Hotel guests expect reliable internet everywhere, from guest rooms and lobbies to pools and conference spaces. Most travelers bring multiple devices with them, so networks must support a high volume of connections at once. In addition, Wi-Fi quality shows up directly in guest reviews and satisfaction scores, which ultimately affect bookings and reputation. And demand is only going to increase, so scalability needs to be considered from the start.
Mark Kornegay, group vice president, vertical markets sales, Spectrum Business, said when it comes to connectivity challenges there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for hoteliers, because requirements vary by property size. The benchmark for a modern guest experience, however, has shifted toward higher dedicated speeds per room—a shared connection typically is not sufficient for a satisfactory experience.
“Choosing bandwidth and network solutions that can grow alongside needs, whether that’s more devices, more guests or more advanced tech, is essential,” Kornegay said.
Connectivity, he added, is something hoteliers should revisit regularly.
“Guest expectations and technology are constantly evolving, so doing periodic reviews of your setup helps ensure you’re not falling behind or missing opportunities to improve performance or security,” he said.
Kornegay recommended that hotels have backup options in place to support essential systems such as property management platforms, payment processing and other operational tools. It’s also important to segment the network so guest traffic stays separate from operational systems, he said, adding that doing so helps ensure that performance doesn’t suffer, and it reduces risk.
And of course, reliability and security must be priorities throughout the process.
“You want a network that’s consistently strong and also protects guest data and keeps you compliant, because both are critical to the overall experience,” Kornegay said.
Finally, Kornegay said, working with the right partner can make a significant difference. He noted that Spectrum Business continually and proactively invests in its network to help customers stay ahead of evolving connectivity demands.
“Providers such as Spectrum Business can help manage network performance, keep software updated and support ongoing security needs so hotel teams are not handling it all alone,” Kornegay said.
He added that it’s important to think about connectivity not just as a guest amenity, but as something that supports the overall hotel experience and day-to-day operations.
Given the stakes, it’s important to prioritize a partner that is committed to designing and building the right solution from the very beginning,” Kornegay said.
Know Your Property and Your Guests
Mike Gray, global vice president – strategic partnerships at Nomadix, an Assa Abloy company, said that hoteliers need to look at the profiles of their guests to determine demands and best levels of connectivity. A business hotel that focuses on corporate meetings and conference stays will have different needs than a resort, boutique or extended-stay property, he said. Demands include varying levels of support for AI, VR, emails, VPN, online documents and video streaming.
“Understanding guests and their needs allows a property to provide at least a minimum for the different styles of usage for the average occupancy of their hotel,” Gray said. He added that bandwidth controls, such as those on the Nomadix Gateway, ensure that a small number of users do not consume the available bandwidth.
According to Gray, for a business-level property, 10-15 Mbps per room should be enough, whereas a resort might look for closer to 20-25 Mbps. “These are the technical limits on either a room or could be set per device, which would increase what the whole site would need,” Gray said.
He noted that some brands are updating their requirements to offer closer to 40 Mbps per room. This means that a 300-room hotel with an average occupancy of 80% would need about 3.5 Gbps for a business level and 6 Gbps internet connection to handle the aforementioned limits.
Gray added that hotels also should have the ability to manage and monitor usage while leveraging historical data for planning. In addition, operators need to understand available local ISP connections and leverage load balancing across multiple providers to achieve the needed capacity at the right price.
“The ability to support burstable connections by the ISP is also a way to know the capabilities of the available connections in the area,” Gray said. “Also, adding an additional connection to the current network infrastructure is always a good way to prepare for the future.”
Depending on the hotel, back-of-house usage represents a different level of decision. Gray noted that some hotels have a separate network for their back-of-house operations. If the back-of-house network is shared with the guests, then typically provisioning about 5 Mbps per on-premise employee during the standard day would ensure that the needed network is available for associates to do their jobs without allowing over-usage of bandwidth by employees at a detriment to guests.
According to Gray, there currently isn't a large spike in connectivity needed for the AI used in most hotels.
“The guest usage of video and applications still outstrips the AI,” he said. “When AI does use a lot of bandwidth, it is the same as when other applications use it. So planning for it at this point is aligned with how hotels plan for other onsite Wi-Fi enabled technology or different usage patterns across the property from guests and staff.”
Strive to Create an ‘Invisible’ Network
Mark Schaps, EVP and CIO, WorldVue, said there is no fixed number deemed as “enough” connectivity for a hotel.
“Enough connectivity is when the network becomes invisible to both guests and staff,” he said. “If guests can stream, cast, work and connect multiple devices without thinking about it, you’re meeting expectations. The challenge is that demand keeps growing, so what feels like enough today can quickly become insufficient tomorrow.”
