This article was written by WBA member HSC.
At a time when connectivity and data-driven insights are of immense importance, the hospitality industry is constantly looking for innovative solutions that utilize the power of data while delivering a seamless guest experience. The emergence of Passpoint and OpenRoaming systems has opened new avenues for hotels, resorts, and other hospitality businesses to monetize their services and gain valuable insights through improved data analytics. This article examines how Passpoint and the OpenRoaming system can bring significant benefits to the hospitality industry.
About Passpoint and OpenRoaming
The Wi-Fi Alliance created Passpoint, also known as Hotspot 2.0, as a Wi-Fi standard to make the process of connecting to Wi-Fi networks easier. It provides a seamless and secure Wi-Fi connection experience by automatically authenticating and connecting to Wi-Fi networks without manual credentials.
OpenRoaming, an extension of Passpoint, takes the connected experience a step further by creating a global federated network of networks. By enabling users to switch between various Wi-Fi networks without requiring new logins or credentials, OpenRoaming ensures uninterrupted connectivity between various locations. Unlike Passpoint, OpenRoaming targets a broader geographic area as well as direct partnerships with network operators.
Wi-Fi networks are leveraging Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA)’s Wireless Roaming Intermediary Exchange (WRIX) standard to support a variety of business models. WRIX is a framework that enables roaming agreements between Wi-Fi network providers and cellular operators, thus encouraging collaboration and expanding users’ connectivity options.
Monetization Opportunities Unlocked by Passpoint & OpenRoaming
Location-triggered based Promotions:
Passpoint can leverage Wi-Fi APs location capabilities; hotels can implement location-triggered promotions. For instance, when a guest enters a particular area of the property (such as the lobby, restaurant, or spa), the hotel may send personalised promotions or offers to his/her device. Customising these promotions based on the guest’s preferences or present position can increase the likelihood of conversion, thereby generating an additional source of income for the hotels.
Premium Wi-Fi Access:
Implementing Passpoint and OpenRoaming, which offer premium Wi-Fi access and quick, secure internet connectivity, can enhance the guest experience for businesses in the hospitality industry. These companies can effectively monetize the service by utilising a tiered-pricing structure based on the required speed and bandwidth.
Guests who opt for tier-based or loyalty-based Wi-Fi services have access to faster connections, enhancing their overall stay experience.
Integrating loyalty programmes with Premium Wi-Fi access can be a valuable strategy. By linking the guest ID to the Passpoint profile, hotels can obtain valuable information about their guests, as well as offer them the chance to earn loyalty points or redeem rewards for Wi-Fi access or personalised offers.
This strategy improves the overall experience for guests, fosters loyalty, and enables hotels to gather insights that can be used to customise their services and promotions further.
Sponsored Wi-Fi:
In exchange for brand exposure, hospitality companies can collaborate with sponsors and brands to provide free Wi-Fi access. For instance, if a hotel collaborates with a nearby tour operator, guests who use the hotel’s free Wi-Fi will see the tour operator’s offers and promotions. By offering free connectivity, this sponsorship model helps the guests and brings in extra revenue for the hospitality sector.
Data Monetization using Progressive Web Apps:
Passpoint and OpenRoaming can generate valuable location-based data for the hotel industry.
Hotels can benefit from its insights into visitor preferences, occupancy trends, and overall customer satisfaction by anonymizing and pooling this crucial data.
Progressive web applications (PWAs) allow guests to access enterprise applications without the need to download and install them. This strategy vastly enhances the guest experience by eliminating the inconvenience of app downloads, updates, and storage limitations on their devices.
Through the PWAs, guests can easily explore and book additional services such as spa treatments, restaurant reservations, and local activities. This simplifies the purchasing procedure and encourages guests to engage with additional hotel offerings, resulting in increased hotel revenue.
