Wireless Internet for B&B Inns MARCH 11, 2005 - DAN CUNNINGHAM

Recently, there was some discussion on About.com's B&B forums about WiFi security for B&B inns. I wanted to take a moment to talk about the options innkeepers have for providing WiFi at their property. As I see it, there are two ways to approach WiFi access. 1.) Buy a Linksys Router, beef up the security to the best of your ability, and then provide your guests with your WEP key and necessary SSID information. 2.) Hire a professional company like www.wanderingwifi.com to handle your WiFi setup and support for you. Each solution has advantages and disadvantages. Let's talk about #1 first. Solution 1: The DIY Solution - the Linksys router Buying a Linksys router is easy and cost effective (they cost about $70). Setting one up is not too difficult if you have some idea of how networks function. There are several recommended security steps you can take (set the SSID different than default, turn off SSID broadcast, WEP setup, etc). Here's a great article on setting up your own network: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6603_7-5137425.html Another thing to consider is signal coverage. It's a good idea to take a laptop through each of your rooms and check signal strength. If certain areas don't have signal coverage, you can pick up larger antennas or a Wireless Access Point to boost it. Once you have your network in place, you'll need to give your guests access. Of course, you don't want to give your guests too much access, so you need to make sure you aren't sharing any sensitive information over your internal network. The router itself will save you from a lot of external attacks, but you need to think about protecting yourselves from your guests. Sounds odd, but what if a guest's laptop has a virus that tries to spread over your internal network? Make sure you have the proper anti-spyware and anti-virus software to protect yourself. Also, disable file and print sharing to prevent guests from accessing files they shouldn't. All right, so you've got your network all setup and secured; the guest is at your front desk; how do you give them access to your network? In this DIY scenario, your network has ONE password for everyone. You can have a stack of cards with the SSID and WEP key and most guests should be able to connect. Of course, there are some people that will need some training on how to setup their wireless cards, so you'll want to read up on setting up WiFi access on both Macs and PCs. If you have an in-house techie, you can put them on this task. While it sounds complicated, this solution will work great for most smaller properties as long as you feel comfortable with the setup and operation of the network. You have no monthly support costs, and the start up costs are quite minimal. Solution 2: Hiring a Professional If you have a larger property or don't have the technical knowledge to support WiFi setup, then solution 2 is for you. I talked with John Marshall of Wandering WiFi at a conference recently about what they offer (ie. "Why should an innkeeper go with you instead of just buying a Linksys router?"). The solutions they offer makes running WiFi in your inn easier and probably removes a lot of the headache. First off, they do the full installation, so they make sure that every room has WiFi signal coverage and you have all the routers, antennas, and access points you need. Secondly, their "security" works differently than the DIY solution. Every guest gets a unique ID and Login information. ANYONE can connect to the wireless network, but they can't do anything except get to the web based login screen without the username and password. This enables you to charge per day for network access if you so desire as you can set accounts to log out after a certain amount of time. If you've ever used WiFi at a large chain hotel like Embassy Suites, this is the kind of setup they use. This setup also protects you better internally as guests don't have access to other machines on the network. Probably the greatest feature professional companies offer is their support contracts. I know some companies offer 24 hour support hotlines, so this keeps you from having to help guests sign on at 3 AM. If you have a lot of guests that use WiFi, this is a huge time saver. Obviously, these solutions cost a bit more than the standard Linksys router (I believe something like $600 installation and hardware + $60/month for support). Obviously, the costs will vary depending on the size of your property and support needs. Having WiFi available at your inn can bring you more business oriented travelers, which in most cases, means filling rooms mid-week. It can make the difference between a potential guest staying at your inn or your nearest competitor. Even with a professional installation, you can recoup the costs in a very short period of time with just a few room nights.