Many short-term rental organizations operate a simplistic Wi-Fi home network in their rental units. If they do have some level of Wi-Fi authentication, it is often unmanaged and they rely on their team members for installation. However, if you are looking to grow your business, there are several reasons for you to consider hiring a professional to assist you in standardizing and implementing consistent Wi-Fi in your units. Here is what you get for your investment in using a professionally-managed Wi-Fi organization:
Reason: Average time to receive hardware: 6+ months depending on the vendor – yes, supply chains are still out of sync with industry.
Value: Professionals order in bulk, receiving discounts and better delivery times.
Reason: Staying caught up in one specific technology industry can be a part-time job. Guest and hardware technologies are constantly changing, and it can impact your business.
Value: Professionals stay on top of their industry trends, meaning you don’t have to. They know who the new vendors are, how the new device types will impact businesses, and what to do about it.
Reason: It takes 50% longer (an average of 66 days) to hire a technically skilled employee over any other position type, and they cost more.
Value: Hiring a committed IT organization means they own the risk of hiring experienced and qualified technology professionals so you can focus on growing in other areas. Attempting to manage your own IT staff will either result in an expensive department or even worse: an under-qualified and incapable team.
Reason: Managing internet accounts and dealing with internet service providers (ISPs) is a nightmare and can take excessive amounts of time.
Value: Hiring accounting staff to take care of the auditing and renewals of your internet accounts is time-consuming and expensive. A good managed Wi-Fi service provider will be able to assist you with consolidating your bills and take the hassle out of dealing with the ISPs. This saves you time and money on hiring and managing a large accounting staff.
Reason: Some refurbishments are more complex than they may seem. Unique details that give a building charm (brick, steel beams, etc) also have a major impact on Wi-Fi quality, connectivity, and speeds.
Value: There are lots of Wi-Fi survey apps you can download, but they are not the same as having a qualified expert investigate what’s happening to provide your guests with the service they expect. Having a proper Wi-Fi site survey of your building ensures your network is provisioned properly to provide your guests with the quality they expect.
Reason: Guest service for Wi-Fi complaints can be time-consuming, tedious, and frustrating. They also require you to have educated staff available 24/7, or you risk having unhappy guests.
Value: A good Wi-Fi service provider should also offer you support services for their hardware and software. Guest support and staff training in technology is a challenge for many organizations and lessening that burden on your admin staff should be a priority. It’s important to identify if your technology vendor offers this.
Every year, we hear folks at VRMA commenting that they don’t need help because they can do it all in-house. To that we say: you are missing out. Focus is a glorious thing, and being able to stay focused on your growth is only distracted by adding other major technology projects to your plate (or your staff’s plate). Having a solid Wi-Fi partner will bring you much value if you can find the right one for you and your business.