Within four minutes of arriving at your park, most people try to connect to the internet.
If they can’t, frustration starts instantly – and often ends in a bad review or an unhappy owner.
It’s 2025, and park owners are still asking: “Do we really need to invest in WiFi, or will 5G cover it?”
Whether you’re running short-stay rentals or selling holiday homes to private owners, the decision isn’t just about technology. It’s about protecting star ratings, increasing occupancy, keeping owners happy, and safeguarding the value of your park community.
The Promise of 5G (and Its Limits)
On paper, 5G sounds like the easy answer: fast speeds, no investment for the park, and everyone uses their own plan.
But here’s what both short-stay and ownership parks discover in practice:
- Coverage Gaps: Rural and coastal locations – where many parks sit – often have poor 5G coverage. Guests and owners don’t want to stand in the car park to get a signal.
- Inconsistent Experience: Reviews and resale values suffer when connectivity changes from one pitch to the next.
- Cost to Users: Families streaming, gaming, and working remotely quickly hit data caps. Guests leave poor reviews; owners feel short-changed.
5G alone can’t deliver the consistency guests and owners now expect.
Why WiFi Still Matters in 2025
Site-wide, managed WiFi gives you control of the experience – and pays back in both revenue and retention.
For Short-Stay Rental Parks
Star Ratings:
WiFi is one of the quickest ways to drop a star on Booking.com or Tripadvisor. And the maths hurts: each star you lose can mean around 15% less revenue per year. In a competitive market where guests scan reviews before they even look at price, poor connectivity can put you out of the running before they’ve even seen your park’s best features.
Occupancy Rates:
“Free WiFi” is consistently one of the most used filters on booking platforms. If you don’t tick that box, you won’t even appear on a large portion of guest searches. That’s not just lost bookings – it’s lost visibility. Parks that invest in strong WiFi don’t just get more clicks; they stay in front of the right audience.
First Impressions:
Guests form their opinion of your park within minutes. If families can connect smoothly straight away, you’re off to a great start. If they can’t, frustration builds before they’ve even unpacked the car. And those emotions matter: happy arrivals are more likely to leave five-star reviews; frustrated arrivals are more likely to air complaints online.
For Private Ownership Parks
Owner Satisfaction:
Families invest in holiday homes for a lifestyle — regular visits, extended stays, quality time together. If they can’t work remotely, stream in the evenings, or keep kids entertained, they’ll cut trips short or, worse, reconsider ownership altogether. In fact, in lifestyle housing research, over 70% of buyers say reliable broadband is “essential” when choosing a second home – ranking above features like gardens or parking. Poor WiFi isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s a churn risk.
Community Value:
Owners who feel connected stay longer, invite friends, and recommend your park to others. WiFi has become part of the “social glue” that keeps people happy on-site. Parks without reliable connectivity risk becoming known as outdated, while parks with strong WiFi become the ones people want to join and stay loyal to.
Future-Proofing:
Caravans and lodges are no longer “off-grid retreats.” Owners expect them to support the same conveniences they have at home: smart TVs, CCTV, EV chargers, connected heating systems. WiFi is the backbone for all of this. With the UK on track for 1 in 4 households to own an EV by 2030, and smart-home adoption rising every year, parks that install robust WiFi now will avoid costly retrofits later – and position themselves as premium, future-ready destinations.
The Hybrid Reality: WiFi + 5G
The best-performing parks don’t choose one or the other. They use both:
- WiFi as the backbone: Reliable coverage for every guest and owner.
- 5G as backup: Useful in certain spots or for those who prefer their own plan.
- Managed networks: Proactive monitoring stops the downtime disasters that drive complaints and bad reviews.
What Park Owners Should Do in 2025
- Audit your site: Look at coverage gaps and what reviews/owners are saying.
- Think about both groups: Guests want smooth streaming and work calls; owners want lifestyle value and smart-home features.
- Invest, don’t patch: Boosters and DIY fixes won’t cut it. Professionally managed WiFi pays back in occupancy, reviews, and long-term retention.
- Plan for the future: Smart devices and EVs are only going to grow. Laying the WiFi foundations now saves costly retrofits later.
In 2025, the question isn’t WiFi vs. 5G – it’s whether you want to control the experience or leave it to chance.
- Short-stay parks with strong WiFi keep star ratings high and occupancy full.
- Private ownership parks with reliable connectivity protect resale values and keep owners happy for the long term.
The parks leading the way are combining WiFi with 5G – and using connectivity as a competitive edge. Will yours be one of them?
Ready to see how your park stacks up? Book a free site audit to uncover coverage gaps, guest pain points, and opportunities to boost satisfaction and revenue.
