Hotels already know many of their guests before they arrive.
They may have booked directly, through an OTA, joined the loyalty programme, used the hotel app, completed digital check-in, or already have a reservation in the property management system.
But when they connect to Wi-Fi, they are often asked to start again — enter an email address, confirm it, accept terms, and register separately.
It does not have to work that way.
Many hotel groups already use a central guest identity platform behind their website, mobile app or loyalty programme — such as Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Auth0, Ping Identity or another similar provider. Wiacom can connect to that existing identity journey, so recognised guests can use the account they already have instead of registering again just for Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi onboarding does not need to start at the captive portal
Guest Wi-Fi is often treated as something that begins only after the guest arrives, selects the hotel network, and sees a captive portal.
With Wiacom, onboarding and Wi-Fi access are separate.
A guest can be onboarded through different channels, including:
- the captive portal;
- a pre-arrival link or QR code through Guest Connect;
- the hotel app or loyalty programme;
- the PMS or booking workflow;
- an external application or API.
This means onboarding can happen before the guest reaches the property — during booking, digital check-in, a pre-arrival email, or another existing hotel journey.
Use the guest identity you already have
Wiacom can connect the Wi-Fi journey with the systems the hotel already uses.
For example, an existing loyalty member could simply choose:
Sign in with your hotel account
If the guest is already known and verified by the hotel, there is no need to ask them to verify the same email address again.
The hotel keeps its existing guest account and loyalty systems, while Wiacom uses that trusted identity to provide the appropriate Wi-Fi experience.
Direct bookings, loyalty members and OTA guests can follow different journeys
Not every guest arrives through the same channel. A direct-booking guest may already have a hotel account.
A loyalty member may already be recognised through the hotel app.
An OTA guest may exist in the PMS but have no direct relationship with the hotel yet.
For an OTA guest, Wi-Fi can even become an opportunity to create a direct, consented relationship with the hotel — without changing the original booking channel.
The objective is to use the information already available and only ask for what is actually missing.
Start before the guest arrives
Wi-Fi onboarding can also begin before check-in.
With Wiacom Guest Connect, hotels can include a registration link or QR code in:
- pre-arrival emails;
- booking confirmations;
- the hotel app;
- digital check-in;
- loyalty communications;
- other guest communications.
The guest can complete the required steps before reaching the property.
Instead of:
Arrive → find Wi-Fi → register → verify → connect
the experience can become:
Book → prepare access → arrive → connect
Connect Wi-Fi with the PMS
Wiacom can also integrate with the hotel’s property management system.
This allows the Wi-Fi journey to use information already connected to the guest’s stay.
Depending on the hotel workflow, this can help with:
- confirming that the guest has a valid reservation;
- preparing access before arrival;
- linking Wi-Fi access to the stay;
- automatically ending access after departure;
- recognising returning guests;
- avoiding repeated registration;
- supporting different journeys for direct and OTA guests.
The PMS remains the source of stay information, while Wiacom manages the Wi-Fi onboarding experience around it.
Choose the right access experience for each guest
Once onboarding is complete, Wiacom can provide the access method that best fits the property and the guest journey.
A first-time visitor may receive immediate access through the captive portal. A guest registered before arrival may receive an individual Wi-Fi Pass (unique credential iPSK/DPSK/MPSK). A returning guest can use Passpoint Connect for automatic reconnection, while Wiacom Horizon can provide a personal Wi-Fi network for the duration of the stay.
These methods can coexist at the same property.
The result is that hotels are no longer forced to design every guest journey around a single splash page or shared Wi-Fi password.
After the initial onboarding, supported access methods can allow the guest’s device to recognise and securely reconnect to the hotel’s Wi-Fi on future stays, while Wiacom remains synchronised with the hotel PMS for reservation status, stay dates, access validity and guest profile context.
That means a returning guest may no longer need to:
select the network → open a portal → enter details → reconnect
Instead, the experience can become much closer to:
Arrive → automatically connect
Turn Wi-Fi into part of the guest journey
Wi-Fi should not be an isolated technical service that starts when a guest asks reception for the password.
It can become part of the wider hotel journey:
Booking → pre-arrival → check-in → Wi-Fi access → stay → engagement → return visit
By connecting Wi-Fi with the PMS, loyalty programme, hotel application, guest identity systems and CRM/CDP, hotels can reduce unnecessary steps while improving guest recognition.
The objective is simple
The guest should not need to understand how the technology works.
They should simply have fewer steps.
For the hotel, the benefit is also straightforward: existing guest systems, loyalty programmes, reservations and Wi-Fi can work together instead of creating separate guest identities.
The result is a smoother arrival experience, better guest recognition and a more connected digital journey throughout the stay.
Wiacom connects guest Wi-Fi with PMS platforms, hotel and loyalty applications, OTA and direct-booking journeys, pre-arrival onboarding, personal iPSK/MPSK access, Passpoint Connect, captive portals, CRM/CDP platforms and existing guest identity systems.
