nevaya hotel tech

Nevaya delivers cloud-based interactive TV and WiFi to enhance these key services for both hoteliers and guests. Currently servicing more than 30,000 rooms across the globe for iconic businesses that include Soho House, Marriott Autograph Collection and Morgans Hotel Group.

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Introducing Marco de Vries, Senior Channel Manager

Nevaya are delighted to announce that today Marco de Vries has joined us as Senior Channel Manager. Marco spent the last 4 years with Samsung, focused in Africa, and has previous experience at Quadriga.

James Richmond, CEO at Nevaya commented, “Marco brings a wealth of knowledge to the team relating to the hospitality-technology industry, and will focus on major international partners of Nevaya”.

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LOS ANGELES, June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- KEYPR®, the technology company whose enterprise cloud platform is the leader in guest experience and hospit...

NevayaCast features in Markets Business Insider, ahead of HITEC Houston 2018

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Experience NevayaCast at HITEC Houston 2018 (Booth 1710)

Visit us for a demo of the best in-room cast solution with KeyPR TV, powered by NevayaCast

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KEYPR Launches KEYPR TV, the Most Advanced Casting Solution in… | KEYPR

KEYPR Launches KEYPR TV, the Most Advanced Casting Solution in Hospitality. In partnership with Nevaya, KEYPR provides hotel guests with the most comprehensive, hassle-free TV casting available today!

Experience KEYPR TV, powered by NevayaCast at HITEC Houston 2018. We will be offering demos in partnership with KEYPR at Booth 1710

The new feature allows guests to stream content from their personal mobile devices or KEYPR’s in-room tablets to hotel TVs with:

• no app downloads

• no required sign-ins

• no overly-complex access codes

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Nevaya Board Expands with Arrival of New Chairman

Nevaya has welcomed the arrival of a new Director, Bryan Sergeant, who joins the board as Chairman. Co-Founder and CEO of Nevaya, James Richmond commented, “Bryan brings us a wealth of experience in business growth strategy, as our company enters a new pace of expansion, we are honoured to have him on the team”.

Bryan brings over 30 years of senior management / board experience from start-ups, for example as a founding director of uSwitch.com, to corporates, for example as a Director at Telewest (when it was in the FTSE50 - and is now a part of Virgin Media). Bryan commented “It’s an absolute pleasure and privilege to join a great team with a very promising future.”

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Nevaya at ISE 2018 Amsterdam

In partnership with Teleste Hospitality and Philips Display Solutions, NevayaCast demos are taking place this week at ISE 2018 in Amsterdam.

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How Hotels Generate Revenue Through Increased Guest Satisfaction: Discover Enhanced In-Room Entertainment

According to recent surveys, online media-streaming is now the preferred choice for both hoteliers and guests when it comes to the best in-room entertainment experience.

The ever-increasing preference for guests to cast their own personal devices to the TV screen of their hotel room has been clearly implied through various surveys over the past year. One example, the recent ADB InRoom Entertainment Preference Study, revealed that 73.5% of hotel guests would prefer to watch their media streaming accounts over any other entertainment in their hotel bedroom, with 77.5% of all surveyed guests actively using some form of media streaming account at home.

Meanwhile, hotels are set to benefit from guests spending extra time on-site, with proven increases to F&B and spa spend. This is in addition to the subsequent increased review ratings, occupancy and value opportunities which materialise from an improved guest experience.

What is Google Chromecast?

Since its initial launch in 2013, for the purpose of enhancing home entertainment, Google Chromecast has gained great momentum in popularity as the media streaming device of choice, which connects to the HDMI port of your TV. The device allows users to choose from over 200,000 TV shows & movies, 30 million songs, plus radio, sport, games and more. There is also the ability to discover a range of free, subscription or paid content from thousands of apps, all through the leisure of your TV screen.

The user’s phone becomes a simple, powerful remote control, allowing them to open mobile apps such as YouTube, iPlayer, Hulu, Spotify, and NetFlix, to quickly access TV shows, movies, playlists and similar entertainment with ease. Users simply tap the cast button to effortlessly watch their favourite content on the big screen.

