Are You Connected?

Most hotels and resorts offer the Internet as part of their amenities, but it’s wise for the savvy planner to do a little detective work to find out exactly what hotels mean when they use the words "Internet" and "connection" in the same sentence. While most venues offer high-speed Internet access, some smaller places may not.

"A few years ago, high speed was considered a perk for tech savvy travelers," says Vineet Gupta, vice president of Technology at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, an old-world company known for their classic hotels and state-of-the-art technology services. "Today it’s essential and demanded by almost all business travelers."

Once you’ve determined Internet availability, know what it is your team wants to accomplish – do they simply want to be able to access the Internet and send emails or do they want to be able to conduct Webcasts?

Gupta and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts suggest you ask the following questions of your hotel liaison when booking your next meeting:
 
1. What type of network is the Internet access run on?

2. How many guests can connect? Can they access via a wireless connection or is it a plug and play connection?

3. Will Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) run in the hotel? VPNs connect to remote sites or company networks via the Internet. VPN capabilities enable your group to stay completely connected to their offices while traveling. If you are concerned about attendees connecting to your office through a VPN, ask if your attendees need to share a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Fairmont ensures VPN compatibility in all its Internet connections by providing each connection with its own fully routable IP address. This means guests are unlikely to run into software usability issues, a characteristic more typical of low-quality HSIA offerings that share banks of public IP addresses across users, states Gupta.

4. What do attendees need to access their computers? Most laptops and computers will need a working Ethernet card (NIC) for wired connections and a wireless card to connect to the wireless network. Note: be sure to remind attendees to check that their equipment is configured to connect to the Internet and bring any equipment that is specific to their laptops.

5. Who controls the entry points for Internet access? Sometimes having a third-party vendor provide the Internet service adds another level of complication to planning your meeting.

6. Can kiosks/cyber cafes be set up? "Cyber cafes are an easy way of providing attendees a way of checking email and staying up-to-date during a conference," says Gupta.

7. Is wireless access available and if so, where? This is especially important to accommodate attendees not staying in the hotel.

8. How will you be charged? Options can include setup charges and daily rental fees.

9. Most importantly, is the staff knowledgeable and does the hotel offer tech support? Fairmont states that they have a technology staff dedicated to helping sales and conference service teams. In addition, Fairmont guests can access the 24/7 Virtual Assistant for complimentary tech assistance.

For more information on Fairmont hotels, visit www.fairmont.com.