hotel Internet access and resort fees, here’s the promised status update from MGM Resorts International.
From www.lasvegasadvisor.com
Following a long and interesting conversation with the most helpful John Bollen, who’s the VP of Technology Strategy at MRI, we can now present a full and accurate picture regarding the rollout of free Wi-Fi across the group’s Las Vegas properties, which is indeed underway. First, some general background.
As our technology needs and use has expanded, the group started receiving more and more demand for property-wide Wi-Fi access, which they are responding to, but it takes time and there are some challenges along the way. Before Wi-Fi technology can be added, a full Radio Frequency Survey (RFS) of the property must be performed to determine the best placement of the antennae, for example. RF and water don’t mix (i.e., radio waves don’t travel well through that medium), so the Botanical Gardens at Bellagio poses some challenges (in particular, the large juniper trees) and things often need to be reconfigured on a seasonal basis when a display changes. You won’t find Wi-Fi at all at the Dolphin Habitat or the Secret Garden at the Mirage for the same reason. The ultra-high ceilings at New York-New York pose a different set of problems, as did the shape of the Luxor pyramid.
A different issue, and one that we ran into, is the training of staff, some of whom may not be too computer savvy, so that they are able to answer guests’ queries from an informed perspective. Still, the project is now well advanced, and most properties will be fully wired (or rather, not) by the end of the year. So, here’s the current lay of the land, property by property:
•Aria at CityCenter debuted with Wi-Fi throughout, since it was a new property and the technology was readily available, which it hadn’t been for early of the brand’s "luxury" properties. MRI used a system from a company called Aruba, which was among the best at the time, but since then Cisco has introduced more features, so that was the company picked for the other properties when it came to the current upgrade.
•MGM Grand, always at the cutting edge when it comes to technology and innovation in that field (they’re always the first to get a funky new website, and now have a Twitter wall, for example), was one of the first to get the upgrade and has Wi-Fi in all the rooms and in all public areas. You’ll see the stickers on the glass entrance doors with the distinctive Wi-Fi logo.
•Bellagio, being at the top of the luxury-property list, also was among the first to get universal Wi-Fi, but they’re more discreet over there, so you won’t see any stickers or explanatory in-room literature.
•A huge convention destination, like MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay was also among the first to get the global service, as MRI noted attendees starting to arrive with multiple devices, not just the single laptop of yore.
•The rollout is in various degrees of progress at Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, and the Mirage, some of which had existing in-room Wi-Fi that needed to be removed prior to a property-wide installation of Cisco’s system.
When we questioned how the properties could justify charging a resort fee for in-room Wi-Fi, when it was free to anyone downstairs, the answer came that non-guests receive less bandwidth (enough to check your email just fine, but not to, say, stream a movie), plus it’s limited to two hours duration. Where it exists, all you need is to log on with a valid email address to get access.
Hotel guests, who access the Wi-Fi using their room number and name, receive higher bandwidth — enough for multiple devices in the same room, so mom can be downloading a new book to her Kindle, while dad’s checking his share prices (or vice versa), and one of the kids is listening to tunes on her iTouch, while the other’s playing on his Nintendo DS. (Many resorts limit in-room use to one device, even if you’re paying a resort fee, simply because they don’t have the bandwidth to accommodate more than that.)
Conventioneers, who may have very large bandwidth requirements, can upgrade to an even more robust service, as can those with trade booths etc., who may have some serious Wi-Fi needs.
So, there you have it.
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