Casting is more effective and enjoyable than screen-mirroring, as users can easily search, browse, check emails queue, and control the TV without disrupting whatever is currently streaming to the TV screen.

“...what really excites me is not what the Chromecast is, but what it’s going to be and how that will change my life... particularly as it begins to introduce the expansion on IoT (internet of things).” Greg Satell, Forbes.com

And yet, until recently, it was impossible to ignore the slight apprehension amongst how Chromecast may be used specifically by hoteliers to improve guest in-room entertainment. Despite some challenges being overcome by the inbuilt Guest Mode function, many hoteliers have still been nervous to introduce the tool into their guest in-room entertainment systems. The additional security challenges for safe and secure application in the hospitality industry posed the primary reason for caution; what would prevent users from casting malicious content to surrounding bedroom TVs? And how vulnerable could a guest’s device become?

The Perfect Solution for Hoteliers & Guests

Nevaya Cast, powered by Google Chromecast, has been specifically designed to provide all the enjoyable benefits of Chromecast, whilst offering a complete solution for the security challenges and concerns faced by the hospitality industry.

Guests can easily and effortlessly cast content to their big in-room TV screen, and only ever have access to the Chromecast device specifically connected in their bedroom. Meanwhile, hotel owners can feel reassured that there is no risk of a hotel guest viewing devices from any surrounding rooms, casting to any surrounding rooms, or accessing any of the Chromecast settings. Casting the guest’s device is as simple as connecting to the bedroom WiFi, or if preferable, via a single TV code, so the entire entertainment experience feels completely intuitive.

Reliable and easy to use, managing the tool is especially easy for hoteliers, as Nevaya’s system makes it possible to check optimum signal strength is maintained on each Chromecast device for complete guest satisfaction.

Meanwhile, for the hotel, Nevaya Cast offers the chance to maximise opportunities to improve business reputation through increased guest satisfaction, improved review ratings, increased occupancy and the subsequent potential to increase guest bookings.

Optimum Integration

Nevaya Cast, WiFi and TV integrate seamlessly together for a naturally smooth and consistent experience, using cloud-based technology for complete control and reliability.

When integrated with Nevaya TV, further revenue can be generated through targeted advertisement features, capturing guests’ attention to various hotel services and events, or even opening up third-party opportunities. Recent studies have shown that these features alone can increase on-site business by 24%, offering substantial opportunities for generating ROI.

Furthermore, when integrated with a hotel WiFi network, such as Nevaya WiFi, Nevaya Cast can work with hotel management PMS software for the most intuitive and personalised guest experience. This feature enables visitors to simply enter their name and room number upon check-in to automatically connect their device, without the need for any codes.

The WiFi integration features offer hoteliers a wealth of valuable insights into their network user behaviour, allowing businesses to optimise marketing communications and better understand their clients.

For more information about Nevaya Cast, visit here (nevaya.com)

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Nevaya TV at The Ned

The transformation of London’s former Midland Bank into one of the city’s most spectacular heritage hotels is the newest luxury venue to gain repute with the high-expectations of City’s Bank district.

The Grade-I listed, 11-storey building was designed in 1924 by British architect, Sir Edwin ‘Ned’ Lutyens. The Ned’s listed status has meant a respectful and light-handed renovation, with many original features - from the 92 African verdite columns in the former banking hall, to old ‘safety deposit’ signage in a main stairwell - have remained.

The high-end art deco design of the venue has been conscientiously crafted by the London-born Soho House & Co, in partnership with US Sydell Group (behind boutique properties such as The NoMad in New York and The Line in Los Angeles) to create a 252-room, 8-restaurant, hotel and members’ club in The City.

The importance of aesthetic design and bespoke beauty continues throughout the in-room technology, designed by British software company Nevaya, in partnership with Lumino. Guests can enjoy the latest movies on demand and wireless screen mirroring of their devices.

