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Wireless Fidelity
by Dick Drechsler
President, Resort WiFi
ResortWiFi
One of the most exciting topics discussed at the recent American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, was high-speed wireless fidelity (WiFi® [802.11b] ) access to Internet service, or what has come to be known simply as "WiFi."
Co-founders and managing members of ResortWiFi, LLC Richard "Dick" Drechsler and James Phalan are in a better position than most to lead the discussion.
ResortWiFi supplies WiFi technology almost exclusively to the resort industry, deploying signals through "Hotspots" located in resort lobbies, lounges and units. WiFi Hotspots enable timeshare owners to use their own laptops, PDAs or a kiosk to access the Internet at speeds many times faster than typical 56K dial-up modems. ResortWiFi is a certified provider with Wi-Fi ZONE® and supplies 24/7 customer support on-line or by telephone.
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona with a satellite office in Santa Ana, California, the company's principal source of revenue is derived from consumer usage fees, allowing the company to install Internet Hotspots for a minimal installation fee.
The company focused its business plan on the vacation ownership/timeshare industry due to Drechsler's long-term experience in the industry and when he saw that the industry's special needs and concerns were not understood or being met by WiFi providers to hotels and restaurants. WiFi companies outside the industry tend to view the WiFi consumer as a one-time commodity, whereas in the resort environment, timeshare professionals have a much more familial commitment to building life-long relationships and serving their owners over generational periods.
Drechsler is passionate in his desire to see that timeshare owners receive the highest quality WiFi access available in the United States. This includes, at a minimum, providing the highest commercial-grade equipment available and working towards an "open-arms" roaming policy to be honored by all WiFi providers serving the timeshare industry and with other providers throughout the continental United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. According to his vision for the industry, an owner should only need to purchase one WiFi subscription and be able to use it anywhere throughout the network of resorts. The goal is that a timeshare owner's ResortWiFi "User Name" and "Password" will be to WiFi what their cell phone number is to wireless voice roaming. ResortWiFi has already made significant progress in this regard, successfully working out arrangements for Boingo, GRIC and iPASS subscribers to roam on ResortWiFi's sites.
"The vacation ownership industry is being faced with a new challenge or, if you look at the glass as being half-full, an opportunity to offer owners and guests system-wide flexibility and standards of quality," says Drechsler. "This is the same flexibility our owners have come to expect throughout the industry through the exchange concept. The vacation ownership industry has the opportunity to permit timeshare owners and guests to enjoy high-speed Internet access "roaming" privileges throughout the resort network in a way that other distributors, including the hotel industry, have not yet imagined. When the WiFi industry adopts 'open-arms' roaming, an owner traveling to any timeshare resort should need only his laptop, user name and password (and perhaps a bathing suit)."
"Our concern," adds Phalan, "is that developers or management entities will fail to recognize this opportunity to promote roaming early in the development of WiFi as a necessary resort amenity. WiFi is an emerging technology and is developing in much the same way as the cellular phone industry did, not so long ago. In the early days of cellular, there was virtually no roaming and when it was available, it was costly. Plus, the quality of service was inconsistent. Through much effort, consumers demanded and finally obtained their providers' cooperation in giving them higher quality service, compatibility throughout the country and more reasonable prices. Thus, the 'roaming' concept was born and is now considered standard. The bar of the cellular industry continues to be raised as further standards for quality and acceptable levels of service become accepted as the norm."
"The WiFi industry has an even greater tendency towards polarization, since Hotspots are more easily deployed and managed than a cellular site. WiFi Hotspots are being set up by everyone from major providers, such as ResortWiFi, to local mom-and-pop installers. The result is an inconsistency in product quality and incompatibility for consumers as they travel from location to location, the antithesis of the relationship-based philosophy of our vacation ownership industry."
To achieve the ultimate in relationship-building, says Phalan, "ResortWiFi seeks to become known as the 'never-say-no' company. For instance, when we had a request from an owner who utilized a split-week (3- or 4-day stay) option, we instituted a split-week pricing plan overnight. After all, when owners are on vacation, they can't wait for decisions to work their way up a corporate ladder."
"Another area of concern should be system security for both the resort and the user. We're convinced that using non-professional solutions invites less-than-satisfactory Internet service that will tend to reflect negatively on the reputation of an individual resort's management, and eventually, on timeshare management overall."
