Common IT Issues in the Hospitality Sector

The Unique IT Issues Facing the Hospitality Industry

As the hospitality sector enters a new era, technology is redefining guest experiences and operational strategies.

Hospitality operates in a dynamic environment, and its IT landscape is no exception. This leaves the industry facing a distinct set of IT issues that require specialised hospitality IT support solutions.

Top 4 IT Issues in Hospitality Businesses (And How to Overcome Them)

At Speedster IT, our skilled hospitality IT support engineers tackle a multitude of challenges on a daily basis within this sector. The most frequent IT issues we face and resolve include:

Hospitality Network Connectivity Challenges

Challenges in hospitality network connectivity are significant. Reliable and secure networks are crucial for the hospitality industry.

Transforming networks through technologies such as SDN and virtualization can provide solutions, offering enhanced control, flexibility, and security.

Addressing network connectivity challenges through innovative network technologies is essential for the hospitality industry to maintain reliable, secure, and adaptable operations.

Hospitality Hardware IT Issues & Legacy IT Issues

Outdated systems often struggle to integrate with modern solutions, causing compatibility issues and limiting the benefits of new tools.

This legacy burden hinders progress in improving guest experiences, optimizing operations, and maintaining competitiveness.

Adapting and updating your business technological infrastructure is crucial for hospitality businesses to safeguard their future and stay at the forefront of the industry.

Staff User Credential Resets

Resetting staff user credentials is a common daily request. The ways in which we choose to manage these requests from users are as follows:

• Identity & Access Management
• Prompting password changes with automated expiry notifications
• Maintaining audit trails for accountability
• Using secure channels for transmitting temporary credentials

These are all practices that contribute to efficient credential resets. By streamlining the process with concise instructions for contacting support and resetting credentials, we can reduce confusion and downtime.

Top 4 Cyber Security IT Issues in Hospitality Businesses (And How to Overcome Them)

Cybercrime is evolving at a rapid pace, making cybersecurity an increasingly vital consideration for the hospitality industry. Unfortunately, it is a challenging truth that many hospitality businesses have been slow to adopt new technologies, leaving them vulnerable to the ever-growing threats posed by cyber criminals.

Hospitality businesses must recognise that cybersecurity is no longer an optional consideration, but a critical component of their overall operational strategy. Some of the top IT Support requests we see involve problems with :

Securing Wi-Fi Networks From IT Issues

Hospitality businesses must take proactive steps to address the critical issue of insecure Wi-Fi networks. An unsecured network can become a breeding ground for cyberattacks, especially when targeting guests. Insecure Wi-Fi networks pose several risks, including:

• Malware Infections: Unsecured Wi-Fi networks can serve as conduits for distributing malware to guests. This can lead to infections on their devices, potentially compromising personal information.
• Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks: During MITM attacks, cybercriminals intercept unencrypted Wi-Fi traffic to steal personal details.
• By implementing robust security measures, hospitality businesses can safeguard their guests’ data and maintain a trustworthy network environment.
• Rogue Access Points: Cybercriminals may set up “rogue access points” that mimic legitimate hotel Wi-Fi networks. Unsuspecting guests who connect to these rogue points risk having their sensitive data stolen.

Hospitality Security Breaches

The costs and reputation damage associated with security lapses are more costly to a hospitality brand than proactively investing in security solutions and programs before an incident. System intrusion, social engineering, and basic web application attacks represent 90% of hospitality breaches.

Point of Sale (POS) Attacks

To protect against this threat, the company should:

• Comply with PCI standards across all networks, routers, and servers.
• Use end-to-end encryption, antivirus, and two-factor authentication on POS systems. By encrypting the cardholder’s data, a hotel can prevent hackers from easily accessing it in the event of a network breach.
• Hire a reputable data security provider.
• Monitor possible thefts of POS devices, regularly accounting for all of them.

Malware and Ransomware

To protect against malware or ransomware, the hospitality company should:

• Keep browsers and anti-malware software up-to-date.
• Back up your big data regularly.
• Educate staff about avoiding security breaches in the hotel industry:
• Check flash drives for viruses before using them
• Be careful when clicking on links and advertisements
• Don’t give software from unknown or unreliable sources administrative permissions

Phishing attacks

To protect against phishing attacks, try the following steps:

• Install and update software to detect phishing emails
• Train employees to spot phishing emails (suspicious email addresses, poor grammar, spelling, typos, etc.)

Data Breaches

The time it takes to detect a security breach poses the most significant threat to the hospitality industry. The longer it takes for an organisation to detect a breach, the greater the potential for devastating consequences, such as financial losses, reputational damage, and the erosion of consumer trust.

Prompt breach detection is therefore essential for the hospitality sector to mitigate the risks and safeguard its operations, assets, and, most importantly, its customers. Some of the ways we recommend our clients protect there businesses is follows :

• Dark Web monitoring & scan service
• Endpoint Security
• Cloud Security
• Penetration Testing
• Advanced Threat Detection
• Identity & Access Management
• Cyber Security Training for Employees
• Provide customer-facing payment terminals
• Create a culture of security

Best Practices for Data Security in Hospitality

Best practices for companies in the hospitality sector to protect data include:

• Always encrypt payment card information.
• Operate a continuous training program in cybersecurity to maintain a well-trained workforce.
• Always adhere to relevant regulations, such as PCI DSS.
• Use cybersecurity measures such as firewalls, network monitoring, anti-malware, and traffic filtering to protect against common threats.
• Conduct tests against your organization’s cybersecurity defenses in which you mirror the behavior of an actual hacker.
• Know where your data is and enforce the principle of least privileges to limit access to sensitive information.

Weak Passwords

Its a well known fact that lots of industrys in the UK fail when it comes to password security. The hospitality industry is no exception. Hospitality Industry Employees Use Shockingly Weak Passwords!

Examples of these passwords which can be easily compromised :

• password
• 123456
• Company name123 *
• Company name*
• Company name*
• Hello123
• Company name 1*
• Company name*
• company name*
• company name1*

Simple passwords are very dangerous to all users, but businesses and their employees need to take extra care when it comes to cybersecurity. A weak password of one employee could potentially jeopardize the whole company if an attacker used the breached password to gain access to sensitive data.

How can Hospitality Businesses Increase Their Password Hygiene?

• 1. Create complex and unique passwords, update them regularly, and store them in a password manager.
• 2. Use multi-factor authentication or single sign-on
• 3. Educate your employees on password hygiene and potential risks

You can read more here : Some Shocking Stats about UK Password Usage

Investing in Reliable IT is Key to Hospitality Success

Investing in reliable IT is not just a cost-effective measure, but a strategic investment that can propel your hospitality business to new heights of success.

By partnering with a trusted IT service provider, like Speedster IT you can ensure that your technology infrastructure is tailored to your specific needs, scalable, and future-proof, positioning your organization for long-term growth, less IT issues and profitability.