Furthermore, the interactive TV hotel directory features 30-pages for guests to explore at their leisure, including the array of food and beverage outlets available, in addition to the luxurious health and beauty services.

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Nevaya - Nevaya TV vs Samsung Reach4.0 - Page 1 - Created with Publitas.com

Compare the hospitality TV features of Nevaya TV with Samsung's Reach 4.0

Discover how Nevaya TV for hospitality compares to Samsung’s Reach 4.0

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DarkHotel Hackers use Hotel WiFi to Spy on Guests & Steal Data

The DarkHotel hacking group has returned – this time, exploiting hotel network server vulnerabilities with a new strain of Inexsmar malware.

For over a decade, the so-called DarkHotel group has been active and their signature brand of cyber-crime, specifically uses the WiFi of luxury hotels, to target high-value business travellers with malware attacks across the globe.

The most recent hacking and cyber-espionage campaign is believed by experts to either exploit vulnerabilities in server software, or infiltrate the hotel through physical access to the machines; this puts hotels with on-site network hardware, at particular risk. Although the exact methods of the attack are currently under further investigation, many hotel WiFi hotspots are already being compromised by Inexsmar, placing many vulnerable hotels, particularly those without cloud-based internet solutions, and their network users, at serious risk.

Analysis of the malware strain has led researchers to formally associate the attacks with DarkHotel, due to similarities with previous campaigns. DarkHotel are known to evolve their tactics in order to conduct espionage on corporate targets, but now the group have changed their strategies again, using a new form of malware known as Inexsmar to attack political targets. Researchers remain uncertain about who is being targeted by the campaign – however government and political targets are indicated due to the nature of the phishing emails.

Much like other espionage campaigns, the Inexsmar attack begins with high-level phishing emails individually designed to be genuine and of interest to the target. The downloader opens a decoy Word document, to appear convincing; it even contains warnings about ensuring privacy and avoiding spammers, whilst the victim’s privacy is synonymously compromised by hackers.

A self-extracting archive package contained in the email, subsequently triggers the Trojan downloader process. The malware is then downloaded in stages, in order to prevent detection. The first stage of the downloader even hides malicious codes. Researchers suggest the multi-stage Trojan download is an evolutionary step to keep the malware competitive as victims' defences improve.

"The social engineering part of the attack involves a very carefully crafted phishing email targeted to one person at a time," Bogdan Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender, told ZDNet.

"Attribution is usually difficult with this type of attack, but its complexity and the cherry-picked victims show that it is likely a state-backed threat with serious skills and resources," said Botezatu.

So what steps can hoteliers take to ensure they protect their brand reputation and the safety of their network users?

Whilst there is never a full-proof guarantee of blocking sophisticated malware attacks such as Inexsmar, there are certain precautionary measures which hoteliers can implement to minimise the risk of being targeted.

Firstly, having effective internet protection specifically designed for your hotel network  is essential. Not only does security software help to protect your users from accessing inappropriate content, but it also prevents your network from being used for malicious activity which could potentially destroy your business' reputation.

Secondly, updating your WiFi network to a cloud-based solution specifically designed for hotels, such as Nevaya WiFi, can potentially minimise the opportunity of suffering an attack like Inexsmar in several ways.

James Richmond, CEO of Nevaya, confirms, "Cloud-based WiFi networks remove the on-site server hardware and consequently ensure there is no access for tampering with the physical element of your network."

Meanwhile, cloud-based WiFi also provide benefits to keep software and SSL certificates of your network updated. SSL is the technology which establishes an encrypted link between a web server and browser, thus ensuring all data passed between the web server and browser remains private.

"In Nevaya's cloud-based WiFi, the software and SSL certificates are updated centrally, which makes it really simple and effective, as opposed to the otherwise lengthy process of updating on-site servers."  says Richmond. This is a key step in helping to protect network users from malware attacks, particularly in preventing unauthorised access to your customers' data.

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Family friendly WiFi with Nevaya Protect

Protect your users. Protect your brand.

