When you're involved with the hospitality industry, there are many factors to consider on a daily basis. Most of these have to do with the day-to-day operations that a manager or owner must contend with in order to keep the hotel running at full capacity in regards to its communications system.
Communications is an extremely important element in hospitality because your hotel's guests expect a certain level of excellence. If you are unable to maintain that expected level, you may very well lose that guest, along with any person he or she knows. After all, word of mouth spreads every quickly. So it's important that all guests, big and small, are provided with the best communications system available.
The Increase of VoIP Acceptance
Although VoIP got off to a somewhat rough start, it's been catching on in recent years due to advances in technology and better features. Truth be told, residential services still make up the majority of VoIP service revenue, but many industries, including the hospitality industry, are beginning to realize the advantages of upgrading to this relatively new communications system. This is partially due to the fact that VoIP has infiltrated residential services. Recent estimates have placed the number of residential and small office/home subscribers of VoIP subscribers at approximately 262 million worldwide by 2015. This saturation of VoIP has garnered the attention of hotel owners and others in the hospitality industry throughout the country. This is why many are jumping onboard the VoIP train.
Increase in Quality
When you look at some of the details of Voice over Internet Protocol, it's easy to see why so many hotel owners have been standing up and taking notice. Some of them will cite the cost factor. Although the costs of VoIP communications will meet the cost of a standard communications setup at some point due to the somewhat high setup costs in conjunction with lower monthly prices, many in the hospitality industry see VoIP as a solid investment in their communications future due to lower monthly costs. It's also been noted that the quality of VoIP has grown in recent years. After the introduction of VoIP, it was clear that this new form of communications couldn't hold a candle to an established communications system. But as the years have gone by, the quality of VoIP has improved, and while it hasn't quite reached the level of traditional phone systems, it's been making great strides and hotel owners both nationally and internationally are realizing that it's only a matter of time before the quality is on-par.
Advantages of a Hosted Solution
Many hotels are taking the VoIP plunge because of the option of a Hosted PBX solution. Handling a communications system in-house can be an expensive and tricky endeavor. To be effective, you must always have an on-premise person no matter the size of your hotel. If not, you run the risk of your communications system going down with no immediate possibility of bringing it back up, which is what happens in a lot of cases where a permanent person simply isn't in the budget. One danger of this scenario is that properties that choose not to have IT personnel on staff can be held liable in the event of an emergency while their phones are down. A hosted solution allows you to rely on an outside source that is constantly monitoring your VoIP system for any problems. When an issue occurs, technicians are immediately on it, and can solve your problems remotely, with no need to access a physical server. This means that any technical issues can be dealt with promptly and professionally, lessening the chance that your system will be down for an extended period time.
If you've been considering a move to VoIP, you're definitely not alone. Many businesses are learning that VoIP is the future of communications thanks to improving quality and fantastic benefits like Hosted PBX, which is taking the burden off their daily work schedule. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a reputable provider like PhoneSuite to provide you with all the answers you need.