According to a recent article in www.hotel-online.com, entitled "High Speed Internet Access in Hotels; A New Amenity Opens Up New Liabilities," by Diana S. Barber, Esq., posted on March 4, 2004, improper security could spell legal liability for resorts. Barber wrote, "It is critical that your Internet service provider or vendor goes through an extensive certification process whereby a complete security assessment is examined and security protocols are put in place prior to retaining them to install and provide the service. Don't use just any vendor to supply your Internet service. Do your homework and make sure that appropriate security measures are in place such as adequate firewalls and other features that are becoming standard in the industry for the protection of your guests and your hotel."
Phalan says, "Firstly, a resort should look at the reliability and reputation of the network operations center. ResortWiFi uses Pronto Networks, whom we selected because it is the Internet's largest and most well-established wireless Internet gateway provider and has developed a highly sophisticated Operations Support System (OSS) with an integrated firewall for security."
"There is a risk that the reputation of WiFi will be sullied by unqualified providers using technically inferior products and/or methodology." adds Phalan. "We have already come across several instances in which resort managers have attempted the do-it-yourself approach. In each case, the resulting Internet access was less than satisfactory. In technology, you really do get what you pay for. ResortWiFi very quickly learned to use only the highest quality, commercial-grade equipment. Additionally, when owners have a support question, the resort's management staff was burdened to either learn about the technology or out-source customer service at outrageously expensive rates. In all of the cases we have seen at this point, the users were receiving relatively little or no support."
He adds, "Managers should be aware that timeshare owners will soon come to expect resorts to provide them with certified service. For example, ResortWiFi's hotspots are WiFi Zone®-certified, meaning that all our equipment has been rigorously tested, our Internet access speeds meet minimum requirements and that our resort sites are listed in the WiFi Zone Finder. (The WiFi Zone Finder is an online guide to certified hotspots throughout the world that WiFi users can check, prior to making their vacation plans.) Being a WiFi Zone-certified provider ensures our resort partners that owners will receive optimum service and will have access to 24/7 telephone and online support."
"Due to the nature of the vacation ownership industry, resort developers and managers understand the concept of value-added and can jump on the quality-and-compatibility bandwagon first, rather than have it roll away before taking command of the opportunity," Drechsler says. "Plus, the open-arms approach to WiFi service gives the industry another benefit not currently offered in the hotel world."
"Because ResortWiFi commands the largest base of WiFi sites in the industry, we have been struck with perhaps a clearer vision than most of the need for open-arms compatibility, the need for security, and the utter necessity for high quality service. Most new laptop, pocket PC, PDA, and soon, cellular phones, being sold today are wireless-enabled," says Drechsler. "Otherwise, computer users are purchasing plug-and-play WiFi cards to take advantage of the growing numbers of access Hotspots nationwide. The tide is fast becoming a tsunami. The mandate for the vacation ownership industry is clear: provide excellent service and totally compatibility. Resort operators will not be asking whether or not they need to provide WiFi, but rather, how they will provide it. As with any new technology, obtaining knowledge should be the first step."
As the industry's preeminent WiFi provider, and the only provider concentrating almost exclusively on the vacation ownership/timeshare industry, ResortWiFi's next focus will be to engage a number of organizations, such as the WiFi Alliance, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and others, to educate resorts about WiFi standards and to champion open-arms roaming compatibility throughout the industry.
How It Works:
It wasn't so long ago that our computers were tied to slow, tedious telephone lines with slow download times.
However, today's average internet user is hooked up to lightning-fast high speed Direct Subscriber Line (DSL) internet service allowing for near-instant downloads of music, streaming video, and news.
The question is - how can you provide your resort guests with the same service that they receive at home, without all the wires?
By understanding how the process works, you can be better equipped to meet your guests' needs.
The first thing needed to provide this service to your guests is an internet account. The incoming lines for the account will be installed in a central location at your facility.
The internet signal will be broadcast via a high-speed wireless router to various other broadcasting stations throughout your facility. Anyone stationed near one of the "hot spots" broadcast from these transmitters will be able to receive wireless internet signals.
Owners and guests with WiFi-enabled laptops or PDAs should be automatically redirected to the welcome screen immediately upon opening their Internet browser.
From there, they answer a few simple questions, select an hourly, daily, split-week or full week plan at fees ranging from $4.95 to $29.95, and their Username and Password are activated.