With Nevaya Protect, hoteliers can be assured that their WiFi service and the experience of their network users is guaranteed to be family friendly. The web content filtering and network security solution blocks illegal, dangerous or inappropriate content, specifically designed for hotel users connected to Nevaya WiFi.

Why is content-filtering important?

The aim of Nevaya Protect is to create a safe environment which everyone can enjoy online. With regards to internet usage amongst children, one survey conducted by netmums.com revealed that parents are rarely aware of their children’s internet activity. While three quarters of parents believe their child spends less than an hour a day online, children admitted that they are actually surfing the web for an average of two hours a day.

The survey, which is believed to be the first to involve both children and parents found that more than half of under-16s had accessed inappropriate content online and one in 11 admitted to looking for it deliberately.

Overall, most parents remain heavily in favour of web use, with over half supporting it for homework and 82 per cent stating that their child had developed “great computer skills” as a result of being free to use the internet. For this reason, the content filtering features of Nevaya Protect adds reassurance for families exploring the internet without resorting to red-tape measures.

In addition to making the internet a family-friendly environment, Nevaya Protect supports the important brand-reputation of your business, by preventing certain illegal, sinister or suspicious activity being conducted on your network.

The benefits to your hotel WiFi network

- Safer, faster and more secure guest WiFi environment

- Protects your brand/business reputation. Business owners do not want any issues arising from providing WiFi access in their premises, such as customers or minors accessing unsuitable content from their network or violating any laws when online.

- Protect your network users. The internet is the main conduit of malware online. Owners want to assure users that they are safe when online on the WiFi network.

- Save bandwidth. Prevent users from using the WiFi network to download large amounts of content, such as streaming websites, or videos or movies.

- Ability to block Fraud, Hate Speech sites, Illegal Drugs, Anonymizer sites, Compromised sites, Pornography, Criminal Skills/Hacking, Spyware and Malicious sites, Violence and Download sites including peer-to-peer.

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HITEC Toronto

Nevaya has landed at the “world's largest hospitality technology show”, taking place in Toronto this week.

Fancy the opportunity of an exclusive chat with Nevaya’s CEO, James Richmond? Simply visit https://lnkd.in/dzSnnQt

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9 Ways to Host the Best Conference Events at Your Hotel

There are many benefits for hoteliers hosting conferences or similar events at their venues. So, what is the most successful way to market your venue as the best conference host available?

1. Develop strong corporate partners and network

In the hotel industry, some of your best opportunities for hosting events will come from your professional contacts and local corporate partners. Although it takes time to build rapport, the return of investment in mutually beneficial corporate relationships can have a positive impact on your events. Consider which businesses, particularly those local to you, may have more to gain from developing a professional relationship, and similarly consider what it is that they may be able to offer for your business in return. Arrangements which focus more on an exchange of services, than upfront fees can sometimes be the easiest to establish when making initial introductions. If a mutually beneficial relationship is already established, then this can over time make profitable opportunities such as event hosting a natural development.

2. Build your communications

Be prepared to let people know about your venue, its potential to host events and how your USPs make you better than your competitors. A great example of how one hotel group improved guest satisfaction and transformed themselves into a strong conference host, following the addition of enhanced conference WiFi technology is available to read here. Dedicate communications on your website, social media, and direct marketing, through emails, displays and other creative channels. Press releases of successful events or related newsworthy content can also help to deliver your message.

3. Offer as many mod-cons as possible.

Word of mouth can quickly elevate or kill any reputation you build as an event-hosting venue; for this reason, it is important to ensure your daily operations are fully prepared to satisfy all technical requirements for an event, as these can often be overlooked by organisers as assumed basics.

Most events will expect the following to be essentials in today’s market:

A/V presentation equipment: When was the last time you attended a conference which didn’t include an audio-visual presentation? Microphone and speaker systems, digital projectors, in addition to supporting equipment such as flip charts and white boards are all essential items for any venue.

