Keep Guests Happy: Cell Signal Boosters for Hotels, AirBnB, and Restaurants

How to Improve Hospitality Services and Communication

The best service, a great location, top-notch amenities, great food, and a renowned bar don’t cut it anymore.

There is one often ignored service that affects the success of hospitality establishments.

Now more than ever, reliable cellular service inside hotels, BnBs, Vrbos, and restaurants is as essential as water, air, and gas.

Why Many Hotels and Restaurants Have Terrible Cell Coverage

There are various reasons your hotel or restaurant doesn’t have reliable cell service indoors. The main culprit is usually building material.

While 4G LTE and 5G signals freely propagate in open areas, they have a hard time penetrating obstacles. Thick concrete walls and various metals used in construction disrupt cell signals from reaching inside. Modern energy-efficient hotels and restaurants have it worse. Green material is known to bounce cell phone signal away, with Low-E glass being particularly good at killing your customer’s service.

As a result, staff and guests experience limited coverage and dead zones throughout.

For those in rural areas, you’re probably a victim of the trifecta – building material, cell tower distance, and topography.

Why Reliable Cell Signal is a MUST in Hospitality

Guest Satisfaction

Whether for business or pleasure, guests heavily rely on their phones. With quality reception, communication, mobile check-in, digital menu access, and remote working are a breeze. Guests are happy and more inclined to leave a great review, which can make or break any business.

Staff Productivity and Efficiency

Due to poor cell reception, staff often find themselves affected. They have trouble communicating with each other, completing tasks, and operating mobile POS systems. Dependable cellular coverage significantly reduces these challenges and improves productivity, efficiency, and revenue.

Safety

Having reliable signal is not just about meeting guest expectations or boosting productivity. It’s also for the safety of guests and employees. During an emergency, everybody should be able to contact first responders from anywhere. Individuals having to hold their device above their head, franticly looking for a bar delays response efforts. Not to mention, if your security systems rely on cellular as a backup, and your internet is wonky, you’re putting lives at risk.

Isn’t WiFi Enough to Meet Guest and Staff Connectivity Needs?

WiFi is the standard for wireless communication, no doubt about it. However, it has its drawbacks.

For starters, it's unreliable. With hundreds to thousands of guests and staff connecting to a single network at the same time, the network gets congested. Very often, WiFi coverage doesn’t even reach every room. This leads to frustratingly slow data speeds and dead zones. In many cases, WiFi connectivity tends to be worse than the spotty cellular signal.

Plus, many guests don’t feel comfortable using your free public WiFi, especially for business purposes. The probability of getting hacked increases when connected to public networks. Thus, many guests use mobile hotspots, which only work with reliable cellular signal.

Not to mention, if you solely rely on WiFi to run your hotel or restaurant, operation and communication seize in the event of a downed WiFi network.

A reliable cell signal helps offload congestion, improves connectivity, and acts as a backup network.

How to Get Strong Cell Phone Signal Inside Hotels and Restaurants

Hospitality managers are turning to Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) to improve their in-building cell reception, and Wilson Amplifiers provides numerous options for the hospitality industry.

Let’s look at the top two DAS options:

Active DAS

Active DAS is the most powerful cellular signal boosting solution. They connect directly to the carrier networks and use fiber optic cables. Thus, they can provide the strongest cellular signal and wall-to-wall coverage.

However, it’s very expensive. Cost ranges from $5 to $10 per square foot. If your hospitality establishment requires custom cabling, the cost will be higher. Deployment is also very lengthy. Carrier approval is needed from every carrier whose signal you want to enhance in your hotel or restaurant. That alone can take about 6 months.

Active DAS is great for large complexes, like resorts.

Pros: Acts like a mini cell tower inside your hotel or restaurant Provides wall-to-wall coverage Delivers strongest cellular signal Best for large hospitality establishments

Cons: Expensive Requires carrier approvals from each carrier Long installation time

Need to talk about an Active DAS solution? Contact us at pro@wilsonamplifiers.com for a free quote.

Passive DAS

Passive Distributed Antenna Systems are also known as the best cell phone signal boosters. The most popular tend to be cellular boosters for home, however, stronger commercial boosters have entered the enterprise market.

They pull in over the air 4G/LTE/5G signals from every carrier, amplify them, and broadcast the boosted signal wherever you need it. Since they use existing cellular signals, you don’t need to get approval from each carrier. Thus, they are faster to install and much cheaper – about $0.50 to $1 per sq ft.

However, they are not as powerful as Active DAS and depend 110% on the quality and strength of your outside signal.

Passive DAS is the option most hotels and restaurants choose to improve their cellular connection and speed.

Pros: Amplifies outside signal and brings it inside Low cost No need for carrier approvals Fast installation time Best for hospitality establishments up to 250,000 sq ft

Cons: Not as powerful as Active DAS Performance depends on outside signal

Best Passive DAS Cell Signal Booster for the Hospitality Industry

• 5G ready. Boosts talk, text, and data.
• Covers up to 35,000 sq ft.
• Works with all cellular devices and carriers.
• Includes professional installation.
• Scalable for maximum coverage.

