WiFi in a cozy little hotel with solid walls
WiFi in a cozy little hotel with solid walls
Hey, I own a modest hotel built as an old structure with solid walls. It spans three floors, each with six rooms, a bar space, and a pool area. The wall thickness inside ranges from 15cm to 40cm made of clay blocks, while the exterior walls are 60cm thick and constructed from stone. I’m aiming for reliable Wi-Fi coverage throughout the entire property, including the pool zone, accommodating about 20-25 guests. Bandwidth is another key factor—I’ve learned that the local network can only handle up to 15 Mbps, which is quite limited for a group of this size. Based on my research, I could purchase two 15 Mbps connections and use dual routers to improve performance. The ASUS BRT-AC828 model seems suitable; it can connect directly to two 15 Mbps links and effectively deliver around 30 Mbps overall. My current idea is to install the ASUS BRT-AC828 on the ground floor and place Unifi Ac AP Pros throughout, as shown in the diagrams: red for the router, blue for the APs. The placement of the ASUS shouldn’t be moved, and the APs on the second and third floors likely have fixed positions due to existing cable routing near the stairs. Unless my initial plan needs adjusting, the Unifi units should stay put. The best spot for the APs is near the dining area on the ground floor and one outside the pool, which is about 10 meters from the blue APs in the picture, with the farthest point around 30-35 meters away. Nothing is finalized yet—please let me know your thoughts. Thanks ahead!
I'm really concerned about that 2 x 15mbps link. With 30 devices connected—especially since staff will likely use Wi-Fi—I'd expect only about 1mbps per person. That's speeds from the '90s... It seems way too slow for a smooth 240p YouTube stream. I should reach out to an ISP right away to explore options, because I don't think this will be a pleasant experience for anyone, even if the Wi-Fi works fine.
You can actually try the Unifi's range first, just do the most basic of setup to them and see of they cover the farthest corners. And as @samcool55 said, bandwidth is a big problem. A typical 1080p30fps stream from twitch for example is 3Mbps. In other words, your data plan isnt going to allow anyone to watch video together. At best they could go with Instagram I think. I wont be expecting much from a hotel this old, but still... This is a tech forum, we take 1080p60 videos with the internet for granted.
I share your concerns, I used a 100mbps connection and would prefer more bandwidth. We should verify if upgrading is possible—otherwise, we might need an innovative solution. Right now, it seems unlikely to exceed 20 users, which aligns with the expected capacity for a thriving space. I’m comfortable with around 30mbps at the moment (we haven’t launched the hotel yet). Based on what we know, what should we consider next?
They focus on keeping speeds around 2mbps per individual. With 20 users it should work, and 30 more would be sufficient.
Based on my observations across various hotel brands, typical network speeds in rooms range from 500 to 750kbps per room. However, each property should ensure service offers at least 50Mbps. After tracking traffic for six months, the total usage shouldn't exceed 80% of capacity during peak hours for more than an hour. This provides flexibility for gradual growth over five to seven years, aligning with the standard refresh period for hotel networks. If only 2x15Mbps is available, consider capping each device at 3 or 5Mbps. I’m uncertain if the Asus model supports this feature. Personally, a PFSense router would be ideal—it supports dual WAN and bandwidth limits, plus many additional options. The simplest approach is to purchase the NetGate SG-1100 and follow its setup guide at https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/late...i-wan.html, using OPT1 as the secondary WAN port. To manage user traffic, set up a Captive Portal via https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/late...ortal.html with “Per-user bandwidth restriction.” If you just want users to accept terms, choose Authentication Method as “None.” You’d also need another AP at the router’s location for consistent coverage, but this keeps everything centralized. A switch is necessary since the SG-1100 only has one LAN port; OPT1 should handle WAN traffic. While the SG-1100 costs around $160, the PFSense unit plus AP and switch would likely be more affordable overall.