Last month, the Belden solution line management team attended its first-ever HITEC, ready to talk about how to use technology to improve hotel guest satisfaction and staff efficiency. We expected the robots, the automation, the AI and the interactive screens. But amid the buzz of what’s coming for hotel operators, what really caught our attention was the story left untold: the role of the network.
While all the innovations displayed at this conference were meant to make workdays better for employees and experiences more seamless for guests, they also introduced new demands about what must happen behind the scenes before tech can function properly.
Hotel technology is becoming one connected system
Whether we were looking at robots or paging systems, one thing always stood out: Vendors are now in the business of selling experiences as they find ways to use technology to improve hotel guest satisfaction. And this technology requires software enabled with AI that can reach across the property, interact with multiple systems and respond in real-time.
Here are just a few examples of what we saw:
- SONIFI, a provider of various tech systems and managed services, is emphasizing TV screens as points of guest interaction and monetization. The company is releasing a software platform that streamlines network integration and management for properties. It also offers real-time access to technology performance and usage metrics that let hotels uncover opportunities to reach a captive audience.
- BluIP, a VoIP provider, is using software and AI to boost worker efficiency. When a guest interacts with the hotel using web, voice, chat or mobile, the “person” they talk to first may be an AI agent. When necessary, a human joins to resolve the issue, receiving full access to the context AI captured for them.
- IntBot, a humanoid robotics company, is creating robots that can communicate naturally and contextually with people in hotel environments. They can welcome guests, help with check-in and answer common questions about rooms and amenities.
As we walked the HITEC show floor, we kept thinking: If this is where hospitality is headed, then the infrastructure underneath it all has to keep up. Everything we saw served as real‑time validation of what Belden has been saying for years: The technology you deploy is only as good as the network it runs on.
Your network determines your ROI on tech investments
The more connected your operation becomes, the harder it is to hide network problems. Every new device or platform you add is one more chance for something to go wrong in front of a guest. And each HITEC demo was operating under the assumption that devices and applications would interact and perform reliably.
When that assumption isn’t true, technology investments don’t deliver the return you paid for. Securing a strong tech ROI comes down to your network and what it can support.
Otherwise, even the best ideas will fail.
3 examples of what happens when networks can’t support hotel tech
1. A welcome robot stops talking mid-interaction because of Wi-Fi congestion during peak check-in hours. Guest conversations drop, with no way for them to know whether anyone’s still listening.
2. In-room Wi-Fi lags and streaming services buffer. Guest satisfaction drops due to technology-induced friction.
3. An AI-enabled phone system can’t respond to guest requests in real-time when the network introduces delays, passing an overwhelming number of calls to staff. Guests won’t get the answers they need because they’re stuck in a call queue.
Assess your network before you invest
Understanding what your network can support means taking stock of infrastructure, coverage and capacity before you deploy technology to improve hotel guest satisfaction. This means getting a handle on:
- Whether your infrastructure is installed and documented to current standards, or has grown ad hoc over years of quick fixes
- Whether guest devices are properly segmented from staff operations
- Where you have strong wireless coverage (and where don’t you)
- At what times of the day the network slows down—and why
- How many more devices could be connected before your network exceeds capacity
Once you have that baseline, you’ll know how to create a scalable, reliable network to support the kinds of solutions we saw at HITEC. For some properties, this might involve moving toward a fiber backbone to handle high traffic volumes and more connected devices without constant upgrades. For others, it may be about improving coverage in key zones and right-sizing bandwidth.
Belden helps you understand what you’re working with
Belden can assess your applications, infrastructure, pain points and future needs so you can confidently invest in the right technology to improve hotel guest satisfaction and worker productivity.
We think about your network in “zones”: guestrooms, conference spaces, back-of-house operations, public areas and outdoor spaces. Because these zones carry different devices and traffic, they also have different network requirements. Planning with those differences in mind prevents you from overbuilding everything and paying for capacity you don’t need.
Instead, we design for every part of your property to protect ROI, giving you a network built to support technology without unnecessary costs or downtime. Get the foundation right, and your tech investments have a real shot at delivering what they promise.
Ready to gain a clear understanding of your network’s current state and get customized recommendations to make sure you’re ready for what’s coming? Our team is here to help you connect to what’s possible.
Related links:
- Work Smarter, Not Harder: Navigating the Hotel Labor Gap with Tech
- How fault-managed power can solve hidden power problems in hospitality
- Bringing Back-of-House Hotel Operations to the Forefront