For frequent travellers it can be frustrating how bad the v in 90% of hotels still is. Even the newest and most luxury hotels often fail to deliver on what is effectively an essential service. In many cases free Wi-Fi means that the hotel knows it is so bad they cannot charge you for it, and as a guest you cannot complain because it is free.
“High speed internet access is key for our ever increasingly mobile world. Over 90% of business travelers carry a laptop or tablet with them and a huge number of non-business travelers are constantly connected to social media via tablets or mobile devices. The key to building a relationship with guests is to understand and meet their needs. High speed complimentary internet access with no data limit, and a seamless experience is essential for Corinthia Hotels around the globe. The vision for Corinthia Hotels is to provide our guests with the speed, dependability, and convenience that their office or home network provides,” explain Michaell Izzo, Finance Director, Corinthia Hotel London.
Corinthia is just one of many leading hotel chains that have turned to Danmagi, an international company, originated in Denmark. The company have achieved high growth rates by following a simple recipe: deliver a solution that makes hotel guests happy and more loyal as well as making the Wi-Fi solution and services a profit center for the hotels.
The Danmagi service seems to pride itself on the fact there is no need to download an app, it requires little effort and is supported proactively.
Over the last year several well-known hospitality names have switched to Danmagi. The company has recently opened operations in North American as growth continues. This is on top of its already expanding operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. “This year expansion in the Middle East has sudden jumped for us,” says Daniel Lister, CEO Danmagi “It is a bit like we saw in Europe last year as word of mouth about our service between the hotels got around. We were approached by several hotels wanting what Firmdale Hotels have,” he explains.
However you do not have to search far to discover why Danmagi is confident. This relatively new company with their disruptive cloud based solution is making visible waves. Since the end of 2014, they have successfully held the number 1 position for best Wi-Fi on http://www.hotelwifitest.com in London and continuously since then have had no fewer than 5 of the top ten positions and that is not a small feat considering the number of Wi-Fi providers and self solutions available to the hotels in London.
Mark Rupert Read, Director of IT at Firmdale Hotels in itself a highly successful brand of luxury boutique hotels in London & New York, explains one feature of the Danmagi solution that matched his strategy.
“Danmagi has several good and unique features but one we really like allows us to recognise returning guests, by remembering their devices and connecting them to the internet seamlessly. The feature is well designed and brings real value to both our guests and our brand. Our clients like the convenience too.” He continues, “It removes frustration on arrival and clearly allows the guest to connect all their devices in one simple process.”
The solution is a hit with the guests too as the comment below from a guest staying in Crosby Street Hotel, New York wrote:
“To be specific, as you know when you sign in to the Wi-Fi system with your laptop your software lists the other laptops/iPads/iPhones previously used and with a single click you can register them. This is a very, very good design, so congratulations.”
As Daniel is quick to point out, Danmagi have taken the necessary time to design things well technically, in the methodology & processes and making them pleasing on the eye. It is very important these days that systems are easy to use and you do not need to download anything to make it work, it should just work and work so well that the guests do not even know they are using it.
Daniel jokes: “Danmagi is only doing what Danish design did to the furniture world years ago. Now we are using Danish design to create easy connectivity and ease of use which places it in a class of its own.”
The reality is that Danmagi is not only Danish but is an exciting International company that has a global pool of talented staff in several countries who are all working hard on improving the performance of service and adding new and exciting features. Daniel would not reveal any clues about their road map when asked but a confident smile gives a clue that the Danmagi team are not satisfied with upsetting the traditional Wi-Fi providers. They are planning much more than to dominate the industry. They focus on the guest and want to remove travellers’ internet frustrations for good.
Several of the Danmagi customers we spoke to confirmed seeing internet issues and guest complaints dropping as much as 93% from that of their previous provider. This almost sounds unbelievable but the more you talk to their customers, the more you hear the same story of significant changes. The latest hotel in London to turn to Danmagi is the Corinthia Hotel London. They too were very happy to point out the significant change in service and of guest issues disappearing overnight.
Michael Izzo, Corinthia Hotels said:
“Recent research has shown that there is only one thing guests would prefer over complimentary breakfast or free parking, and that is Wi-Fi. It is the first thing that a guest will try on arrival and due to this Corinthia Hotel London has recently upgraded its internet/Wi-Fi. Since the service upgrade to Danmagi, the end user experience of accessing the hotel’s internet service is a seamless process for all types of devices. Since its relaunch we have had no negative guest feedback so this is a good indication of a well-designed and slick internet service.
“Danmagi provides an advanced and smooth user experience with a dynamic and interactive branding portal. Corinthia Hotel London is very happy to have selected Danmagi as our guest internet service provider. The system delivery was very well planned and the help desk staff service should be commended for their knowledge and professionalism. Danmagi provides a cloud based service which can be monitored from anywhere in the world using any mobile device. We would certainly recommend Danmagi as a preferred solution provider.”
It seems that Danmagi is onto something good and hopefully the next hotel you stay in will have their service.
