Our Portal WiFi, designed exclusively for hotels, can resolve the common errors of any captive portal.

The Hotelinking WiFi service via captive portal is specifically designed to align with hotel marketing and loyalty strategies.

Our software can resolve security issues that are very common with devices such as iPhone, and allow you to create and expand a verified customer database automatically and in real time.

Your guests’ common problems accessing the WiFi network

The combination of a captive portal and free WiFi is an extremely valuable asset for hotels, as it allows guests’ data to be collected automatically. However, in practise it may lead to certain issues that arise when users have problems accessing the portal. Some of these might sound familiar:

• The guest arrives at the hotel, but the captive portal does not appear automatically.
• The guest has to go through the portal several times during their stay in order to access WiFi.
• Security warnings appear during the connection process, leading the user to abandon the page.
• iPhone users are unable to connect to WiFi via the captive portal.
• The process is complicated and non-intuitive, often putting guests off.
• Emails received are not validated and/or do not comply with the GDPR.
• Guests have to validate their request several times and check their inbox in one or two steps.
• The data received through this captive portal are not automatically integrated with the PMS.
• And should you have a CRM, they are not able to automatically integrate with it either.

The consequences can only be an unsatisfied customer, an unfavourable image for the hotel and the loss of valuable information for loyalty campaigns. Ultimately, the hotelier, tired of errors in accessing the portal and – above all – the complaints this causes, decides to do without the feature. Big mistake! This should be the last resort for any hotel, and we’ll explain why.

And this leads us to certain aspects that are inherent to the sector, such as:

• Collecting customers’ data;
• Creation of a proprietary database;
• The hotel’s online reputation;
• Scalability of the direct channel;
• Ultra-segmented marketing campaigns;
• Compliance with the GDPR.

It is strange that in such a specialised sector with so much advanced software at its disposal, hoteliers should not seek a solution designed specifically for use in hotels and created by companies that have in-depth knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of this singular industry.

This is why we at Hotelinking have spent years developing our own captive portal to offer WiFi access in hotels while at the same time collecting guest data, backed by valuable feedback from hoteliers already using our software in the sector.

What’s more, we know that hotels do not need such a sophisticated WiFi network as other types of businesses; what they do need is a made-to-measure software solution that aligns with their marketing and loyalty strategies and can have a huge impact on their balance sheet. To this end, we spent years looking carefully at the hardware needed to support our software perfectly and make day-to-day operations easier for hotels.

A case study illustrating the importance of relying on qualified professionals

A guest comes to the reception desk because they have problems connecting their iPhone through the hotel’s captive portal and accessing the free WiFi. Rings a bell?

Have your guests ever come to reception because they can’t access the hotel’s captive portal and connect to WiFi from their iPhone?

This problem is more common than it might seem. For a number of reasons, many of these devices experience issues connecting to the captive portal hotspot. This leads to dissatisfied guests and a negative impact on online reputation, lowering your hotel’s average ranking.

Many WiFi networks installers encounter this common problem when creating captive portals for hotels. iPhone users notice that when they try to connect to the portal they receive a security alert, warning that the connection is not secure, leading them to stop trying, and in most cases they turn up at reception to express their annoyance. So how can the iPhone issue be solved?

Although some claim that captive portal technology is incompatible with iPhone, this is not the case. At Hotelinking we solved this issue some time ago, and this shows in our proprietary captive portal for hotels, installed in hundreds of establishments.

It’s not a minor problem, because between 60% and 80% of guests connect to a hotel’s free WiFi from an iOS device. Analysis of customer data tells us that this figure becomes even higher as the hotel category rises.

In addition to resolving the problem and to prevent extra work in reception dealing with residual cases where it may persist, we created a QR code to display on the front desk as an alternative.

The advantages of our Portal WiFi with captive portal hotspot

The Hotelinking solution for free WiFi access is designed for use in hospitality settings. In the age of technological innovation and automated processes, the tool is created to offer additional value that makes all the difference in growing your business and adapts to the software used in your day-to-day operations.

As we mentioned earlier, the ability to capture your guests’ data via the WiFi network and increase your database is one of the most attractive features of a captive portal hotspot that allows free WiFi access at your hotel.

And this is where Hotelinking Portal WiFi unleashes its true potential and stands out from the competition.

