Hotel Wi-Fi: a managed network that protects the PMS and reviews

Almost never because of the speed in the carrier contract. They complain about what they experience:

• Forgotten rooms Great at reception, weak at the end of the third-floor corridor. Walls built to stop noise also stop the signal.
• Painful log-in Long forms, sessions that drop at two in the morning, a single device per room. It irritates more than slowness.
• Full rooms Fifty event attendees need capacity, not just coverage.
• Dropped calls Someone walking down the corridor on a video call must move from access point to access point without losing the connection.

The classic mistake: one access point per corridor. It looks sufficient on the floor plan and fails in the room. Only a coverage survey carried out in the building shows where the signal really reaches.

If the answer includes guests, there is a serious problem. Every guest is someone you do not know, connected to your infrastructure. If the guest Wi-Fi network can reach the PMS, payment terminals, door locks or reservations, one night's stay is enough to get at other guests' data.

Separating the two networks is not performance tuning. It is basic security, and it is the rule most often broken, especially in smaller properties.

A second layer of isolation is also needed: between the guests themselves. The laptop in room 212 must not be visible to the neighbour in 210.

The PMS is the nerve centre of operations, and when it fails reception notices immediately. Three conditions:

1. Traffic priority: streaming from a hundred rooms must not slow down a check-in.
2. Two internet connections: most PMS and channel managers are in the cloud.
3. Backup power: reception must keep working during a power cut.

Then there are the integrations: channel manager, door locks, payments, F&B. Each one can fail. Find out in advance what each does when the connection disappears.

With a schedule, more than with tools. A hotel does not close at the weekend for network works. We proceed floor by floor or wing by wing, aligned with occupancy and with management. Noisy work is kept for quiet hours. Every change has a way back: if something goes wrong at 11 p.m., it must be reversed before the first check-in.

That is why coordination with operations management matters as much as the technical side.

• Isolation Are guests and management on separate networks? Check.
• Coverage Measured in every room or only in common areas?
• Internet Is there a second line, from another carrier, with automatic failover already tested?
• PMS Does it have priority configured on the network?
• Power Does reception work without mains power?
• Backups Has the PMS backup ever actually been restored?
• Small hours Who answers at three in the morning, and how quickly?

A single "I don't know" is enough to justify an assessment, before a guest finds the fault.

DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting manages networks and IT for hotels: high-density Wi-Fi, segmented networks, managed firewalls and monitoring, with 24/7 cover exclusive to the Premium 365 plan.

• 11 years 232 clients and hotels such as LX Arch Hotel and Ouro Rossio Hotel.
• More than 138 Ubiquiti sites and 1321 devices Under management.
• Top 5% PME According to scoring.pt.

We measure coverage room by room, check network separation and deliver our findings in writing. Request a no-commitment proposal.

More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and phone support. +351 211 459 950 * · sales@dataroad.pt

*Call to a Portuguese landline.