotels Are Making with Wi-Fi
Posted: 09/18/2023

Wi-Fi is now like the foundation for your hotel: if it’s not solid, it can jeopardize everything.
Your HSIA network has to deliver the performance and experience your guests demand; Wi-Fi has evolved from being an amenity to a necessity and key driver of guest satisfaction.
In the converged world, all your systems for business operations depend on a solid and secure Wi-Fi network. Without it, nothing else works properly—your staff and systems will struggle, and you will waste precious time, money, and resources trying to recover.
Here are three things you may be doing that put you and your Wi-Fi network at risk, and what you should do instead.

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Definitely Doug 9/15/23: Experience Matters!
Posted: 09/15/2023

Hotels are usually the first thing a traveler books within a destination. And hotels usually know that destination better than anyone else (or any website) a guest might consult. But are hotels connecting the dots?

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Definitely Doug 8/25/23: Check It Off the List!
Posted: 08/25/2023

This week I will cover software that goes under various descriptions, including quality assurance, audit, and checklist management. It includes anything that involves a standard list of things that someone needs to perform or verify. In hospitality, this is still an emerging field, but is growing very rapidly.

Between 2020-2022, traveler adoptions fluctuated drastically due to the lockdowns, the impact of the variants, and the vaccination schedule. As the pandemic is behind us and people start to travel in 2023, one question is on every practitioner’s mind: What are the traveler’s current expectations and preferences in the post-pandemic world?

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Definitely Doug 8/11/23: Charge Me Up!
Posted: 08/11/2023

Few things make travelers more anxious than a mobile phone with a low battery. For years, hotels have tried to play catch-up with evolving mobile device charging standards, and many seem to have given up. Guests can sometimes find desktop or bedside USB ports (dated but still relevant charging standard), but most hotels offer only an electrical outlet, and too many times it is in the most difficult-to-reach location possible. Others have made expensive decisions to install USB ports on bedside tables or work desks, only to find them out of date when the standards changed – or broken by frequent use.

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Obtain an Updated SSL Certificate to Boost Your Website's Traffic

09/12/2018

by Nimesh Dinubhai

The competition between hotels and the OTAs has never been higher. Travelers prefer to book their stays through online as it is a convenient way of booking. That's why, it becomes very crucial for every hotel owner to own a website. By owning a site, you can encourage tourists to book your rooms from any part of the world. However, most internet-savvy people are cognizant and apprehensive of a potential data breach.

Keeping this issue in mind, the major search engine Google has come up with a significant update for the users of Chrome. Websites having SSL certificates will be marked as secured. This update is significant for all sites, but for a website collecting sensitive data, such as credit card information, passwords or personal data.

If you don't have an up-to-date SSL certificate on your hotel site, then it may impact your bookings. Google Chrome will display a 'not secure' status in the address bar. It will be a warning for guests that your website is not safe for browsing. As the result, it may reduce inquiries, traffic and potentially drop online bookings.

What is an SSL Certificate – Exactly?

SSL (or Secure Socket Layer) is a kind of security protocol which encrypts the data which is being sent between server and computer. The information can be the user's password, credit card details, email or home address. With this certificate, you can make your website 100 percent secured and ensure your customers that your website is secured. Just by checking the browser's address bar your customers will know that your site has an up-to-date SSL certificate.

But how to make sure that a site is fully secured? If a site is secured with an SSL certificate, the Chrome browser will show a green padlock icon in the address bar. However, if it shows a red padlock icon, it means that you have a broken or outdated certificate. What's more, an info icon will be displayed, if there is no certificate on the website.

Significance of Having an SSL Certificate

By having this certificate, the website owner can avail a host of benefits:

• Get higher ranking of your website in search engines

• Drive uninterrupted traffic to the site

• Give great satisfaction to your customers

• Enjoy more online bookings

• Earn higher revenue

Where to Get an SSL Certificate?

Presently, there are hosting providers available all over the world to help webmasters obtain an SSL certificate. So, if you don't have SSL setup yet, you should approach a hosting provider. To obtain the certificate, you will pay an annual fee. Once you pay the fees, the issuing authority will verify your business identity. The first step is to approach a trusted hosting provider.

About The Author

Nimesh Dinubhai
President
Websrefresh

Nimesh Dinubhai completed his studies in 2003 and launched Websrefresh to help businesses grow their ROI. He also owns two Arizona hotels, one of which earned the Historical Hotel Award in 2014.