An amazing tech product for guest WiFi

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MountainMystery

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Messages
66
Reaction score
0
I don't usually recommend many products to others, but I wanted to share this one because I've really been amazed by how easily it's solving our problem! I thought maybe some of you might find it helpful too. I know I've read some posts in the past about guest WiFi and security and such things... I really think this is the perfect equipment for our industry!
It's called Open-Mesh, here's the site: http://www.open-mesh.com/. Their products can be used to create a wireless network, complete with multiple SSID's (one for guest use, and a second secure connection for staff), a splash page (which allows you to direct guests to a page where they must agree with your terms and conditions), a way to place limits on how much bandwidth a guest can use, so someone can't completely drain the connection with Netflix and prevent everyone else from being able to connect as well), as well as a way to set tiered access or accept payments for WiFi use (for instance, we allow free access with lower bandwidths, and give guests the option of paying a low price for higher speeds). You place one of their boxes by your modem and it works as a wireless router. You can then place a second box farther away so you can extend the signal. And another great thing about their stuff- they have special cases that the boxes can be mounted in, so it makes it quite difficult for guests to tamper with or steal the equipment!
We bought two so far- one works as the gateway and is located in the telephone room where our cable modem is located. The second box is located about 50-60 feet away and supplies one side of our building with WiFi signal. For the two, we spent a little under $250, and we got the most expensive of the two boxes options they offer (one box is designed for speed and power, and is about $95; they have another that isn't quite as strong but is priced at $55), plus one case. We're going to be ordering at least 3 more boxes and a couple more cases, so that way our entire property will have the best wireless signal possible.
Their website is great... they have lots of guides and videos to help you figure out how to plan an installation and set it up. It's designed to be super-easy-- you don't need an IT guy to come install it. It's basically no harder than plugging it in and following the directions!
 
Fibre optic broadband is due to reach us next year, so I plan an overhaul of our wifi and streaming facilities. I'll bear this in mind, thank you.
 
ooohhhh, fiber optic.... When we lived up in Maryland, we were so excited to see that FiOS got installed in our area, even before some of the bigger metro areas around us. We were one of the first to switch to it and it really spoiled me bad. When I first got down here to our new place, they only had AT&T dsl service at 1.5 mbps download speeds, and the fastest speeds they offered in this area was 6 mbps download. I wanted to cry... Thankfully I was able to add an internet connection with our cable company, even though I didn't even know our account number or anything. (The owners are not at all tech saavy- asking them to call and order what I wanted would have been like explaining quantum physics to a 4 year old.)
tounge_smile.gif
 
ooohhhh, fiber optic.... When we lived up in Maryland, we were so excited to see that FiOS got installed in our area, even before some of the bigger metro areas around us. We were one of the first to switch to it and it really spoiled me bad. When I first got down here to our new place, they only had AT&T dsl service at 1.5 mbps download speeds, and the fastest speeds they offered in this area was 6 mbps download. I wanted to cry... Thankfully I was able to add an internet connection with our cable company, even though I didn't even know our account number or anything. (The owners are not at all tech saavy- asking them to call and order what I wanted would have been like explaining quantum physics to a 4 year old.)
tounge_smile.gif
.
Or me
embaressed_smile.gif
Although I could probably ask a few innkeeper questions that would make it seem like a invented quantum physics.
 
Back
Top