Wayport Checks-In Printing Service

Printing documents when traveling can be a trying experience. If you don't have the right drivers and software already loaded on your laptop or PDA, it may mean a trip to the local Kinkos -- or worse, no printing at all.

That's why Wayport has decided to add printing to the roster of Wi-Fi services it sells to hotels, inking a multi-year deal with a company called PrinterOn, which specializes in wireless printing solutions, to sell PrinterOn's hosted Guest Printing Service to its hotel customers. The service lets guests print over 100 types of documents, including Web pages, e-mail messages, and e-mail attachments from a laptop, PDA or smartphone without specific printer drivers or software.

PrinterOn remotely hosts the software and drivers required for printing to devices located on the hotel premises. When a guest prints from an application, the document is automatically sent over the Web to PrinterOn's remote server, whereupon it is rerouted to a centrally located printer at the hotel.

Most makes and models of printers will work with this system. Hotel managers simply register their printers with the PrinterOn service and connect them to the Wayport-enabled Wi-Fi network.

For Wayport, the partnership with PrinterOn brings more value to -- and more revenue from -- its hotel offerings. The hotspot pioneer's VP of Sales, Jack Alton, said, "Wayport is constantly looking for ways to provide the most comprehensive Internet services and mobile office capabilities for our customers, and PrinterOn's Guest Printing Service is a perfect addition to our suite of offerings to help round out the user experience."

The cost of the printing service to a hotel is $595 for one printer per year, with discounted pricing available for additional printers.

For Wayport regulars, those who subscribe to its hot spot network, the service is separate from their Wayport contract -- so it is up to the hotel whether they'll be charged or not. PrinterOn said its non-Wayport hotel customers don't charge their guests for the service, as they use it to differentiate themselves from competitors. This may turn out to be the case for hotels that get their printing service through Wayport.

Reprinted from PDAstreet.com.