WiFi Extender for Hotel: How To Get Started

Anyone running a hotel knows the annoyance of dead spots. It can be a pain for staff accessing online systems, and it can quickly rack up negative online reviews. Great WiFi is essential when running a successful hotel; customers expect it to be super speedy. If you are battling an iffy connection, that is where a WiFi range extender for hotel rooms comes in.

An extender is one way to improve your current router’s range without excessive ethernet ports and wires. This is a simple but effective way to ensure your internet covers your hotel. It will likely nip those negative reviews in the bud before they create long-lasting damage.

In this guide, we’ll teach you all there is to know about WiFi extenders for hotel rooms and buildings. We’ll cover a solid definition, how they work, and how to choose the best possible equipment.

Does it sound good? Brilliant! At the end of this guide, you’ll be ready to transform your hotel’s WiFi system.

What Is a WiFi Extender?

A WiFi extender is a simple device that detects the wireless signal from your current router. Once this detection occurs, it rebroadcasts the signal to expand the coverage. It is like Chinese whispers, but if you were trying to shout a message across half a mile. It would help to have someone stand in the middle and pass on the message, wouldn’t it?

An extender repeats the signal to spread further, covering previously ‘dead’ areas. It’s a clever process. The extender is a small piece of equipment, usually a wired device plugged into a socket for power.

You can buy a WiFi extender for as cheap as $20, but prices quickly escalate to over the mid-hundreds. It all depends on what brand and strength you want. It’s a good idea to mention your coverage issues to your provider first, who may give you a free solution.

Your provider may offer you a WiFi booster instead. The two are marginally different in how they rebroadcast the router signal, and people tend to refer to them interchangeably. So don’t worry if your provider offers a booster; it might be a good option to try first.

In summary, an extender is a great tool for hotels. Since hotels have so many rooms, they naturally have more walls and barricades for WiFi signals to pass through. This often creates a slower signal or even no signal in certain areas, so extenders for hotels are a popular solution.

How a WiFi Extender Works

A WiFi extender is an excellent piece of equipment. It uses your existing router to provide a better connection for wireless devices. It is a wireless process and doesn’t require a wired connection. It simply rebroadcasts the signal, but we’ll further break that down for you in this section.

You need to know the four basic steps to understand how a WiFi extender works.

1. Your Router Emits a Signal

Your router receives its connection via an ethernet cable and produces a signal. Routers typically broadcast this signal directly to wireless devices. However, this signal might only reach some people when you struggle with coverage in a hotel setting.

The first stage is the router continuously emitting a WiFi signal, which leads us to the next stage.

2. Your WiFi Extender Detects the Signal

Your extender detects the signal at this point, not just mobile phones and laptops within the coverage area.

This is vital, and where you place an extender is an essential component in the success of this stage. Ideally, it should be halfway between the router and the “problem area.” Remember, it is like a stepping stone or Chinese whispers.

3. The Extender Rebroadcasts the Signal

When the extender receives the router’s signal, it rebroadcasts it. This means that while the signal is weak when it reaches the extender, it leaves the extender at full strength. The signal is stronger and can cover more distance; everyone needs a quick pit stop sometimes, right?

4. Dead Areas Receive Wireless Connection

At this stage, you’ve beaten the dreaded dead spots. The stronger signal reaches those pesky areas, and mobile devices now have internet connections.

It could be a case of too thick walls or too many doors between the router and these areas. Or perhaps you were asking it to cover too many floors or a total floor space too wide. Regardless of the cause, a good extender can completely override these limiting factors.

What If That Doesn’t Work?

You don’t want to hear this, but sometimes more than one extender is needed. There are many reasons for this; perhaps you have a hotel that is too large or a number of guests, causing strain.

If this solution doesn’t work, consider mesh WiFi systems. Mesh WiFi uses many different nodes, which act like a group of extenders. This approach means you can attack the dead areas from several areas.

How To Choose WiFi Extenders for Hotel Rooms

Choosing a WiFi extender for hotel rooms is fine art; you need extender stats and details. Once you know what to look for, you’ll be able to choose a match for you and your hotel easily. This is how to choose WiFi extenders for hotel rooms using three simple criteria.

1. Does It Need To Be Weather-Proof

This is a major question to ask yourself, especially if you are trying to connect WiFi between buildings. Will your WiFi extender be exposed to the elements? Or will it get wet, for instance, in a cellar or kitchen?

When trying to extend WiFi to hotel rooms, you won’t necessarily put extenders in the rooms themselves. Remember, you set the extenders halfway between the router and the problem areas. This means it could be in your hotel’s gardens, corridors, or other spaces.

This means that weather-proof extenders could be perfect for you. It’s an excellent question to ask yourself before you commit to a purchase.

2. Do You Need a Plug-and-Play Extender

These are the easiest extenders to fit; e.g., you can just plug it in, and it works immediately. It is sometimes hard to determine which extenders are “plug-and-plays.” But in general, these are a few signs:

• External antennas.
• Plug sockets.
• No mention of “setting up” processes.

If you want something that you can quickly get up and running, these extenders are much better for you. You won’t have to invest in complex setup processes or hire anyone to do it for you. And these basic extenders are like prepaid packages, requiring little technical knowledge. This also makes them great for urgent adjustments.

3. Do You Need Mesh WiFi

Remember we mentioned that sometimes an extender alone isn’t effective? Well, that’s where mesh WiFi comes in. Mesh WiFi is ideal for big hotels with multiple floors, hundreds of rooms, and different buildings. An extender might be the fix for a mid-size property, but for a large one, you need a different strategy.

Mesh WiFi uses many extender nodes to spread the connection further, such as using extenders like TP-Link RE315. While trying an extender first is always worth trying, you may save time and effort going straight for mesh.

If you know your property is unlikely to get coverage off a single extender, we suggest getting mesh WiFi.

Pairing WiFi Marketing With the Best WiFi Extender for Hotels

One of the most incredible things about great WiFi in hotels is that they facilitate WiFi marketing. Once you have your WiFi up to speed, you can focus on moving forward. Having WiFi marketing in your hotel is a fantastic way to build customer loyalty and collect valuable customer data.

The whole point of WiFi marketing is to gather details for future marketing, so it’s a great way to progress.

These are three simple steps to pair WiFi marketing with your chosen best WiFi extender for hotels.

1. Fix Your WiFi Speed and Eliminate Dead Spots

Fixing your WiFi speed is a vital first step achieved through buying and setting up a WiFi extender. By using your new extender or extenders, you’ll eliminate your dead spots and enjoy faster WiFi.

Before you move forward with your WiFi marketing journey, it’s essential to establish steady WiFi. Think of your WiFi as your foundation.

2. Choose a Captive Portal Software

Once your WiFi is ready for action, you’ve got captive portal software to consider. This is the software that will bring your WiFi marketing to life.

Captive portals are web page pop-ups that block customers from immediately accessing your WiFi. Instead, they must comply with the portal terms, which could be anything from following socials to entering their email address.

Shop around for software and get your captive portal up and running. You should look for software that collects and arranges the details in a singular database. This is the most effective way to move forward with a WiFi marketing campaign.

3. Advertise Your WiFi and Brainstorm Future Marketing Campaigns

With your WiFi and captive portal aligned and running, it’s time to get people to join. Luckily, guests are typically raring to go when joining hotel WiFi. Ensure there are available login details and a handy WiFi policy complying with your local regulations and data acts. Your job is to connect as many guests as possible.

From here, you can start to brainstorm future marketing campaigns. Collecting email addresses, phone numbers, and social media interactions are the basis of different marketing campaigns. So take your pick and get planning mega campaigns.

Beambox: WiFi Software To Utilize Your WiFi Extender for Hotel Guests

You need software that makes your WiFi profitable, not just for your guests. With the right software, you can transform your now-super-speedy hotel WiFi into a valuable business asset.

WiFi marketing allows you to collect those vital marketing details to facilitate future campaigns. And if you are starting from scratch, you’ll have a lot of necessary contacts to build up. Customer data is essential for growing your hotel business and expanding your success.

Luckily, with a tremendous captive portal system, you can go from zero to hero in no time.

Using a captive portal allows you to maximize the fact that you now have more readily available WiFi. The captive portal collects details like email addresses and phone numbers. You can then repurpose these details into marketing campaigns. WiFi marketing is like one big data collection factory.

It might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Here at Beambox, we have fabulous all-in-one marketing software that does all the hard work for you.

Start your Beambox free trial today. Once you have your WiFi extender for hotel rooms, the internet foundations are ready for WiFi marketing.

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