HT-NEXT, New Orleans, April 8 2019 – GlobalReach Technology has added new guest Wi-Fi features to its Hotspot 2.0 solution, giving hospitality brands the benefit of communicating through, and monetizing their Wi-Fi service, without the need for loyalty program guests to log-on through a captive portal.  The new capability comes ahead of the launch of the Hotspot 2.0 Release 3 standard.

Today’s announcement sees GlobalReach add interstitial functionality to its Hotspot 2.0 guest experience, which complements traditional captive portal pages. The new feature enhances the frictionless Wi-Fi sign up process by allowing the brand to smoothly deliver location-aware, guest-segmented communications.

Recognizing the value of the digital space to boost engagement, conversions and spend, users can now review terms and conditions, and see brand-controlled communications and promotions from this feature. For example, hospitality brands could welcome guests as they enter the lobby, reward them with a welcome promotion, or prompt them to book to book their next stay, using this message.   

The Wi-Fi Alliance launches Hotspot 2.0 Release 3 on April 15.  GlobalReach was a contributor to this specification, which is a significant step toward removing friction by enabling guests to login seamlessly.  However, it is expected to be at least 18 months before adoption is mainstream. The GlobalReach development bridges this gap and adds new, Release 3-like capabilities today. 

Chris Bruce, GlobalReach Managing Director said, “This innovation enables hospitality brands to allow their loyalty program customers to get online smoothly, which will make a major contribution to improving guest satisfaction.”

The GlobalReach Hotspot 2.0 solution allows easy, secure and frictionless Wi-Fi connectivity and monetization. Users download a one-time profile to their devices for automatic login to hospitality Wi-Fi networks and seamless roaming across a brand’s properties. Hospitality brands have full control of policies that can trigger location- or event-specific guest communications and promotions via a single dashboard. Paired with rich presence and location analytics, the solution fosters better guest engagement and service monetization.

Today’s innovation follows news from Angie Hospitality, developer of the industry’s first 24-hour interactive guest room assistant purpose-built for the hotel environment, that it has added PassPoint™ Hotspot 2.0 technology that leverages GlobalReach Technology’s Hotspot 2.0 guest Wi-Fi solution to its award-winning virtual assistant solution.

The new capability is included in the GlobalReach Technology Hotspot 2.0 OSU today.  Talk to Chris Bruce, managing director, at HT-NEXT in New Orleans to learn more.

About GlobalReach Technology

GlobalReach is recognized as a Hotspot 2.0 Wi-Fi industry leader. The GlobalReach Hotspot 2.0 OSU has delivered secure authentication for some of the largest international Hotspot 2.0 services since 2014, including LinkNYC kiosks deployed across Manhattan enabling up 20 million Hotspot 2.0 sessions authenticated in 2018.

GlobalReach Technology CTO, Dr. Chris Spencer, is co-chair of the HTNG working tasked with helping hospitality companies deliver an optimized Wi-Fi experience for guests. Dr. Spencer has written numerous articles on Hotspot 2.0 and is co-author to the Hotspot 2.0 Next-Generation Hotspots (NGH) Provisioning Standardization and Specification White Paper released October 2018 by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and endorsed by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA).

GlobalReach’s Hotspot 2.0 service was used to authenticate delegates’ Wi-Fi access at HTNG Europe conference, Lisbon 2018 and at hotel properties for a leading global hospitality brand during Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, February 2019.

GlobalReach has been shortlisted for the TechOvations Awards to be held at HT-NEXT featuring its Hotspot 2.0 innovations.