WiFi VLAN: The number of people expected to attend the event, will indicate the absolute minimum number of devices expecting to connect to your network on top of usual traffic. Many attendees will bring with them laptops, tablets and smartphones, equating to more than one connected device per person. If you’ve ever attended a conference and failed to obtain even a basic WiFi connection, it is probably due to congestion, and likely that the venue was unable to deploy a separate Local Area Network, or VLAN. A WiFi VLAN will not only improve security for the connected devices, but can also help protect your back-office computers and support features such as Wireless Printing. More information about this technology is available here.

Personalised messaging: According to the 2016 Hospitality Vision Study, 67% of guests have a particular preference for personalised messaging. Current technology makes it easy to integrate your PMS and maximise data, to create personalised communications, via various platforms, including your hotel television screens.

4.    Be aware of regular conferences which take place in your area

Recognise which businesses already hold regular events, as these companies will already be familiar with designating budgets for such functions. If their activities are on an annual basis, then it will be easier to predict when may be a suitable time to approach them and strategise time to be creative in assessing their needs.

5.    Stay informed to forecast upcoming opportunities

The more you are aware of upcoming business activity and news, the more you can keep yourself ahead of the game for opportunities and target your marketing strategies appropriately. As an example, if you know that a local car-dealer is launching a new model, proactively approaching them with opportunities to display their vehicles and host an event at your venue could be all it takes to distract them from their usual marketing strategies or regular venue.

6.    Highlight the benefits of your location

Do you offer good connections to airports or public transport links? Perhaps your venue offers wow-factor state-of-the-art technology, attractive views or a flexible setting. Whatever your venue benefits may be, take time to think deep about how they can be maximised to appeal to your target client.

If an event is going to run all day, or across several days, the benefit of hosting at a hotel will be linked to the comfort and convenience of on-site accommodation, with all facilities available on site. Even if a conference is due to finish late in the afternoon, delegates who are travelling long-distance may prefer to dine, stay over and travel back the next morning. Consider these options, along with other logistical challenges the event organiser may face, to highlight the particular benefits of your venue.

7.    Structured package options

Structured package-tiers that consider the incurred costs for your operation, is essential if you intend to keep control of your P&L. Consider menu options, rooms, and other features aimed specifically to assist particular event scenarios. When establishing your business as a key venue for hosting events, it can be a challenge to find the right balance between excessive mark-ups that put clients off, versus bending over backwards to secure a deal which transpires to be rather unprofitable. Further to this though, it would be advisable to ensure you offer several packages that each aim to address specific occasions, not just focused on the numbers. With this approach, your business can provide a seemingly bespoke service, without losing control. Consider how different clients are likely to view your package options and how their individual needs will be met. Fulfilling their requirements for complete guest satisfaction is key.

8.   Proactive communications

Every media channel holds a certain value and provides a ready-made target audience of followers. Communicating events which are taking place at your venue can help to assert as well as support your business’ affiliations. Success stories which detail how your venue maximises guest satisfaction will always have a positive impact. Similarly, sharing events or communications on your platforms, may also open opportunities for this approach to be reciprocated by your affiliates, developing a mutually beneficial relationship.

9.    Be creative and savvy

It is easy to fall into a standard assumption about your venue when experienced day-in and day-out, however have you considered some of the more obscure and creative opportunities available which may raise interest for event-organisers seeking a memorable first impression. Whether your venue offers the opportunity for guests to arrive by boat, suspend vehicles from the ceiling or display an ice-sculpture in the foyer entrance, think about how a realistic wow-factor could be possible (still taking #7 into consideration of course). Even if your out-of-the-box thinking isn't suitable for this particular occasion, your tenacity to support the event organiser with bold ideas may earn memorable kudos points for future events.

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7 Benefits of Hosting Conference Events

Are you a savvy hotelier looking to maximise all of your conference event hosting opportunities? Or perhaps you're new to the field and seeking ideas to develop your business further? From the novice to the experienced professional, there are numerous benefits available when perfecting the art of hosting large events at your venue.

1. Build brand recognition

The opportunity to show that your business is associated with large events and trusted by your affiliates will instantly uplift and enforce your brand. A successful event at your venue can be an effective marketing campaign; an opportunity to establish your brand in a positive light, to a group of delegates and invitees who may or may not be aware of your offerings.

