When was the last time you stayed at a hotel that did not offer Wi-Fi? If you did, I bet you will not stay there again. How do we describe Wi-Fi in hotels today? Expected, required and hopefully, working. We probably do not use words like “great,” “seamless” and “wow” nearly enough. Let us take a look at three ways Wi-Fi 7 will give the hotel guest a new set of words to describe their experience.
1. Handle Multiple Devices
One hotel executive recently stated that the number of guest mobile devices doubled in the early years of the tablet era, from 2011 through 2013. That was long ago. While the number of guest devices has stabilized at around 1.6 devices per guest in 2024 according to one hotel surveyed, the number of network-connected devices continues to grow. New devices on the network include IOT-enabled building management devices, mobile point-of-sale and hotel operations. Wi-Fi 7 Multi-Link Optimization (MLO), 4x to 8x wider channels and clean 6 GHz frequency will open up capacity growth for the next decade, easily supporting unknown guest devices and expanded IOT and line-of-business applications.
2. Support AI-Augmented Experiences
When Facebook changed the name of its holding company to Meta, Mark Zuckerberg said, “We’ll be able to feel present – like we’re right there with people no matter how far apart we actually are.” That sounds great for business travelers far from their family, but it does not seem any closer today than it did in 2021.
Recently, I read a well-written article about the Meta Ray-Ban glasses and the useful convergence of AI and wearable tech. As a Wi-Fi network architect, I can see this nascent technology transforming the future hotel guest network to require lower latency, higher capacity and symmetric highspeed data links.
Do not laugh too hard—once we add extended reality, spatial computing and AI, we could be seeing the next generation taking shape right now. Generative and interactive AI require a massive amount of data to be collected at the edge of the network, transported to the core and sent back to the edge for consumption. This high-bandwidth, low-latency and bi-directional data is exactly what Wi-Fi 7 is designed for. MLO delivers faster speed and significantly lower latency. The clean 6 GHz frequency band will allow most regulatory domains to support channel bonding up to 320 MHz. Even if the 320 MHz channels are not useful in your regulatory domain, you can easily use 160 MHz, 4x to 8x wider than you can use today with Wi-Fi 6.
3. Every Hotel Guest Deserves a Great Experience
The previous paragraph lays out a vision that may still be years away. But even today, every hotel guest deserves great Wi-Fi and a great experience. AI can organize the digital bits and bytes to automate complicated tasks and self-optimize without human interaction. The specialized engines that harvest data at the edge for AI consumption are being built into Wi-Fi 7 network equipment. Today, Cambium Networks is training AI management systems on proprietary algorithms in Wi-Fi 6 technology, and enabled in Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and Wi-Fi 7. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI helps hospitality network service provider staff make informed decisions that enhance the guest experience. Cambium Networks’ unique approach focuses on the entire lifecycle of connectivity, ensuring network issues are accurately diagnosed and resolved, building trust in AI recommendations.
Market Trends and Future Predictions
Market analysts predict a significant increase in the adoption of Wi-Fi 7 starting in late 2024. As new devices and infrastructure are evaluated and deployed, the hospitality industry will gradually integrate Wi-Fi 7 to meet growing guest expectations. The continuous growth in smartphone sales, particularly those supporting 6 GHz, indicates a strong future demand for Wi-Fi 7. This trend can be used to plan for network upgrades and ensure that business and leisure hotels remain competitive with state-of-the-art hospitality Wi-Fi solutions.
Conclusion
With faster speeds, greater capacity and the integration of AI for intelligent network management, Wi-Fi 7 is set to redefine the guest experience. “Wow,” “transformative,” “exciting.” We have not heard those words from hotel guests, in the context of Wi-Fi, in a long time, if ever. Get ready to embrace a new set of guest words to describe the future travel experience.
Ready to see the future of connectivity? Explore our guided demo of cnMaestro X Assurance here.