Schaps advised that a practical rule-of-thumb is to design for peak usage, not average usage. He suggested thinking in terms of multiple devices per guest, simultaneous high-bandwidth activities such as 4K streaming and video calls and full-occupancy scenarios.
“If your network can comfortably handle that without performance drops, you’re in a strong position,” he said “If not, guests will feel it immediately.”
According to Schaps, the best way for hoteliers to ensure that their connectivity can grow in the future is to build for scale from day one and work with an expert that thinks more than 10 years ahead. That means investing in infrastructure with excess capacity; using cloud-managed networks where configurations, updates and performance adjustments can be made without needing to physically touch every device on the property; and choosing hardware that can be upgraded without a full replacement.
“The goal is to avoid starting over every few years, which eats into your overall operational cost,” he said.
Another key piece is modularity. Hotels should be able to upgrade components—such as access points, switches or bandwidth tiers—without having to overhaul the entire network, Schaps said. Structured cabling, proper placement of equipment and choosing scalable platforms all play a role, he said.
Equally important is visibility. “If you can’t see how your network is performing, you can’t plan for growth,” Schaps noted. “Having real-time insights into usage patterns, peak demand and device load allows operators to stay ahead of issues instead of reacting to them.”
Schaps added that back-of-house connectivity is becoming just as critical as the guest network. Almost every operational system in a hotel now relies on consistent connectivity, from property management systems and POS to housekeeping tools, mobile staff devices and building systems such as HVAC and energy management.
“If the network slows down or drops, it doesn’t just create inconvenience, it impacts service delivery, response times and, ultimately, the guest experience,” he said.
The key for hoteliers is to treat back-of-house connectivity as mission-critical infrastructure. That means prioritizing uptime, building in redundancy and ensuring visibility into network performance so issues can be identified before they affect operations.
Schaps pointed out that AI is going to put a different kind of pressure on hotel networks because of more continuous, real-time data exchange. Unlike traditional systems that operate in bursts, many AI-driven applications are always on, constantly sending and receiving data.
To prepare for that eventuality, hotels need to think beyond just bandwidth and start focusing on how their network is structured, he said.
“Segmentation becomes critical for separating guest traffic, operational systems and IoT devices to ensure that one area doesn’t impact another,” Schaps said. “Security also becomes more important, as more connected systems create more potential entry points.”
Make it Work for Everyone
Irvin Aldridge, head of hospitality solutions at Eleven Software, noted that bandwidth is a commodity.
“The question isn’t really how much you have; it’s whether you have the tools to make it work for everyone on your network at the same time,” he said.
According to Aldridge, hoteliers should remember what’s at stake: According to a 2024 American Hotel and Lodging Association survey, high-speed Wi-Fi ranks as the top technological amenity guests use to evaluate hotels, ahead of every other tech consideration.
“That makes the network an experience decision, not just an infrastructure one,” he said.
Aldridge recommended a practical planning benchmark in the range of 10–25 Mbps per device. With guests traveling with an average of around three devices each, and a fully occupied 200-room hotel layering in IoT devices such as smart TVs, thermostats and locks on top of that, hoteliers are looking at thousands of simultaneous connections competing for the same pipe. He noted that raw bandwidth matters, but without traffic management and prioritization, even a fast connection feels slow.
“To be prepared for the future, hoteliers should be building a network that can be managed centrally, scaled without hardware replacement and segmented by use case,” Aldridge said. “Guest Wi-Fi, back-of-house operations and IoT devices should each have their own lane, not because it’s elegant architecture but because it prevents one from degrading the others.”
“The hoteliers who will navigate this best aren’t necessarily the ones with the most bandwidth; they’re the ones who have visibility into what’s on their network, control over how it’s allocated and a vendor relationship flexible enough to scale without rebuilding from scratch,” Aldridge concluded.
Leverage the Existing Infrastructure
High re-wiring costs and the complexity of upgrading infrastructure to improve network performance require a major capital investment at a time when budgets are tight, noted Jeffrey Clement, senior vice president of sales, hospitality, Positron Access Solutions.
Properties are expected to deliver faster, more reliable Wi-Fi but, according to Clement, hotels don’t have to choose between controlling costs and keeping up with those demands. By leveraging the existing cabling infrastructure, it’s possible to deliver the high-speed connectivity, reliability and bandwidth that modern properties require without the need for a full network overhaul, he said.
Positron Access Solutions, Clement said, makes it possible at a fraction of the time and cost—around one-third compared with full-scale rewiring.
“This avoids the disruption and downtime that impact both operations and the guest experience,” he said. “It is a much more practical path forward to satisfy guest needs and brand standards in the guest rooms and through the property, and opening the door to smart room and smart property upgradability.”
This article was originally published in the June/July edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.