Quadriga Blog How hoteliers can benefit from the digital revolution

Source: www.confederatemercantile.com

I spotted an interesting piece on TravelMail yesterday that explores the current thinking that Britain is falling behind in the wi-fi revolution. Reporter Tim Clark has just come back from South America, and – technologically, at least – he felt like he’d never been away from the office:

I have just come back from a short trip to Latin America, Ecuador to be precise, and while I was away for two weeks the office didn’t really miss me that much. This was mainly because I was never really away.

Taking my battered laptop with me, I was able to watch as the latest travel news unfolded with glee, and file back any interesting anecdote I could find.

But I didn’t have to head to a net café or connect a satellite phone to keep haranguing my work colleagues with the wonders of Ecuador, I simply took advantage of the free Wi-Fi at my hotel.

And, as I moved around I found the same service offered as often as I found chocolates on the pillow or an extra towel.

For a UK traveller it was a real eye-opener.

It did get me thinking about the vastly different requirements of travellers – whether they are on business or on holiday. Many of us would like to cut ourselves off from the world of work when we’re on annual leave with our partners and children; but, when on business in this day and age, being out of touch is absolutely out of the question.

Perhaps hotels should be considering that dilemma when they’re reviewing pricing structures? I, like many business travellers, would be happy to pay a small premium for a room that was equipped with fast internet access and other gadgets that would make my life easier – such as the use of a netbook or mobile phone charger. But holidaymakers are more likely to see those things as expensive and unnecessary on a get-away-from-it-all break.

Hotels must anticipate these different preferences and offer scaled services accordingly. Quadriga offers a tiered bandwidth service, for example, meaning that hotel customers can choose from 24 different time and bandwidth combinations to suit the various needs of their guests.