• Data capture in compliance with GDPR.
  The entire data collection process is governed by the applicable terms and conditions relating to data protection. The advantage for your hotel is that you’ll have your guests’ explicit consent to send them promotional material.
• A database that can increase direct sales.
  The Hotelinking captive portal collects data from guests at the hotel even when they book via OTAs (online travel agencies), which do not share information with the hotel. By using Portal WiFi, you can collect data from all your guests, regardless of the origin of the booking, which in turn allows you to increase your direct sales channel and save on commissions to agencies.
• Emails verified in real time by algorithm.
  Portal WiFi guarantees that 99.9% of email addresses entered during the process of requesting free WiFi through our captive portal are real and valid. This is thanks to an algorithm that checks them in real time.
  Other verification methods barely give 50% of authenticity. Taking email addresses manually in reception does not guarantee they are free from errors either. What’s more, in involves more work for your staff. Our method of verifying email addresses is the best option on the market and much in demand with our customers, because it takes just one step. The process is fast, highly intuitive and does not require further verification actions or additional confirmation by email, so it removes the risk that such addresses are left in limbo. Your database will increase considerably, maximising your ability to take bookings without intermediaries.
• Instant and automatic integration of data with the PMS.
  Guests’ data is automatically integrated in real time with data already in the hotel’s Property Management System (PMS). Moreover, our captive portal for free WiFi can also be integrated with the hotel’s own loyalty schemes or others provided by the various booking engines on the market. So you can improve the segmentation of your database and increase your customer return rate.
• Enriched database with Database CRM.
  Once the data have been integrated with the PMS, the hotel has an enriched database which can automatically transfer to the CRM used by the system. This gives you in-depth knowledge of the guests at your hotel, information that is very useful to scale your business and increase the RevPAR of your rooms.
• Automatically detects the user’s language.
  The portal software automatically detects and interacts with the guest in their own language, using the browser of the device they use to connect to the hotel’s free WiFi. We currently offer eight preset languages (ES, EN, CAT, DE, FR, IT, CH, PT). However, the customisation options allow the portal to create new language settings. This information – the customer’s language – is stored automatically in the PMS and subsequently in the hotel’s CRM, so that marketing campaigns can be segmented.
  Example: When a customer makes a booking at your hotel, the system usually indicates the country from which the booking is made. But this doesn’t mean it’s the customer’s place of residence, and even less their language, as they might be travelling in several countries. This is why collecting this information from the browser on the user’s device is the best way to confirm their language.
• Compatible with all hotspot brands on the market.
  Hotelinking software for free WiFi via captive portal is compatible with any WiFi network already present in the hotel and with the major hotspot brands on the market, such as MikroTik, Ruckus, Cisco or Ubiquiti. In your day-to-day operations, this results in excellent functioning of the captive portal and, consequently, practically eliminates complaints from your guests.
• No change is necessary in your current infrastructure.
  Our Captive WiFi Portal adapts easily to your hotel’s existing WiFi network. There’s no need to change your current infrastructure, or even your internet provider. It’s a very easy tool which you can start using in a matter of days.
  However, if you wish, we can carry out an audit of any network system your hotel may have and, if necessary, suggest and instal improvements, thanks to our revolutionary product WiFiBot.
• Customisation of the captive portal with your hotel’s image.
  The Captive WiFi Portal can be customised with your hotel’s name, logo and corporate image, thus boosting its brand.

Captive WiFi Portal

Without a doubt, our Captive WiFi Portal is a landmark in the hotel sector, because at Hotelinking, apart from developing valuable software for hotels, we’re constantly researching the hardware needed to make everything work.

This means we don’t need to leave key processes in the hands of third parties. In fact, many hardware manufacturers ask to work with our hotel software. In a matter of days – even remotely – you can start using this powerful tool in your hotel.

Are you ready to collect data from your guests through our free WiFi solution with captive portal for hotels?

More than 13 million customers have already registered satisfactorily via the Hotelinking Captive WiFi Portal, used by over a thousand hotels around the world.

Start increasing your database now, with email addresses verified in real time that can be added to your PMS and CRM to encourage loyalty, enhance your hotel’s reputation and increase direct sales.

Request a demo without compromise and see how it works.

Prominent customers who have already increased their direct sales with Captive WiFi Portal

More than 1,000 hotels are already using our captive WiFi Portal, providing a service to over 150,000 rooms, and more than 13 million guests/users have registered through Hotelinking.

This has allowed us to achieve a presence in 60% of hotel chains in Spain and remove the intermediary from thousands of bookings.

Our prominent customers include chains such as:

• Zafiro Hotels
• The Concept Hotels
• Inclusive Collection Resorts and Hotels
• Best Hotels
• BLUESEA Hotels
• Hipotels Hotels & Resorts
• Be Live Hotels
• Insotel Hotel Group
• Soho Boutique Hotels
• Grupotel Hotel & Resorts

Download this article in pdf: “Discover our Captive WiFi Portal” | Pdf format | 1,95 MB.