2. Showcase your venue

The hospitality world is alive and constantly changing. Whether you have recently refurbished your hotel foyer, extended your restaurant, enhanced your WiFi, or simply want people to learn about your leisure facilities, showcasing your venue at its best, to a large volume of people holds significant potential for communicating and developing business further.

3. Network with new referrals

It is highly probable that your clients associate, socialise and network with similar like-minded people who hold strong client potential for your business. Client-referral schemes work well on this likelihood and are most effective when the referrals already have a purpose to attend your venue. Consider how you can best communicate with these people to maximise on opportunities.

4. Generate revenue

In addition to perceivable benefits, there is of course the obvious and immediate boost to your hotel’s monthly revenue which an event can bring. In this case, it is also worth considering potential add-ons to tailor an event towards your client for a bespoke experience.

Things to consider may include opportunities to display products & services at the venue, support communications across your business’ media channels, or invite potential attendees from your client database. Even if the client chooses not to take advantage of these additional offerings, it will never hurt to demonstrate how you understand these best practices.

5. Demonstrate your affiliations

Events can help to communicate how your brand is affiliated in society. If strong business names trust your venue, this can be a useful platform for promoting your professional relationships.

Alternatively, if your venue generally attracts smaller, aspiring businesses, then you may prefer to consider how you promote support for your affiliates. Nurturing those who support your business can reap many benefits, and larger businesses are likely to recognise this if communicated successfully.

6. Enhance your marketing with new data

By inviting a high volume of suitably affiliated potential clients to your venue, there are significant opportunities that you can now act upon with new technology. Analytic features with your hotel WiFi network should now be an expectation and priority if you do not already have this technology. The reason being, that the unique data available from your visitors' mobile devices can reveal a great deal about your target market. Most hotels now expect to have analytic features available with their WiFi network the generate revenue and enhance your future marketing communications with analytical technology relating to your WiFi network.

7. Evolve your business and improve guest satisfaction

In today's market, business owners cannot afford to be left behind. This is particularly true in the hospitality industry, as guests become increasingly savvy to evolving technology and trends designed to enhance the comfort of their stay. What is noticeable, is that hotels which enhance their technology services, with the aim to enhance their conference and event-hosting ability, in turn improve their guest satisfaction, as seen in this example, following improved conference WiFi technology.

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You May As Well Be Hosting Conference Events in Your Hotel Foyer

If executed successfully, hosting a conference event at your hotel can showcase your venue to a wide network of professionals and open a series of revenue-generating and brand-catapulting opportunities for your business.

Conferences can offer a dynamic and uplifting atmosphere, busy and alive with engaging activity.

Would you ever host a conference in your hotel foyer?

Perhaps an odd question to ask, surely a designated function room is likely to cause far less disruption for your hotel’s daily operations, regular guests and conference attendees alike, right?

Well... yes, exactly.

Let’s face it, the logistics of staging a conference amidst the commotion of your already-active hotel lobby doesn’t make sense for anybody involved. Holding such an event, smack-bang in the middle of your hotel entrance, would obviously cause inconvenience for the high volume of people accessing your venue with too many conversations taking place across varying themes; it would be impossible for anyone to hear information relevant to them. People would be squeezing past and shuffling around the crowd. Communication would become frustrating, need repeating, and become completely unproductive before eventually failing altogether.

So, imagine experiencing a similar inconvenience and frustration when conference attendees, guests and employees attempt to access your internet network? The comparison is much the same.

Since the early 1990s, WiFi has fast developed into an essential commodity comparable to our basic utilities. Similarly, since the term “smartphone” was first coined over 20 years ago, individuals now carry laptops, tablets and smartphones, equating to an average of much more than one connected device per person. For this reason, it has gradually become increasingly common for network providing venues to experience high-traffic overloading their WiFi service.

