Many businesses and organizations provide a free WiFi Internet for guests, visitors, customers and residents.

Business owners are not aware that they can recover the cost of providing the service using multi-tier billing with Guest Internet WiFi controllers where a basic WiFi service is free and guests who want a faster service pay for it.

The cost of providing the Internet service for guests, visitors, customers and residents has increased dramatically in recent years due to the demand for data speed.

People now use applications like video streaming (e.g. Netflix), video conferencing (e.g. Zoom) and gaming that demand a high Internet bandwidth. Business owners get complaints that the Internet is slow and so have to upgrade the WiFi Internet for a faster speed.

This might mean switching from a DSL service to a more expensive fiber service. When one ISP cannot provide the speed that the business requires then it is necessary to add a second, third or fourth ISP through a load balance router such as the Guest Internet GIS-R6, GIS-R10, GIS-R20 and GIS-R40 to get the data speed that the guests demand.

Businesses are getting hit with massive charges for internet use

Because the business has many Internet users the ISP may also charge extra monthly fees for the data used. The result is that a business can receive a monthly Internet bill of thousands of dollars. This adds to the cost increases for all other services that the business has to pay.

A business that provides a free WiFi Internet service for guests, visitors, customers and residents will get complaints if the business begins charging for the service. Some businesses like hotels and motels will lose guests if a free WiFi service is not provided.

Alternative to recover the cost of running a WiFi internet service

Businesses have another alternative to recover the cost of the WiFi Internet service; provide a tiered service where the free WiFi is maintained but with a slower data speed. No one expects a free WiFi Internet service to have a fast speed. A slow data speed means that the quality of video streaming is low but usable. The slow free data speed leaves bandwidth available to charge for a faster data service. People who need the fast data speed are willing to pay for it, such as business travelers who make conference calls.

Some examples of businesses that offer a tiered WiFi Internet service are:

• Hotels, motels and resorts have to offer free WiFi, but they can provide a slower WiFi service for free and charge for a faster service.
• Airports can provide 30 minutes free slow speed access and then charge for access at hourly rates.
• Campgrounds, glamping, RV and caravan parks can provide a limited speed free service and sell Internet vouchers with access codes at the office or issue receipts on demand in addition to collecting credit card payments.
• Cruise ships and ferries can charge for Internet access using on-line credit card payments.

Guest Internet controller products provide any business that gives WiFi Internet to customers with several methods of charging for WiFi. These are listed below.

• Print access code vouchers for sale.
• Guest Internet point of sale (PoS) using the receipt printer.
• Download access codes to print scratch-off pre-pay cards.
• Online credit card charge using a Paypal business account.
• Online credit card charge using any payment processor by building an interface to the Guest Internet API.
• A hotel can interface any property management system (PMS) with the Guest Internet API, a campground or RV park can interface with the API, or a business can interface a PoS terminal with the API.
• Any business can provide subscribers of services such as Boingo with access to the Internet and receive a payment from the subscription service.

The methods of charging for the WiFi service can be mixed; a free service is combined with a paid service. Some examples are listed below.

• A hotel, motel or resort provides free WiFi for guests with a slow data speed that has a maximum of 1Mb/s as an example. This speed will allow access to emails and social media, but video streaming will have a poor quality. The login page can show the option of paying with a credit card for high speed Internet access at a daily rate. The high-speed service can have a maximum speed set of 20Mb/s. Hotels that implement this method find that enough guests pay for the high speed service to cover the monthly cost of the ISP charge.
• An airport can provide free 30 minutes of slow data speed (1Mb/s) Internet access each 24-hour period. The data speed is fast enough to check airline schedules, check hotel reservations and answer emails. After the free period the login page offers Internet access at hourly rates paid with a credit card. The login page can also offer access to the Internet using a subscription service such as Boingo. The subscription provider will pay the airport a percentage of the subscription fee. This installation will not only cover the monthly operating cost of the Internet service provider (ISP) but will make a profit for the airport.

Finally, the business can also brand the WiFi Internet service with the login page and voucher design. Guest Internet WiFi controllers provide several branding alternatives to customize the WiFi Internet service.

Guest Internet also provides support for any business that wishes to begin charging for the WiFi Internet service with a multi-tier billing system.

If you want to recover the cost of providing the Internet service for your guests please call us for more information.

Please contact our support team, info@wispzone.com