The document provides guidance for meeting planners on assessing internet connectivity needs and negotiating costs with hotels. It defines key bandwidth terms and recommends questions for planners to ask hotels about their existing and proposed connectivity. These include details on bandwidth capacity, management, dedicated vs shared access, and usage history from past events. Planners are advised to test bandwidth on site visits and involve the hotel IT director. Understanding technical specifications and negotiating strategically are emphasized for obtaining reliable connectivity at a fair price.

1. Two Questions to Begin
(Text responses to 22333)
Do
You
Test
Bandwidth
on
a
Site
Inspec5on?
Yes
–
547880
No
–
547881
What’s
Bandwidth?
-­‐
547882
Do
You
Nego5ate
Connec5vity
Costs
in
Your
Contracts?
Yes
–
547922
No
–
547923
I
Can
Do
That?
-­‐
547924

2. The Ultimate Meeting
Professionals Guide to
Internet Connectivity
Jim
Spellos
Techsytalk
August
19,
2014

3. Can You Talk the Talk?
• Bandwidth
The
amount
of
data
that
can
be
transferred
every
second
across
the
internet.
Typically
measured
in
bits
per
second
(bps)

4. Do you include bandwidth &
internet data on your RFP and
Post-Con Reports?
Cool
Tool
–
Speed
Test
App
–
Check
it

5. Bandwidth - Shared vs. Dedicated
• 4
Streams
§
Guest
Room
(Shared)
§
PresentaTons/Services
(Dedicated)
§
Event
OperaTons
(Dedicated)
§
AXendees
(Shared).

6. Can You Talk the Talk?
• Bandwidth
• IP
Request
The
number
of
Tmes
a
device
“requests”
to
visit
a
web
page

7. Can You Talk the Talk?
• Bandwidth
• IP
Request
• Digital
Density
The
number
of
devices
(not
people)
accessing
the
internet
at
a
given
Tme.

8. Pet Peeves:
Two Points of View

9. Planner Pet Peeves About
Connectivity & Hoteliers
• Charging
for
amount
of
bandwidth
used
• Double
dipping
for
mulTple
devices
• Having
to
purchase
before
tesTng
• And
what’s
with
that
%@&!
ConvenTon
Center
pricing?.
Planners
–
Are
you
tesTng
bandwidth
on
your
site
visit?
You
should

10. Supplier Pet Peeves About
Connectivity & Planners
• Not
knowing
your
usage
history
• Discussing
needs
a
few
days
before
the
conference
• Not
knowing
your
usage
history
(did
I
menTon
that
already?).

11. It’s Gonna Cost Ya!
• How
much
should
you
pay?
• Supplier
perspecTve
• Planner
perspecTve
• Reality
Check.
The
speed
and
consistency
of
the
connecTons,
and
not
the
cost,
should
be
your
most
important
consideraTon.

12. Critical Questions

13. Previous Hotel
• How
much
bandwidth
did
we
use
at
our
meeTng?
• How
many
IP
requests
did
we
make
(hourly
basis)?
• What
was
our
peak
bandwidth
&
IP
usage?

14. Hotels Under Consideration
• Who
manages
the
bandwidth?
• How
big
is
the
pipeline?
• How
many
concurrent
IP
requests
can
you
handle…and
where?
• Is
it
shared
or
dedicated…and
where?
• What
is
the
age
of
the
pipeline?
Also
ask
how
much
bandwidth
is
dedicated
for
the
guest
rooms.

15. App Provider
• Is
the
app
naTve
or
web-­‐based?
• How
much
bandwidth/
device
is
recommended?
What
else
at
your
event
requires
bandwidth?
Shouldn’t
be
that
much
today…but
that’s
also
changing!

16. Your Friend, the Hotel’s IT Director
• Include
him/her
in
the
site
visit
• Copy
them
on
all
your
technical
quesTons.

17. Odds & Ends
• How
usable
are
3G,
4G
&
LTE?
• Issues
with
MiFi
• Analyze
your
WiFi
–
WiFi
analyzer
app
(Android).

18. Recap of Key Points
• Understanding
the
terms
• IdenTfying
criTcal
tools
• Knowing
which
quesTons
to
ask.

19. Thank You!
James Spellos, CMP
President, Meeting U.
jspellos@meeting-u.com
www.meeting-u.com
www.jspellos.wordpress.com
facebook.com/meetingu
twitter.com/jspellos
paper.li/jspellos
scoop.it/way-cool-tools
and on…and on…and on…