If you've ever attended an event and struggled with a sluggish WiFi connection, you may recall the feeling of frustration. Perhaps you sought discussions with other people to find out if they, too, were experiencing problems with the network? It is natural to ask whether the issue is related to your device or the network, most likely, it was due to congestion on a singular network; a poor performing WiFi network can quickly distract attention into a rather negative topic of conversation. Vice-versa, it is also possible to significantly improve guest satisfaction, as evident in this case study, with a well-performing and reliable network.

The solution?

In this analogy, to designate bandwidth in the form of a VLAN for your WiFi network, would hypothetically build a separate function room for your event attendees to congregate in. Doing this can help to immensely improve the service experienced by both your conference delegates and regular travelling guests, as it prevents the event from clogging-up your hotel entrance... easier access for everyone! Furthermore, it can also ensure that productivity and security is maintained for your team’s back office tasks.

More information about this feature and developing an efficient network for businesses and guests can be found at nevaya.com 

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What is VLAN?

Virtual Local Area Network.

Since the term “smartphone” was first coined in 1995, individuals now carry laptops, tablets and smartphones, equating to an average of much more than one connected device per person. For this reason, it has gradually become increasingly common for network providing venues to experience moments of high-traffic, which overload their WiFi service and lead to unhappy users.

Increasing a network’s bandwidth is certainly one solution to this issue, however, for a network which just needs to cope with the occasional peak in traffic, this may be an unnecessary cost. Instead, an alternative solution is to deploy a conference VLAN.

VLAN explained

Imagine that your internet operates like a road. Your network is the road taking people to their online destinations, and every device which connects to your network travels like a vehicle along that road.

Bandwidth is the capacity of the network, and consequently most comparable to the number of lanes on your road. Network bandwidth is a fixed commodity. Adding more lanes to the highway would be one way of increasing bandwidth, however for this, you may need to dig up the road and rebuild.

Speed refers to the transfer rate of the data, it is subject to fluctuations and can be determined by how fast the car in front is going, how busy traffic is and whether there are any roadworks disrupting your journey.

If the road has enough capacity to manage the volume of traffic, there is unlikely to be an issue, however, a sudden surge of vehicles travelling at the same time, will inevitably build up traffic, and the speed consequently slows down. This will be felt by everyone using that network, including your back-office computers, residing guests and daytime visitors.

Alternatively, if you were prepared to forecast surges in traffic or quickly respond to increased demand, then you can quickly deploy an alternative route designated for certain vehicles. This parallel route is basically how VLAN works, helping to maintain traffic conditions for everyone.

James Richmond, CEO of Nevaya, a British-based company specialising in WiFi for hotels explains, "Many hotels experience difficulty in maintaining and managing their network. The hospitality industry experiences particular peaks in occupancy throughout the year, and when hotels experience the occasional surge in the number of devices, or data being used, it is not unusual to find your internet network, which previously performed without issues, may suddenly struggle to cope with the workload."

"The effect this can have on a business is a poor and disappointing guest experience, at a particularly sensitive time, when your brand is exposed to more guests than usual"

"This headache can easily be resolved with the right WiFi network and features. Deploying a VLAN can allow you to distribute bandwidth as required, maximising the efficiency of your network."

Further to these benefits, VLANs also enhance security. A VLAN allows users to share sensitive information without it being seen by other network users. Aside from the reassurance this subsequently offers your guests, this is also a significant reassurance for your back-office operations, which can be segregated further, such as for individual departments or protected managerial access.

More information can be found about this WiFi feature for hospitality at nevaya.com

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This nifty tool could increase your hotel's F+B business by 24%

If you could capture the attention of residing guests, using limitless digital displays on your hotel TV-system, for no extra cost, would you be interested?

The theory sounds enticing, but does it really work? According to a recent six-week study conducted by Nevaya, in-room digital signage, advertising an F+B promotion, increased footfall to that outlet by 24%. Furthermore, revenue increased by 23% and even average spend received a boost.

"The results speak for themselves really," explains James Richmond, CEO of Nevaya.

"We knew that advertising to guests in the comfort of their hotel room would help to drive revenue, but the success of this study suggests the benefits could be even more prominent than first imagined".

