The U.S. hospitality industry has not only rebounded since the pandemic, it is now growing at an annual rate of more than 16%, offering significant opportunity to recoup lost profits. Keeping up with this market growth requires delivery of the best possible guest experience, and today that experience is intricately linked to advances in technology.
From AI-driven, personalized recommendations and smartphone check-in, to keyless entry and more, guests’ ability to leverage the latest high-tech services depends on seamless connectivity. This can be particularly challenging in venues with widely fluctuating capacity needs from day to day, such as hotels and convention centers. As technology continues to transform the hospitality guest experience, how is this transformation impacting in-building mobile capacity and coverage needs?
Shifting Landscape
A range of factors can shape demand for various types of hospitality services, from guest demographics to changing work habits and shifting travel patterns. With a growing number of professionals either working remotely or alternating between home and office in a hybrid mode, the lines between work and home life are blurring. Likewise, this workplace flexibility is giving rise to more combined business and leisure trips, known as “bleisure” travel. With 81% of business travelers participating in this trend to some extent, building owners and facilities managers need to plan how to accommodate the needs of both travel types.
Guests and property managers alike also are embracing contactless technologies, such as digital keys, mobile check-in, and voice-controlled room automation. By limiting wait times and physical contact points, these seamless hospitality services enhance and simplify the guest experience while streamlining operational efficiency. This redefinition of hospitality creates an effortless experience that integrates physical and virtual services, appealing to modern travelers—particularly younger, digital-native generations.
Another trend influencing the contemporary guest experience is increasing awareness of environmental impact. In a recent study, 65% of travelers expressed interest in making more sustainable choices, even if that results in paying higher prices. This means that savvy hospitality properties willing to invest in sustainability practices and technologies can grow market share in this highly competitive industry.
Ultimate Guest Experiences
As customer expectations evolve, hospitality facilities managers need to adapt to continue to enable premier, customized, omni-channel guest experiences. Today’s guests, visitors, and event attendees need fast and reliable connectivity throughout hotels and convention centers to access the latest technologies via mobile internet and wireless services. And with the immediacy of work deadlines and social media sharing, on-demand mobile connectivity is pivotal to creating a guest experience that builds loyalty, boosting revenue and positive online reviews.
However, a large influx of users can demand more bandwidth than what is available at any given time, causing poor mobile quality of service (QoS), lack of internet access, and dropped calls. Moreover, the evolution of mobile network technology is transforming the way that networks are built and managed, including how outdoor wide-area networks interact with in-building wireless equipment, potentially impacting connectivity indoors.
With 5G connections expected to reach 6.8 billion by the end of 2027, mobile network operators (MNOs) are adopting new mid-band 5G radio frequency (RF) spectrum to increase available capacity. As a result, legacy neutral-host distributed antenna system (DAS) architecture is unable to carry all of the currently available 5G frequencies without equipment updates or changes to add support for new bands.
An existing DAS with modular remotes can be upgraded by installing additional amplifiers or add-on remote units to support new bands or sectors. This provides a more cost-efficient and sustainable solution to address technological changes like migrating from 4G to 5G and 6G. On the other hand, non-modular systems may require an expensive overlay of new infrastructure or a complete rip-and-replace project to support new 5G spectrum using time division duplexing (TDD) timing sequence.
Yet even after upgrading the active DAS equipment to support the new frequency bands, system integrators and third-party network operators typically need to modify the passive distribution cabling to maintain seamless in-building 5G coverage. That’s because recently available 5G mid-band frequencies, such as the C-Band spectrum, have a shorter signal propagation range than 3G and 4G RF spectrum. These bands also are easily blocked by interior walls, cubicles, furniture, and low-E glass, leading to lost signals and reduced in-building coverage footprint.
Therefore, when upgrading legacy DAS installations to use mid-band spectrum, modifications such as antenna replacements and increased output power may be required in order to achieve the same in-building coverage footprint. In fact, C-Band coverage per antenna is just a small percentage of the in-building coverage provided by some legacy frequencies at the same power level, potentially requiring the addition of amplifiers that provide four to 10 times more output power to match the existing footprint.
Of course, every in-building deployment is unique. The size, materials, and layout of a building or campus all play an important role, requiring careful evaluation of a number of factors to determine the most appropriate type of DAS platform and the way in which it’s deployed.
Plan for Tomorrow
In addition to planning how to support the latest technologies that guests and visitors crave, building owners and facilities managers also need to consider what capabilities will be required for back-of-house operations when making strategic investments. A growing number of property managers are looking to private 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots, and digital automation to optimize property operations, such as streamlining guest services and controlling security cameras, lighting, smart thermostats, and other building systems. This means that DAS upgrade plans should ensure plenty of 5G in-building connectivity for operational teams as well as guests.
One case in point is the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC). The convention center recently invested in upgrading the in-building communications equipment as part of a capital improvement project. The DAS system upgrades, intended to provide neutral-host connectivity with all the major mobile service providers operating in mid-band 5G, are expected to be completed in advance of the 2025 Super Bowl to be held nearby.
“Steeped in the history and culture of New Orleans, our award-winning Convention Center delivers remarkable experiences infused with Southern hospitality,” said Michael J. Sawaya, president and CEO of NOENMCC. “This in-building communications technology investment is a strategic part of our significant capital improvement project designed to meet the highest possible technology and sustainability standards to delight exhibitors and attendees alike.”
With 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space under one roof and widely fluctuating capacity needs, this type of project presents considerable challenges for in-building connectivity. A modular, scalable DAS system design was selected to ensure sufficient bandwidth and coverage for convention center attendees, anticipated to exceed 800,000 in 2024. The equipment selected also offers industry-leading sustainability, making it a good choice for the Gold-level LEED-certified convention center.
Hospitality Redefined
Whether on a quiet leisure weekend or attending a fully-booked business meeting—or even blending the two on a bleisure trip—hospitality guests and visitors expect to stay connected with work, family, social media, and on-the-go entertainment. By providing seamless in-building mobile connectivity, building owners and facilities managers set the stage for the ultimate guest experience, thereby enhancing a venue’s reputation and revenue, as well as protecting property investments.
