Guests judge a hotel on the bed, the food and, increasingly, the Wi-Fi. A review that says "the Wi-Fi didn't reach our room" costs bookings, and a reception that cannot take card or mobile-money payments during a power cut costs money on the spot. Behind the scenes, the same property also needs C...
Guests judge a hotel on the bed, the food and, increasingly, the Wi-Fi. A review that says "the Wi-Fi didn't reach our room" costs bookings, and a reception that cannot take card or mobile-money payments during a power cut costs money on the spot. Behind the scenes, the same property also needs CCTV, a fire alarm that actually works, and a back-office network that guests cannot reach.
This guide is for owners and managers of hotels, lodges, villas and guesthouses in Zanzibar, from a six-room guesthouse in Stone Town to a beach resort on the east coast. It explains what makes technology harder here, a sensible way to design it, and how to build it in stages.
Power is not steady. Power cuts and voltage swings are part of life on the islands. When the mains drops, the generator usually takes a few seconds to start, and every router, switch and recorder without a UPS reboots. Some equipment never comes back cleanly. Surges when power returns are a common cause of dead network equipment.
Salt air and humidity. Within a few hundred metres of the sea, unprotected connectors, brackets and enclosures corrode quickly. Outdoor access points, cameras and cable joints need to be rated for outdoor use (look for a suitable IP rating), with sealed connectors and stainless or coated fixings.
Thick walls. Coral-stone and concrete walls block Wi-Fi far more than the plasterboard most consumer routers are designed for. One powerful router at reception will not cover rooms two walls away, however much you pay for it.
Heritage buildings. Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and visible external changes to buildings there need approval from the conservation authority. Antennas, external cable runs, cameras on façades and new wall openings all count as visible changes. Plan discreet internal routing, and check with the authority before work starts rather than after.
Lightning. Outdoor cable runs between buildings, to a pool bar or to a gate camera pick up surges during storms. Earthing and surge protection are not optional on those runs.
Fibre availability varies. Parts of Unguja town have fibre; many coastal areas still depend on fixed wireless or 4G. Where fibre exists, it is usually the best primary link. Almost everywhere, a second connection on a different technology (4G or another provider) is worth having.
Seasonality. Occupancy peaks in the dry seasons and drops during the long rains. That quiet period is the best time for cabling and upgrades, but contractors and parts get busy just before high season. Spare parts are often stocked in Dar es Salaam, so a failed switch can mean days of downtime if there is no spare on site.
Guest expectations. International guests expect to stream video, join video calls and upload photos from their room and the pool. They compare your Wi-Fi with their home connection, not with other hotels on the island.
Think of the property as several separate networks sharing one set of cables and one internet connection.
| Network | Who uses it | Key rules |
|---|---|---|
| Guest Wi-Fi | Guests' phones and laptops | Isolated from everything else; guests cannot see each other's devices; fair bandwidth limits per device |
| Staff and office | Reception PCs, managers, accounts | Password-protected; access to printers and the property management system |
| Payments (POS) | Card terminals, POS tills | Separated from guest and staff traffic; only reaches what it needs |
| Security | CCTV cameras, recorder, access control, intercoms | No internet access except for safe remote viewing; never on guest Wi-Fi |
| Building systems | Fire alarm interfaces, PA, smart controls | Kept apart; managed only by authorised people |
On a business-grade router and managed switches, these are separated with VLANs (virtual networks). One cable can carry several of them, so you do not need five sets of cables.
For the trade-offs between consumer mesh kits and centrally managed access points, see Mesh Wi-Fi vs Managed Access Points.
Extrion has not yet published a hospitality project, so we will not pretend otherwise. The engineering is the same as on our hospital work, where we installed LAN, fibre, CCTV, fire, public address and nurse-call systems in occupied, 24-hour buildings, for example the Pediatric Hospital at Mnazi Mmoja and the Mental Hospital at Kidongo Chekundu. A hospital ward and a hotel corridor face the same problems: people sleeping, systems that must never go down, and safety systems that must be reliable.
You do not have to do everything at once. A practical order:
Not sure where you stand? The network readiness check gives you a quick score.
Warning Do not open the fire alarm panel, work on mains wiring or climb onto roofs to fix cameras or antennas yourself. Use a qualified electrician or installer, with proper ladders or access equipment.
More on our work for the sector is on the hospitality and tourism page.
It depends on the walls more than the floor area. In a coral-stone building, expect roughly one per room or per two adjacent rooms, plus one for each outdoor area guests use. A site survey gives a real number.
Yes. Business access points broadcast several networks at once, and VLANs keep the traffic separate all the way to the router.
For most guesthouses, yes, as long as signal is good at the property. Check signal strength from more than one mobile network before choosing.
Often, with careful internal routing, but every building is different. Check with the conservation authority before any work that could alter the building's exterior.
During your quietest months, usually the long rains, with planning and ordering done well before.
If guests complain about Wi-Fi, your equipment keeps failing after power cuts, or you are planning a new property, Extrion can survey the site and design a network that suits it. See our network architecture service or contact us to arrange a visit.
This guide is general information to help you plan. Prices, product features and regulations change, so confirm the details for your own site before you buy.
Ask for clarification, tell us a problem this did not solve, or suggest a topic. An engineer reads every message, and we use them to improve the Knowledge Center.
Keep learning
A single building can often get by with one switch cabinet and a few access points. A property with several buildings spread across a site is differen...
Read guideMany schools receive computers before they have the room, power, network or people to keep them running. A year later, half the machines are unused: a...
Read guideMost security systems in small shops and offices are bought in a hurry, often after a break-in. A few cameras go up, a recorder goes on a shelf, and n...
Read guideEngineers reply Mon – Fri, 08:00 – 17:00
We'll send a copy of the conversation to our team. Next time, the chat starts fresh.