Enhancing the guest experience whilst managing cost

Cost can often be the first thought to flash through the hotelier's mindset whenever new technology is introduced. Throughout the hospitality industry there are important budgets to manage and revenue opportunities to create. New technology can often sound pricey, but there is a constant pressure for hoteliers to keep up with new innovations and maintain a positive guest experience against competitors. Achieving the right balance between cost and benefit is tricky.

Most significantly over the past couple of years, the hospitality industry has seen the ultimate “at-home” experience become increasingly important for guests deciding where to stay; so can your business afford not to make the upgrade? The decision on where to invest needn't be overwhelming, particularly when certain technology offers significant ROI for the business, synonymously enhancing the guest experience.

These options tend to fulfil an harmonious balance for hoteliers who need to enhance their offering whilst also making positive progress on the P&L.

As an example of this, the ability to view personal devices on hotel-room TVs, otherwise known as "screen-mirroring" technology for guests, is making big waves in the hotel industry, and also provides unique platforms beneficial for the hotel marketer. According to a recent survey by ADB*, 57.4% of hotel guests now attempt to connect their personal devices to hotel in-room entertainment systems, and nearly three quarters would prefer to view their media-streaming accounts, such as NetFlix or Hulu on their hotel-room TV.

"Imagine enhancing your guests' in-room experience with wireless screen-mirroring features, at the same time as gaining new marketing tools that are proven to be effective. Plus, the other benefits of cloud-based technology. That's essentially what our TV service offers hoteliers", claims Richmond, "this makes updating in-room entertainment far more affordable, with the ability to offset investment".

When asked further about the benefits of cloud-based technology, Richmond explains, “All our products are cloud-based. Due to our TV and WiFi software being in the cloud, this significantly reduces costs for hotels. Firstly, installation is quick, simple and cost-effective; meanwhile, running costs and maintenance are minimal as a direct result of the reduced on-site hardware.”

Studies* suggest that vibrant digital displays obtain 24% more views than a static poster. Furthermore, the rotating possibilities are endless, as there is no limit or fee for the number of communications an outlet wishes to post.

The ability to target guests in this manner as they relax in their hotel room, offers significant value for hoteliers, as they drive revenue through this technology with complete control and flexibility.

Inform guests, promote offerings and amenities.

So how does it work? Essentially, you can engage guests with promotional communications from the moment they switch on their TV; Advertisements can be displayed as guests browse channels and scroll through the menu. The possibilities are endless, from upcoming F+B events, to up-selling your branded toiletries, spa services or reservation offers.

Some venues, such as the recent study, have maximised their TV system communications by adding a series of engaging menu pages dedicated to on-site facilities and services, including F+B outlets, room service, or health-spa facilities.

The flexibility of the digital-display feature allows hoteliers to communicate campaigns at the click of a button, either as scheduled projects, or instant blast-campaigns. This feature is particularly effective for communicating ad-hoc campaigns for instant impact.

Generate a profit stream by selling advertising space.

“A cloud-based TV service with online portal access, grants hoteliers full control of their display”, explains Richmond. With this in mind, hotels are subsequently free to seek third parties who are keen to target their valuable guests. “This benefits everyone because the third-party gets a unique and specific target audience, the hotelier gains opportunities for new recurring revenue, and the guest becomes privy to relevant communications relating to the region they are visiting.”

Promote your hotel’s brand, technologically and aesthetically.

The bespoke design of new TV systems, allow hotels to enforce their branding with professional and polished aesthetics. With cloud-based technology, businesses with multiple-venues can also decide when to create communications locally or centrally, ensuring brand standards are never compromised.

Target your guests with a unique and engaging marketing platform. Offset your investment, increase RevPAR & enhance guest experience with NevayaTV for more details visit www.nevaya.com

*Statistics taken from Nevaya 2017 TV Marketing Study (nevaya.com), ADB 2016 InRoom Entertainment Preference Study, Hospitality Technology 2016 Lodging Technology Survey and Digitalsignage.net