"PolkaSpots WiFi Hotspots are locations where the public can get online wirelessly with their laptop"
PolkaSpots. The WiFi Hotspot Company
Hotels large and small, cafes, bars, restaurants, salad bars, city centres, youth hostels, sports grounds, civic centres, public spaces, parks, airports, serviced offices, conference centres and more. You name it, we've done it.
Read about some of our unique Wi Fi Hotspots:
SNO!zone / Xscape
The ultimate entertainment destination with over 3 million visitors each year!
SNO!zone is a chain of indoor real snow slopes situated across the UK. Located in Castleford, Milton Keynes and Braehead. SNO!zone are passionate about increasing interest and participation in winter sports and are dedicated to bringing the thrills of snow sports to more people than ever before!
As well as providing a first class sporting facility SNO!zone offer conference and meeting facilities for both private and corporate functions.
PolkaSpots worked with the in-house IT department to install a Wireless Hotspot Service which gives full coverage across the communal areas, bars, restaurants, meeting and conference rooms.
www.snozoneuk.comGarden and Leisure Group
The UK's premier garden centres; a real shopping experience
Garden and Leisure was created in 1998 bringing together seven family-run garden centres to form the group. Each store shares the same vision and determination to offer you an enjoyable day-out; a real shopping experience.
Added to this the group wanted to provide an affordable Wireless Internet service throughout their in-store restaurants and conference rooms which would give their customers the opportunity to browse the Internet and check email when visiting the centres or attending a conference.
The in-house IT department distributed and installed the pre-configured PolkaSpots Hotspot Controllers using their existing Broadband connections for a trouble free plug-and-play service.
www.g-l.co.ukumi London
A 3* Hotel with 170 beds over 5 floors
"At umi we are trying achieve a service led environment. What is important is that despite being a 3 star Hotel we want to offer all Guests different types of services that they would not expect in a 3 Star Environment.
In terms of Internet Access we wanted to steer away from the stereotypical Hotel 'coin-box' Internet Cafes that give you little income and even less control. We also inherited a slow plug in service that again did not satisfy the customers needs. With PolkaSpots we created a full Wifi Hotspot service for the whole building that included all public areas, like the bar and the cafe areas. PolkaSpots also converted the existing infrastructure of the plug in internet so people can choose between plug-in or wireless in the rooms and some kioks were installed in reception.
This has improved revenue for us as well as improved the customers perception of our services."
Steven Lowy, Managing Director
www.umilondon.co.ukKitchen and Pantry
A bustling coffee shop in the heart of Notting Hill, London
Kitchen and Pantry were looking for a service that generated extra income, attracted new customers and boosted customer loyalty. They wanted more than just Internet Access for their customers - with such a strong identity and a focus on customer satisfaction, they needed someone to fully service their needs not just install a box and disappear.
PolkaSpots was the obvious choice, helped by the fact that they were local to their Notting Hill location. Because the service was white label and fully customisable, PolkaSpots spent a long time consulting with the staff and owners of the shop to determine the best route.
The cafe decided to completely brand the whole hotspot including Internet Vouchers and login screens with their own logos, colours and designs to enhance the users experience. This was all done as part of the service by PolkaSpots and the Hotspot was launched with great success.
A number of special loyalty schemes were designed as well to compliment the branded cards. These were as follows:
- Buy 180 minutes for £6 and get two free coffees
- 10% loyalty card with 30 minutes inclusive Internet Access
These promotional plans drove sales up, increase customer loyalty and helped promote other services at the locations.
Kitchen and Pantry remains one of our busiest locations to date.
www.kitchenandpantry.co.ukLandward Apartments, Edgware Road, London
A 12 storey tower block servicing American University Students.
PolkaSpots inherited the service from another provider who had installed free WiFi on the first 5 floors. The service had been notoriously unreliable in the past. The aim was to install a fast and reliable revenue generating Wi-Fi Hotspot service over 12 floors.
Dozens of Wireless Access Points were installed throughout the building to increase coverage. Structured cabling was also run top-to-bottom to guarantee the speed of the network. The number of broadband connections was increased from 2 to 4 to cope with demand and the connections were load balanced and firewalled. A content filter was also installed to help manage bandwidth, file downloads and blocked sites.
Average daily usage stands at approximately 100 unique users of the service. On average 20 - 40 users are on the network concurrently. The four ADSL lines both help maintain the speed of the network and also increase the redundancy of the system. Interestingly, some people in the local area have also signed up for the service.
Tinderbox Espresso
A unique blend of stylish locations and quality coffee, based in Glasgow and London.
Tinderbox are more like a trendy bar than a coffee house. In July 2007, Tinderbox decided to replace their existing WiFi company and install PolkaSpots Wi-Fi Hotspots at each of their sites.
They opted to provide their customers with a fully branded Wi-Fi Hotspot service that included custom £3 and £6 cards, menu boards, and login screens. To capture those users without a laptop, PolkaSpots also installed their proprietary Internet Kiosks in each location.
After less than two months after installation, the locations were being used by over 2000 users monthly. Interestingly, over 73% of these sessions were users of the PolkaSpots Internet Kiosks.
Neither Tinderbox or PolkaSpots expected to see such high usage of the sites after just a couple of months.