Tablets Overload Hotel Networks

In our last post, 5 Mobile Trends to Watch, we discussed the recommendations for adopting a mobile strategy at your hotel. This week we explore how tablets in particular are taxing guest networks, and what can be done about it.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, more than 44% of US households own at least one tablet – and that number shows no signs of stopping. “For the third consecutive quarter, we’ve seen the number of travelers carrying laptops decreasing while we’ve see an acceleration in iPads and tablets,” says Garrison of iBahn (USA Today).

While the majority of business travelers still carry laptops, the numbers are slipping for the first time. It appears travelers are ditching the weight of laptops in exchange for lighter, sleeker tablets. There are problems that come with this (USA Today):

• More Data: tablets consume more data than laptops on average, because they constantly update, much like smartphones.
• More Dead Zones: built in antennae are smaller than laptops’ and they simply don’t pick up connectivity as well.
• More Pixels: new tablet models have higher resolution (read: smaller pixels) that will require more data to fill up those pixels.

With the evolving mix of technology, hotel networks will continue to be overwhelmed. Be sure to talk to your network provider to ensure that your bandwidth will be able to handle the load as new technologies emerge. For example, ElevenOS allows hotels to easily charge for more bandwidth and/or extra devices.