Data Offloading (Premium):
Passpoint technology complements the use of Wi-Fi with cellular data, enhancing the overall connectivity experience for users. Passpoint enables users to offload data traffic from cellular networks to trusted Wi-Fi networks, thereby reducing congestion and potentially enhancing network performance.
By transferring data traffic to Wi-Fi networks, guests can enjoy uninterrupted connectivity for the duration of their stay. They can enjoy faster downloads, smoother streaming, and reduced latency, thereby augmenting their digital experience.
Utilising data offloading and the WRIX framework, the hospitality industry can generate revenue through roaming agreements with cellular providers. Through these roaming agreements, hotels and other hospitality establishments can partner with cellular providers to offer Wi-Fi connectivity to their guests.
Data Analytics Enabled by Passpoint & OpenRoaming
Personalized Guest Experiences:
Passpoint and OpenRoaming technologies enable hotels to collect anonymized location and device connection data from guest devices, thereby facilitating the personalization of guest experiences.
Here’s an illustration of how this personalization can be accomplished:
Suppose a guest joined the hotel’s Wi-Fi network via Passpoint or OpenRoaming. As guests roam throughout the hotel, their device’s connection information and location data are logged.
The hotel uses this information to personalise the guest’s stay. For instance, hotels can provide personalised room amenities, restaurant/spa recommendations, and other special offers.
Optimal Utilization of Resources:
Information gathered by Passpoint and OpenRoaming systems can offer insightful information about operational efficiency. Hotels can optimize staffing levels, streamline services, and allocate resources efficiently by examining foot traffic patterns, peak usage times, and customer behaviour. With this data-driven strategy, businesses can provide customers with a seamless and more effective experience while maximizing operational performance.
Explaining the benefits of Passpoint & OpenRoaming through Case Studies
Using the following use cases, let’s examine the importance of Passpoint in terms of increased monetization and enhanced data analytics:
Smart Wi-Fi-Monetization achieved by a luxury Hotel Chain:
Having properties located in renowned tourist destinations, a luxury hotel chain was facing huge troubles in properly monetizing its Wi-Fi services and maximising revenue prospects. The guests were dissatisfied with the frequent network problems and the need for manual authentication processes.
With the help of a well-known solution provider, the hotel chain deployed Passpoint at its hotels in a specific location to address these issues and enhance monetization opportunities. The implementation improved the overall guest experience by eliminating the frustration caused by manual sign-in procedures across all properties.
Also, the hotel established tiered pricing structures based on bandwidth and usage to create additional revenue streams. The new implementation enabled the hotel to work with local partners such as nearby tourist attractions, transportation providers, or entertainment venues.
The introduction of premium Wi-Fi packages, customised deals, and collaborations brought additional revenue to the hotel chain. Using targeted promotions and upselling opportunities, the hotel chain saw a significant boost in revenue.
Smooth Sailing to Data-Driven Insights: A Cruise Liner Leveraged Passpoint for Better Data Analytics
A cruise liner operates several ships that accommodate many guests. Due to intermittent Wi-Fi access and cumbersome manual authentication processes, the company struggled to capture guest data to understand their preferences.
With the help of a leading solution provider, the cruise ship deployed Passpoint technology to address these issues and improve data analytics capabilities. It provides passengers with seamless Wi-Fi connectivity on cruise ships so that no manual authentication or repeated login attempts are required.
Post implementation, the cruise liner can now identify groups or demographics that could be interested in certain onboard offerings by segmenting the guest data. This makes it possible for the cruise liner to offer customised promotions on the amenities and activities offered while on board.
The cruise liner is also able to establish plans based on precise passenger insights and make data-driven decisions, improving business outcomes and overall performance.
In the digital era, the hospitality industry will be at the forefront of a revolution in network technology and digital infrastructure.
Hotels or Hospitality groups can use Passpoint and OpenRoaming services to widen their reach, use useful data analytics, and provide seamless, secure Wi-Fi services.
As a result of this implementation, they can increase their revenue streams, improve their data analytics, and enhance overall guest experience and loyalty.
