Wingate Inns Going Wireless

PHOENIX— To maintain its position as a top pick among business travelers, Wingate Inns International is making a big push for wireless Internet service. At Wingate’s annual convention held here at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa earlier this month, where more than 400 attendees gathered to strategize for the brand’s future, company executives announced that the upper mid-market chain will now require wireless Internet service for all new hotels. In addition, executives said they are in the process of evaluating its application in existing Wingate locations in the United States and Canada. The goal is to identify a solution for existing Wingate hotels within the next few months. With approximately 145 hotels expected to be open and operating by the end of this year, Wingate is looking to offer a solution for its existing hotels “at minimal cost and inconvenience” to them, said Keith Pierce, Wingate Inns president. The wireless service, which will enable guests with wireless-equipped computers to access the Internet without a cable connection in the lobby, meeting rooms, and other public spaces, would put Wingate Inn hotels in a league with a select few luxury and four-star hotel brands. “We want to make sure we keep Wingate on the forefront of cutting edge technology— that means making changes before our competitors,” said Pierce. Andrew Kraemer, senior director of technology services for Cendant’s Hotel Group, said the decision to go wireless was based, in part, on the brand’s success with free in-room, high-speed Internet access. “We know brand-wide we have a 30% usage of the Internet [of occupied rooms],” Kraemer said. “We expect that adding wireless Internet access as an amenity will provide a high value service to guests while offering our franchisees a competitive advantage over other hotels.” He added that Wingate’s standard of free high-speed Internet access has driven incremental room nights to franchisees over the years, as corporate travelers are drawn to it. “We know consumers come to Wingate because of our free Internet access and we know that they use it,” said Pierce, noting this latest initiative will only increase the loyalty among those guests. The wireless access will be provided through Sioux Falls, SD-based LodgeNet, which also currently provides Wingate’s wired Internet solution.