Leased lines for hotels and hospitality

What a hotel or venue runs over one connection

A hotel's connection does two jobs at once: it runs the business, and it is part of what guests are paying for. Both peak in the evening, when guests stream, video call home and upload photos while the back office handles arrivals and tomorrow's bookings.

BTnet speeds run from 2Mbps to 10Gbps, the same up as down, and BT's help pages say there is no fair usage policy, so a busy weekend does not run into a data cap. See what is a leased line used for for each use in more depth.

Guest Wi-Fi with BTnet Wi-Fi

BTnet Wi-Fi is BT's managed wireless add-on for BTnet on Cisco Meraki equipment. BT describes it as using up to five Meraki access points with Wi-Fi 6, installed with an engineer's help, in a wired, mesh or combined set-up, with firmware updates delivered through Meraki's cloud. BT's brochure also describes:

• Separate networks for staff and guests, so guests are kept apart from your property and payment systems
• Group policies that set who can use which network, on which devices, and with how much bandwidth
• A customisable splash page that guests see when they join, which you can use for terms of use, a welcome message or event information

How far five access points reach depends on the building: walls, layout, materials and the number of devices all matter. If you want coverage in every bedroom of a larger hotel, share your floor plans and room count and we can talk through the options; Forever Group can also help with larger Cisco Meraki wireless networks. BT's brochure ties BTnet Wi-Fi to a 1Gb BTnet circuit with the Meraki router, and we confirm eligibility at quote.

Your responsibilities for guest Wi-Fi

Offering Wi-Fi to the public brings responsibilities, and BT's terms spell them out for Wi-Fi and guest Wi-Fi on BTnet managed equipment:

• Passwords are yours to set and protect, including their length, complexity and strength
• An open network is your risk. If you leave Wi-Fi open without a password, you accept the increased risk
• You are responsible for misuse. If guests misuse the connection against BT's acceptable use policy, the liability sits with you
• Security policies must cover both networks. If you have BTnet Security, BT asks you to keep your security policy active on staff and guest Wi-Fi
• Wireless testing is yours. BT tests the service over a cable and is not responsible for Wi-Fi range, signal strength or throughput

Cleanfeed filtering, which blocks a list of child sexual abuse sites maintained by the Internet Watch Foundation, is applied to BTnet as standard. BTnet Security adds content (URL) filtering, malware protection and intrusion detection and prevention on the Meraki option, which you can use to control what can be reached from guest Wi-Fi. This is general information, not legal advice.

Card payments and PCI DSS

BT's terms state that BTnet is not compliant with PCI DSS, the card industry's data security standard, and must not be used to process, store or transmit cardholder data or other data subject to PCI DSS.

Hotels and restaurants take card payments at the front desk, in the restaurant and online, so settle this early. Ask your payment provider how your terminals, booking engine and property system handle card data, and what your obligations are. Tell us how payments work when you ask for a quote, so we can talk it through before anything is designed. Do not assume that a leased line, a firewall or separate guest Wi-Fi makes your card environment compliant. We do not give PCI DSS advice.

Events, seasons and flexing bandwidth

Hospitality demand rises and falls: conference season, the wedding calendar, summer occupancy and the quiet weeks after New Year. Bandwidth Flex lets you change your port speed within the capacity of your bearer. BT's help pages say it needs 72 hours' notice, with rental changing pro rata for the period. Under BT's terms:

• Each flex is chargeable and runs for at least five business days before another change
• A flex beyond what your managed equipment can handle needs new equipment and starts a new minimum period
• Reducing speed in the six months before a termination notice affects how termination charges are worked out

The practical lesson is to choose a bearer with headroom above your everyday speed, so there is room to flex up for a big event, and to book flexes a few days before you need them. Our bandwidth sizing guide helps you work out the everyday figure.

Historic buildings, rural venues and installation

Many venues are in listed buildings, converted farms or country estates, which can make installation more involved:

• Survey and routes. The site survey confirms how the line reaches you and where it enters. A long private drive or a route across neighbouring land may need a wayleave agreement with the landowner.
• Construction. Extra engineering to reach a remote venue may bring excess construction charges, which you can cap with an ECC limit in the order.
• Openings and making good. BT's terms ask you to provide trunking and openings and to make good afterwards. If your building is listed, tell us early so you can check what permissions the work needs.
• Several buildings. Lodges, function rooms and staff blocks need internal cabling or wireless links from where BT's equipment sits, and that part is yours to provide.
• Timing. BT's help pages say installation can take up to 70 working days, depending on the survey. Plan around your busy season.

Read preparing your site for a BTnet installation for the full list of customer duties.

Keeping guests and staff online

When the connection fails, guests notice within minutes and reception cannot check people in. BT offers failover, load balancing and a lower-speed back-up line for BTnet. A back-up line sized for property systems, calls and a reduced guest service is often a sensible middle ground.

BT's SLA includes a 100% availability service level with service credits for the line (Wi-Fi is excluded), and BT aims to give at least five business days' notice of planned maintenance. Put the router, switches and access points on backup power, and remember that BT's terms ask for a secure, continuous power supply for its equipment. See resilient BTnet.

How Forever Communications helps hotels and venues

Forever Communications is an Authorised Supplier for BT. We supply BTnet to hotels and venues and help plan the connection around guests and operations:

• Size the line for the busiest evening, events and back-office systems, with room to flex
• Scope BTnet Wi-Fi, staff and guest networks and the guest splash page
• Talk through guest Wi-Fi responsibilities and card payments before anything is designed
• Help with survey, wayleave and listed building questions, and help you follow progress as BT confirms dates
• Help after go-live with flexes for events, changes and SLA claims

Forever Communications also supplies BT Cloud Voice for reception and reservations. Contact us with your venue address, room or cover count and events calendar, and ask us for a quote.