6 questions to understand 5G technology and its impact on a hotel.

Of particular concern are the adaptation of wiring and network equipment and the reorientation of investments since, for 5G coverage to work safely in all possible areas, it is necessary to place antennas or receivers massively.

Although the forecast is that they require significant investments by the properties, many advantages could be obtained, not only that of offering a service of the highest quality to the guests.

In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions that hoteliers ask.

What improvements will 5G imply?

• Higher speed: Speed is often taken as the benchmark for the performance of a wireless network, especially for the end-user. It is also known as bandwidth, data transfer rate, data rate or connection speed.

It refers to the amount of digital data exchanged between two devices over a specific channel in a given period. To provide an easy example, we could download a movie in Full HD quality in a matter of seconds.

• Low latency: The term latency refers to the specific time interval between an action and its subsequent reaction.

In data computing networks, network latency is the sum of temporary delays within a network. A delay is caused by the slowdown in the propagation and transmission of packages within the network. Other factors that influence the latency of a network are the size of the packages transmitted.

The lower the latency, the lower the waiting time in providing the data.

Low latency is indispensable for real-time applications: response time is critical in these cases, such as the remote control of an electric vehicle.

• High density of connections: another of the significant advantages and easier to understand will be that it will allow us to increase the number of devices connected simultaneously.

In large crowds, it will allow maintaining the quality of the connections. In large hotels with a large influx of guests, it will solve the flow problem allowing multiple connections without losing their quality.

• Increased efficiency: 5G design requirements specify that energy use is reduced to 10 % over current 4G networks.

This includes reducing power consumption for base station antennas, as well as mobile devices and IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

What will happen to the hotels’ current infrastructure?

It would be best to carry out a technical audit with a specialised company that monitors the current state of the network and proposes improvements. Hotelinking and its NOC (Network Operation Center) service are already able to audit any network and thanks to its qualified engineers, it can suggest areas of improvement, prepare a system for the arrival of 5G, adapt it to WiFi 6 or simply create it from scratch. This type of service will soon be one of the most demanded and we are already prepared for it.

Being up to date on the WiFi system will help make the change less traumatic. In the vast majority of cases it will be possible to take advantage of and in fact both technologies will have to coexist since the use cases may require the operation of both.

Will WiFi disappear?

Absolutely NOT. WiFi and 5G will certainly work together. There is a lot of work pending to be done and currently there are very few users who use 5G.

WiFi 6 is a reality and is a clear improvement on the current WiFi service offered; at the investment level, it is much less expensive since it will be possible to take advantage of much of the infrastructure we already have.

Because of all of this, the best option will be to go for hybrid systems that will also be less expensive.

Will data capture still be important?

Not only will it be important, but it will be fundamental. Loyalty will acquire unimaginable heights since we will be able to offer advantages practically person to person.

It will be important to have automated marketing systems that can segment by micro customer niches and offer different types of deals. Moreover, if we are able to capture the maximum information of our guests during their stay we can capture it for future reservations with personalised proposals. Systems such as during stays surveys will allow this type of information to be captured.

But chatbots or online lead capture assistants related features are expected to gain greater strength.

How can this data be captured if the WiFi disappears?

This scenario, if it occurs, will be very long-term. Currently, we can do it during the booking process, but this system only captures the data of the person who makes said reservation. We can also capture all guest data through a captive portal when we request WiFi access.

Predictably, when we want to offer 5G we will have to see first which operator provides us with that service. As we have already mentioned, it is most likely that when a guest enters the hotel they lose the 5G coverage because the hotel does not have it or has contracted the service with a given company.

To be able to continue counting on those speed levels, data can be requested as it is currently done with the WiFi and once filled in the 5G service can be activated. Otherwise, it can also be done through the WiFi where we can request information. The difference will be in how the user can connect in both cases.

An example to understand this is found in “roaming” which is the service that allows us to use our mobile phone abroad. Normally, if it is outside the European scope, we have to contract it and once in the country we will have to choose which company we would like to obtain our data from. This change may pose an extra cost or not, but in any case it will force us to go to our mobile settings to be able to have a connection.

As these types of connections are implemented, the process will likely improve and will be more transparent to the user.

Will 5G help improve sales?

Absolutely YES. Due to a differentiation and user experience issue.

If the guest experience during their stay has been positive, they will remember it and consider it for future reservations and the most logical thing is that they leave this information on the online review portals.

As we have mentioned, loyalty campaigns will have more value than ever, micro-segmentation will allow us to offer services to small customer niches and make a difference vs our competitors.

Good automated marketing management will allow us to divert reservations from commissioned channels to the direct channel, just like with the current WiFi system.