More and more guests expect their experiences with technology at hotels to be similar or even identical to how they use technology at home, and a big part of enabling that experience is greater on-property adoption of internet of things — or IoT — technologies.

To that end, industry group Hospitality Technologies Next Generation's Internet of Things workgroup released in May two sets of guidance for better adoption of IoT technologies at hotels.

Here are some of the highlights of that guidance.

Internet of things technologies are defined as any tech used that can "be connected via internet protocols to create a holistic ecosystem." As HTNG defines it, internet of things technologies broadly fall into three categories:

• Facilities management, which includes things like heating and lighting controls.
• Guest facing, which can include voice assistants or television set top boxes.
• Security and safety, including cameras, staff-alert devices and door locks.

While nearly all technologies today have some IoT components to them, HTNG's workgroup noted "the business challenge hoteliers face is knowing when and how to implement an IoT solution that meets or exceeds guest expectations and/or adds operational efficiency for the hotel."

The HTNG IoT Protocols for Hospitality white paper notes there are various ways — both wired and wireless — of setting up networks for IoT technologies, all of which require significant front-end planning from hoteliers.

Implementation of guest-facing IoT devices in particular are in some ways similar to how consumers install them at home, but they are replicated on a massive scale across hundred or even thousands of guest rooms in a hotel-wide deployment. Because of that wider scale, hotels can't handle their networking of the devices on a piecemeal basis because it will ultimately add costs and create security and other issues.

"Commercial environments require protocol standardization to limit the number of integration hubs required on the network, which in turn can simplify the network’s design and therefore help control cost," the white paper reads. "This integration and cross-device compatibility requirement explains why the majority of IoT technology providers have standardized the same communication technology within the hospitality environment in order to ease integration and reduce the need for redundant network infrastructure updates."

Because IoT devices interact with security measures as fundamental as door locks and also offer potential gateways into a hotels system, they do present significant security liabilities if not handled properly.

"A good line of thinking is that any network is only as secure as the weakest device that is accessible on that network," HTNG's IoT Security white paper reads. "IoT devices are often that weakest link. IoT devices represent a risk to the network infrastructure of the organization, and typically if the network goes down, business operation is hindered as well."

Threats to IoT devices, and hotels generally, can come from sources as varied as a hotel's own employees who may unintentionally open systems to risks to state-sponsored hackers seeking sensitive guest information or financial reward. Attacks can be as basic as physically manipulating the IoT hardware or accessing security vulnerabilities because devices aren't properly updated to finding ways in through using weak communications protocols and "poor authentication and authorization practices."

The general advice HTNG gives to improve IoT security breaks down to doing the following when devices are first installed:

• Immediately update security certificates and firmware.
• Immediately change default passwords to more secure passwords.
• Put IoT devices in isolated network segments so attackers can't access to other systems.
• Only enable secure protocols and services that will be used on property.

Security efforts should also begin before purchasing an IoT device for on-property use, the report notes.

"Before purchasing devices, make certain the impact on guest and employees has been evaluated and is understood," according to the white paper.

Steps for ongoing operations and maintenance include:

• Use secure passwords, and change them regularly.
• Monitor IoT devices and network usage with logs and alarms.
• Establish and enforce IoT policies.
• Regularly update firmware and software.