Mangoman --
Your question is timely for several reasons:
First, the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks froze the hotel industry and its
investments for six month in the wake of the travel decline.
Second, InStat/MDR has released a recent report "Pay-per-view or Free
Shampoo: Where is Hotel Broadband Headed?" (Aug. 2002) for $2,995 that
answers questions in detail on hotel room use of broadband. Luckily,
between their press comments and other sources, we can answer most of
your questions.
OVERALL PENETRATION
--------------------
Broadband is currently in 2.5 percent of North American hotel rooms.
Contracts originally signed in 2001 are now being implemented and
InStat MDR expects these new installations worldwide:
2003: 250,000 ports
2004: 500,000 ports
2005: 750,000 ports
2006 1,000,000 ports
There are 4.1 million rooms in the U.S., according to Hospitality Net
-- but not all of those installations will be occurring in the U.S. or
Canada.
"I don't know if it will every grow to 50 percent of all hotel rooms
in North American," Craven says in an interview with C/net. "To get
to 25 percent would be a stretch. It makes sense because you wouldn't
want broadband service in all hotels, since it primarily caters to the
business class."
WHERE INSTALLATIONS ARE GOING
------------------------------
The contracts being let -- and the shipment numbers make it clear that
in-room is where the predominant activity is going. And everyone's
usage statistics support this:
· 75 percent of business travelers use laptop computers and 62% of
those use them from hotel rooms for an average of 30 minutes,
according to a Cisco Systems VP.
· Choice Hotels International, which plans to put high-speed access in
50,000 of its rooms, says that 52 percent of its guests go online
daily, averaging 67 minutes per session.
TECHNOLOGIES
-------------
InStat/MDR numbers put DSL at 80% of the current installed base,
according to an article in Broadband Week from late 2000. Ethernet
accounts for about 10 percent, but is increasing penetration using
existing copper wire.
While there are predictions of aggressive growth for wireless
networks, the first installations are just starting and the early WiFi
(802.11b wireless) business was rocked by the bankruptcy of
Mobilestar. Still, Consilnet (a San Jose-based wireless supplier) is
optimistic in their press release "First All-Wireless Broadband
Internet Service Launched at Holiday Inn Park View Singapore" (Feb. 5,
2002):
http://www.webdesk.com/broadband-access-hotels-high-speed-internet/
You might wish to read the section on WiFi in this Google Answers
question for a more conservative approach to WiFi expansion:
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=66909
PROVIDERS OF HIGH-SPEED ACCESS
-------------------------------
There are actually several levels of suppliers:
· ISPs servicing the hotels and their guests
· suppliers of hardware/software
The largest suppliers are those inking deals with large hotel chains.
Here are some of the alliances:
CAIS: in-building Ethernet systems
Contracts: Omni Hotels, Ramada, Hudson Hotels Corp.
Darwin Networks: Ethernet, DSL and wireless
Contracts: Stay Connect (Choice Hotels)
The table of contents for InStat/MDR's report outlines key competitors
in the business:
http://www.instat.com/abstract.asp?id=70&SKU=IN020165MU
SOME RESOURCES
---------------
InStat/MDR's press release on "Pay-per-view or Free Shampoo: Where is
Hotel Broadband Headed?":
http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=307
CNN.com
"Broadband checking into hotels" (Aug. 26, 2002):
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-955445.html?tag=cd_mh
Eurhotec 2001: "Bed and Broadband" (Mar. 7, 2001)
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/All_Latest_News/4007320.print
Broadband Week
"Checking into Broadband" (October, 2000)
http://www.broadbandweek.com/news/0010/print/0010_apps_hotel.htm
Google search strategy:
broadband + hotels
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
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