A couple years ago we had some clients coming into our fishing lodge on Tarpon Caye. At that time we had, what we called "good weather" internet access from Belize Telemedia Limited.

About an hour after the clients arrived on the island, I got a call from my father asking me if we had any issues with the internet connection on the island. I called BTL and they informed me that all was clear and the sysem was up and running. I called my father and informed him of the situation. He sounded a bit flusttered this time. I asked him what was the problem. He informed me that one of the clients was freaking out because he did not have access to the internet.

We got to find out that this guy was a manager at some big company in the United States and he was basically on a working vacation. It was critical that he had access to the internet for he needed to communicate with his office back in the United States on a daily basis. It was so important to him, that he was contemplating cancelling his stay on the island and staying on the mainland, because he just needed to get access to the internet.

I travel a lot over Belize, and in 2015, where internet access has been reduced by about 50% over the past two years; many businesses sitll do not offer FREE Wi-Fi to their guests. Internet access has now become an essential service to many travellers all over the world. City's in China, for example, are adding FREE Wi-Fi, citywide, making business communication for visitors and residents convenient. After all, that will only attract more visitors who will spend more money into their economy.

As a business owner, adding FREE Wi-Fi for your guests should not be considered an expense, however an investment. It will give your business more value, thus attracting more clients, especially business travellers, and you can easily recover your internet costs by adding a few cents to your services.

#WiFi #wifi #WiFi #internet