The weBoost for Business Office 200 Installed is ideal for small to mid-size restaurants and hotels. Building material will no longer be the thing holding your business back from providing 5-star service.

If cell tower distance is also an issue, we recommend upgrading the outdoor omni antenna for a directional one. This will allow the booster to reach farther towers to transmit the strongest cell signal possible. Multiple indoor antennas may be needed to get the coverage you want.

With the amplifier’s sleek design and low-profile indoor dome antennas, it’s guaranteed to blend in with your restaurant or hotel's unique décor. If you value aesthetics, power, and a professional installation, you can’t go wrong with the Office 200.

For more coverage, you'll need a more powerfull unit. See how the Office 200 compares to the WilsonPro 1300 and 4300 here.

Best Passive DAS Cell Signal Booster for Small Hotels, AirBnBs, Vrbos, or Restaurants

• 5G ready. Significantly boosts talk, text, and data.
• Affordable, powerful option for small businesses.
• Covers upwards of 8,000 sq ft and rated up to 25,000 sq ft.
• Works with all cellular devices and carriers.
• DIY installation.
• Scalable for maximum coverage.

The weBoost for Business Office 100 was made for small restaurants and businesses. It's powerful enough to cover any area where guests might be, but affordable enough to be within the budget of a business where every penny counts.

It's a simple solution to the poor cell service which may be affecting your all-important star rating if you're an AirBnB or Venmo provider, as well. Highly recommended for smaller hospitality spaces.

If you'd like to see how it compares to the Office 200, check out our Office 100 vs 0ffice 200 Review.

Best Passive DAS Cell Signal Booster for Large Hotels and Restaurants

• 5G ready. Significantly boosts talk, text, and data.
• Covers up to 40,000 sq ft.
• Three independently controlled outdoor antennas to target multiple carrier towers.
• Works with all cellular devices and carriers.
• Includes professional installation.
• Remote management.
• Scalable for maximum coverage.

The WilsonPro Enterprise 1300 is also a great investment for small and medium hospitality facilities. It can cover up to 40,000 sq ft under optimal conditions, which is 5,000 more than the Office 200.

To help maximize performance, it features three outdoor antenna ports. Each antenna can communicate with different cell towers to deliver the best signal for all carriers. This is especially helpful for hotels and restaurants located in areas with scattered cell towers.

This unit includes a free consultation, site survey, system design, and professional installation. Our experts will listen to your unique needs and ensure you get coverage where you want it. After installation, managers can easily manage and monitor the booster’s performance via the Wilson Cloud using WiFi or LTE.

Best Passive DAS for Large Hospitality Buildings

• 5G ready. Significantly boosts talk, text, and data.
• Covers up to 100,000 sq ft.
• Four amplifiers in one unit.
• Three independently controlled outdoor antennas to target multiple carrier towers.
• Four independently controlled indoor antennas to maximize coverage.
• Works with all cellular devices and carriers.
• Includes professional installation.
• Remote management.
• Scalable for maximum coverage.

The WilsonPro Enterprise 4300 is without a doubt the most powerful signal booster you can get for large hotels or restaurants. It separates itself from other units by featuring four independent boosters (yes, FOUR).

Like the WilsonPro 1300, it has three independent outdoor antenna ports. It also has four independent indoor antenna ports, but can support up to 20. This configuration helps provide the best signal for all carriers and max coverage in spaces up to 100,000 sq ft. Guests and staff will all be able to enjoy quality cell signal, uninterrupted texts, and fast data speeds everywhere.

This requires a professional installation to get the most out of it. Our experts will listen to your needs, design a custom solution, and install the WilsonPro 4300. After installation, managers can easily manage and monitor the booster’s performance via the Wilson Cloud using WiFi or LTE.

Hotel Case Study: How Wilson Amplifiers Helped Holiday Inn Express & Suites

A popular Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Houston, Texas was plagued with bad cell service. Some guests claimed that connectivity was poor, while others said it was virtually nonexistent. Poor cell service impacted communication and hotel operations. Management knew that if they didn’t find a solution, business would take a toll.

After a consultation and site survey, the hotel settled on the WilsonPro 4300. With the cellular booster installed, the hotel was 100% covered. Cellular reception, communication, staff productivity, and guest satisfaction significantly improved. Management was very happy.

Other Hospitality Establishments Wilson Amplifiers Helped

Get Started with Wilson Amplifiers Today

Active or Passive DAS, which is the best solution for you? Wilson Amplifiers always has the answer. No matter the size, scope, and situation, our signal experts can tailor a custom solution for you.

Services we provide:

• FREE floor plan analysis with detailed heatmaps & coverage expectations.
• FREE consultation adhering to your requirements and budgets.
• Equipment selection from only the best.
• Site survey from certified wireless technicians.
• Professional turnkey installation & expert project management.

Call us (1-800-887-1961) or email us (pro@wilsonamplifiers.com) today to improve cell coverage in your hotel, BnB, motel, bar, or restaurants.

Interested in Learning More? Check Out Our Signal Boosting Info Center