Hotels are rated using the hotel rating star-based system. In general, hotels with higher rating are believed to offer a superior experience. Many factors are considered when determining these ratings. Some of these factors include things such as the basic amenities included, the quality of hotel customer service, food and drink, the appearance of the hotel, and much more.
There are certain standards in the hospitality industry that hotels are expected to provide. Traditionally, this included offering a dedicated landline in each room, televisions with basic cable and paid programming, and other on-demand services.
In many cases, a hotel or motel cannot rent out a room if something as simple as a phone is broken. Despite this, hotel guests tend to avoid using in-room amenities like landlines because of how expensive they are perceived to be.
These systems are costly to maintain and cut into a hotel’s profit margins. Most of these services are licensed by third-party providers who charge a substantial markup on everything provided. Additionally, hotels need to hire additional staff to maintain network cables, televisions, and other devices as they depreciate and deteriorate over time. All of these costs add up, and, more importantly, are no longer necessary when more efficient and agile mobile technologies, like softphone apps, are readily available.
