Wifi downgrades hotels in Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia and Panama

Santo Domingo.- According to a study, customers of top-category hotels in Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Panama consider that more than 50 percent have some problem with wifi connectivity, which lowers the final grade they give to that establishment.

Based on the opinions of customers expressed on popular booking portals, the international telecommunications company Eurona prepared the analysis “Having a 10 in wifi also counts” in a total of 1,036 five-star hotels in Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Panama (four-star hotels are also included here).

Most of these establishments scored five or higher for connectivity, with only six hotels (1.72%) scoring below that level.

With a score of between 5 and 5.9 were 26 hotels (2.5 %), between 6 and 6.9 were 57 establishments (5.5 %), and between 7 and 7.9 were another 178 (17.18 %).

The highest percentage of hotels (38.90 percent, 404 establishments) achieved a score of 8 to 8.9 in connectivity, while 141 of them (13.60 percent) achieved a score of 9-9.9, and another 56 (5.30 percent) obtained a 10. There is no data for another 168 hotels (around 16 percent).

The study then proceeds to see whether these scores for wifi connectivity are higher, lower, or equal to the overall score received by the establishment in customers’ opinion.

This comparison concludes that five out of ten five-star hotels in these four countries have a lower average score than the overall score, 51.15 percent (531), compared to almost 30 percent with a higher wifi score (306).

In almost three percent (31 establishments), the connectivity and overall scores coincide, and there is no data for the rest of the hotels.

In statements to Efe, Eurona’s director for Latin America, Miguel Añorve, stressed that better connectivity improves customer satisfaction and impacts hotel occupancy and business results.

Currently, the quality of the internet is more valued than other aspects of the establishment: “we look for a good bed, a good bathroom and good internet” more than other services because the so-called “digital nomad” emerged as a result of the pandemic, it is necessary to have connectivity in the hotel that allows you to work remotely, have access to different entertainment platforms and that your child can attend classes virtually, he added.

Hence the importance of a comprehensive, high-level connectivity plan.

Añorve explained that many of the hotels that now had a low score in wifi before covid-19 had better scores, but with the pandemic came “the perfect storm”: greater demand for technology and higher quality and lack of resources have been stagnant hotel activity.

Eurona currently operates in 10,000 rooms of large hotel chains in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic and five international airports in the area: three in Colombia (El Dorado, Matecaña, and Cartagena de Indias), one in Panama (Tocumen) and one in the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana).