Hospitality and multi-family properties face a tough choice: invest heavily in network infrastructure upfront or struggle with outdated systems. Network as a Service changes that equation entirely.
At Clouddle, we’ve seen firsthand how traditional networking drains budgets and distracts teams from what matters. NaaS flips the model, letting properties scale connectivity, entertainment, and security without the capital burden.
Why Traditional Networks Drain Hospitality Budgets
Building a network from scratch or upgrading an aging system requires massive upfront investment that most properties cannot justify. A typical mid-size hotel or multi-family property needs hundreds of access points, switches, firewalls, and cabling infrastructure. The hardware alone costs tens of thousands of dollars, and installation demands specialized technicians who charge premium rates for deployment across multiple floors and outdoor areas. Beyond the initial purchase, properties must budget for ongoing replacement cycles since access points typically need refreshing every five to seven years. A 200-room hotel with outdoor amenities might need 300 access points just to maintain basic coverage, and replacing even 10% of that equipment annually becomes an endless expense drain that diverts capital from guest experience improvements or property maintenance.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
Once equipment sits in place, the real financial pressure begins. Properties must hire or contract IT staff to monitor network health, troubleshoot connectivity issues, apply security patches, and manage firmware updates across hundreds of devices.
According to Fortune Business Insights, large enterprises currently dominate the NaaS market with 57.25% share, largely because they finally recognized that maintaining legacy networks consumes enormous IT resources. A single network outage in a hospitality property costs money through lost guest satisfaction, operational disruptions, and staff time spent on recovery. Properties without dedicated IT staff either suffer from slow response times or pay expensive hourly rates for emergency support. Security becomes another burden because networks require constant vigilance against new threats, compliance updates, and access control management. Many properties operate with security vulnerabilities they do not fully understand. The maintenance burden also prevents properties from adding new services like IoT-enabled room controls, video surveillance integration, or advanced guest analytics that could generate additional revenue or improve operations.
Scaling Networks Becomes Impossible Without Reinvestment
When hospitality properties grow (whether through new buildings, expanded occupancy, or additional locations), their networks cannot grow alongside them without massive new capital expenditure. A property that built a network five years ago cannot simply add capacity without replacing outdated equipment that no longer meets current bandwidth demands. Each new location requires duplicate hardware investments, separate management systems, and additional staff training. Properties with multiple locations face the nightmare of managing disconnected networks across different vendors, configurations, and support contracts. This fragmentation prevents them from understanding guest behavior across properties, implementing consistent security policies, or optimizing operational efficiency. Growth becomes financially risky because adding capacity means committing to new equipment purchases before the property even knows if the expansion will succeed.
Why Traditional Infrastructure Cannot Keep Pace
The global NaaS market is projected to grow from $43.39 billion in 2026 to $219.83 billion by 2034, according to Fortune Business Insights, precisely because properties recognize that traditional networks make expansion unaffordable and operationally unsustainable. Legacy infrastructure locks properties into fixed configurations that resist change. When guest expectations shift toward faster speeds, more simultaneous connections, or new entertainment options, properties cannot adapt without another round of capital investment. This inflexibility means that properties fall behind competitors who find ways to modernize without the financial burden. The question is no longer whether properties need better networks-it is whether they can afford to build and maintain them with traditional models. Network as a Service offers a fundamentally different path forward.
How NaaS Eliminates the Financial Barrier to Modern Networks
Network as a Service fundamentally restructures how hospitality and multi-family properties pay for connectivity. Instead of committing $50,000 to $200,000 upfront for hardware, installation, and initial configuration, properties shift to a monthly subscription model that bundles access points, switches, firewalls, professional installation, ongoing management, and 24/7 support into a single predictable expense. This operating expense approach means properties pay only for what they use each month, and costs scale directly with property size and occupancy rather than forcing overinvestment in equipment that may sit underutilized. NaaS subscriptions offer flexible contract terms spanning 36, 48, or 60 months, allowing properties to lock in pricing stability without gambling on five-year-old hardware technology. The financial impact is immediate: a 150-room hotel property avoids $75,000 in capital equipment spending and instead pays roughly $2,000 to $3,500 monthly for complete network infrastructure. That difference frees capital for renovations, guest amenities, or debt reduction rather than locking it into depreciating equipment. Properties also eliminate the replacement cycle trap because hardware refresh becomes the provider’s responsibility, not theirs. When access points age out after five to seven years, the provider swaps them for current-generation equipment at no additional cost beyond the subscription.
Expert Support Replaces the IT Staff Problem
The second major cost driver in traditional networks is staffing. Properties either hire full-time IT personnel at $60,000 to $85,000 annually plus benefits, or they contract with managed service providers at $150 to $300 per hour for emergency support that often arrives too late. NaaS eliminates this choice because 24/7 US-based monitoring and support come standard. Technicians proactively monitor network health, detect issues before guests experience outages, apply security patches automatically, and troubleshoot problems remotely without dispatching expensive on-site visits. This proactive stance prevents the costly scenario where a network failure in the middle of the night disrupts operations for hours while staff scrambles to find available support. Properties can redeploy internal IT staff from firefighting to strategic initiatives like guest experience improvements or revenue-generating projects.
Unified Management Across Multiple Locations
Multi-property operators gain particular advantage because centralized cloud management across all locations eliminates the need for site-specific IT expertise at each property. One small team can oversee networks across ten properties using a unified dashboard that shows performance metrics, guest connectivity patterns, and security alerts from every location simultaneously. This centralized approach transforms how operators manage growth and consistency across their portfolio.
Scaling Becomes a Business Decision, Not a Financial Crisis
When a hospitality property opens a new building or a multi-family operator adds a second location, NaaS makes expansion financially manageable. Adding 50 new rooms or 100 new units simply means increasing the monthly subscription to accommodate additional access points and bandwidth. The provider handles design, equipment procurement, installation, and integration into the existing network architecture without the property committing capital upfront. This flexibility means properties can pilot expansions, test market demand, and scale incrementally without risking massive equipment investments in ventures that might underperform.
Properties also gain the ability to add new services alongside growth. As properties expand, they can layer in video surveillance integration, IoT-enabled room controls, advanced guest analytics, or branded entertainment streaming without replacing underlying infrastructure. The network becomes a platform for innovation rather than a fixed constraint that resists change. Multi-location properties benefit most because a single NaaS contract can provision consistent networking across geographically dispersed properties, enabling centralized management, unified security policies, and cross-property guest analytics that drive revenue opportunities and operational efficiency.
This financial flexibility transforms how properties approach growth, but the real competitive advantage emerges when properties understand what NaaS actually delivers to their guests and operations.
What Changes When Reliable Networks Stop Being a Luxury
Multi-Device Demand Requires Networks Built for Scale
Average guests bring 2.9 devices per stay, meaning a 100-room hotel property simultaneously supports 290 devices during peak occupancy, each competing for bandwidth across streaming, video calls, and social media. Traditional networks struggle with this density because they were designed for fewer devices and lighter usage patterns. NaaS-delivered networks handle multi-device demand through scalable infrastructure that automatically adjusts capacity based on real-time occupancy and usage patterns. This reliability translates directly to guest satisfaction metrics.
Properties that implement managed NaaS solutions report fewer connectivity complaints, reduced support tickets related to Wi-Fi problems, and measurably higher guest satisfaction scores in post-stay surveys. The financial impact appears in booking platforms where guest reviews mentioning reliable connectivity drive repeat reservations and premium pricing. Multi-family properties experience the same dynamic because residents increasingly expect fast, stable connectivity for remote work, streaming, and smart home devices. A multi-family operator managing 500 units sees resident retention improve when connectivity supports work-from-home productivity, whereas spotty Wi-Fi drives residents to competing properties offering superior network performance.
Entertainment and Security Create New Revenue Streams
NaaS bundles entertainment and security services alongside basic connectivity, creating revenue opportunities that traditional networks cannot deliver. Arena Hospitality Group operates 26 properties across Central and Eastern Europe, and their deployment at Arena Grand Kažela Campsite demonstrates this advantage. The property integrated guest Wi-Fi, IPTV, video surveillance, and IoT device management into a unified network that enabled guests to watch television on personal devices anywhere across the campsite through a single branded app. This integration generated additional revenue through in-app restaurant bookings and promotional opportunities while reducing operational costs because the property repurposed existing television equipment rather than purchasing new hardware.
The network also automated guest comfort by linking room controls to occupancy sensors, adjusting heating, cooling, and lighting when guests left their spaces, lowering utility expenses substantially. Multi-property operators gain even greater advantage because centralized management enables consistent guest experiences across locations while capturing cross-property analytics on guest behavior, device usage patterns, and service adoption rates. This data drives targeted revenue initiatives like premium Wi-Fi tiers, streaming service partnerships, or location-based promotions that increase average guest spending.
Operational Efficiency Frees Staff for Strategic Work
Staff workload drops dramatically because automated monitoring detects network issues before they impact operations, eliminating the constant firefighting that consumes IT resources. One property manager overseeing five locations can manage all network operations through a single dashboard, freeing staff to focus on guest experience initiatives rather than troubleshooting connectivity problems. This shift from reactive maintenance to proactive management transforms how properties allocate their most valuable resource: people. Teams redirect attention toward revenue-generating activities, resident or guest satisfaction improvements, and strategic initiatives that actually move the business forward rather than keeping systems from failing.
Final Thoughts
Network as a Service fundamentally restructures how hospitality and multi-family properties invest in connectivity. Properties eliminate the false choice between outdated infrastructure and massive capital expenditure, shifting instead to subscription-based access that scales with business growth. Monthly costs replace unpredictable replacement cycles, emergency support bills, and staffing expenses with transparent pricing that adapts directly to occupancy and expansion needs.
The competitive advantage extends far beyond cost savings. Properties implementing NaaS report measurable improvements in guest satisfaction, reduced operational complexity, and new revenue opportunities through integrated entertainment and security services. Staff redirect time from network firefighting toward strategic work that actually improves guest experience and operational efficiency, while multi-property operators gain centralized management that creates consistency across locations and generates cross-property analytics driving targeted revenue initiatives.
Growth becomes financially manageable because adding capacity means adjusting a monthly subscription rather than committing to new equipment purchases. We at Clouddle combine networking, entertainment, and security into seamless solutions designed specifically for hospitality, multi-family, and senior living properties, offering 24/7 support and flexible contract terms that eliminate upfront investment. Contact Clouddle to discuss how Network as a Service can transform your property operations.
