Good practice for the WiFi network prior to closing your hotel

Many hotels in our country, especially those located on the coast, take advantage of low season with decreased hotel occupation to close their doors and enjoy a well-earned rest and/or carry out building work at their facilities.

Preparation for closure may seem like an easy task, but the truth is, it requires you to follow strict order and ensure coordination between all areas in order to guarantee that everything is protected and that there are no faults (and nothing missing), when the doors are reopened ready for the new season.

Hotel WiFi is, without a doubt, one of the most forgotten areas. That’s why at Hotelinking, we recommend the following guidelines in order to maintain it in the best conditions possible and to avoid surprises upon reopening:

Prior to closure

• Inventory of all devices: we recommend you ensure the stocktaking of all elements of the WiFi network is done correctly. The inventory must include the device name, MAC address, device type, firmware version, physical location, etc.
• Document assignments: document how devices are connected to each other will help you to identify the network infrastructure.  

Information, both from the inventory and the document regarding allocations, must be updated in order to carry out correct maintenance and quickly resolve any potential incidents.

In the event of building work

Prior to building work

• Dismantle devices located in the affected area, where possible. If this is not the case, cover them to protect them from dirt and to avoid any potential damage.

• If a device is dismantled (such as access points, switch, etc.), the cables must be labelled on each end (origin-destination) to facilitate assembly.

Following building work

• If as a result of the building work, the rooms have changed, or more bedrooms are installed, etc., the access points will need to be reconsidered and checks carried out by way of a coverage map, to ensure that our WiFi network will reach all points correctly.

• Inform Hotelinking of the important network changes that may affect the service.

During closure

If the hotel power supply is to be completely switched off, you must take into account that as there will be no electricity, there will be no way of checking whether a device has been disconnected or stopped working.

We would therefore recommend the network be left in standby mode, which implies providing WiFi only in locations where it is required, as either there are internal or external staff working or devices such as security cameras which require internet connection. This is the only way in which to control goings on at the hotel during closure.

This is the perfect time to review the network structure at your hotel and carry out any necessary improvements. Guaranteeing a high quality and stable WiFi network is easy with our NOC service, aimed at WiFi network maintenance and monitoring.

NOC includes everything from the initial assessment, to evaluate what adjustments are necessary or which network elements are required in order to ensure quality, to the monitoring and management of all network components, detecting potential faults and points for improvement.