October 5, 2004

By Jason Deign, News@Cisco

You can get away from it all at the Langham Place Hotel, Hong Kong, as much as at any other major international hospitality venue. But unlike most, you can also stay in touch to an unprecedented degree.

Guests can take their in-room mobile IP phone to any part of the hotel, from the health club to the restaurant, and continue to make and receive calls. And Cisco color touch-screen phones in every room give you quick access to weather reports, news and hotel services.

Langham Place has invested HK$35 million to develop an IT system which includes a state-of-the-art voice and data network, powered by Cisco Systems® equipment, which also provides high-speed wired and wireless Internet access in every corner of the hotel.

To see such a dazzling use of network technology in a hotel is still unusual, but increasingly far from unique. In fact, 2004 could be remembered as the year that converged IP networks really checked into the hotel industry.

A raft of implementations worldwide is showing that the benefits of convergence are no longer conceptual, but an everyday reality at a growing number of hospitality sector leaders.

Chains such as Crowne Plaza, Hyatt, Intercontinental and Sheraton are among those that now boast hotels where voice, data and video signals can be carried over a single IP network, instead of having to manage separate networks for each.

The change represents a major infrastructure saving for hotel operators.

Perhaps more importantly, though, it allows hotels to support a wide range of new value added services, at a time when some traditional revenue streams, such as private branch exchange-based phone calls, are under threat (in the case of PBXs, from customer cell phone use).

The move to converged networks, particularly in new hotel developments, is a natural extension of an increasing demand for high-speed Internet connections by business customers.

Once a high-speed Internet network is in place, it is a relatively easy job to transfer voice calls and video traffic onto it as well, leading to significant savings.

The hotel giant Starwood started fitting out its hotels and resorts worldwide with high-speed Internet access as far back as 2001, when it formed a strategic relationship with Cisco to introduce broadband through its subsidiary Starwood Technology and Revenue Systems.

This relationship has enabled Starwood to provide hotel guests with high-quality, secure, high-speed Internet access throughout its Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis/Luxury Collection and W hotel brands.

In addition, Starwood has been working with Cisco to develop new broadband-based communication and entertainment services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), that improve guest satisfaction and enhance the customer experience. The main technology platforms for these are Cisco Long-Reach Ethernet, the Cisco Aironet Family Series of wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products and Cisco Building Broadband Service Manager (BBSM), a subscriber management system.

More recently, hotels worldwide have started following Starwood's lead. In the Philippines, for example, the Bellevue Manila, the first full-service business hotel in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, has Cisco high-speed Internet connections in all 222 guest rooms.

The hotel believes that the ability to provide high-speed Internet access further enhances its reputation as the corporate hotel of choice in the competitive hospitality industry in Manila. It uses Cisco Catalyst® 2900 Series switches, BBSM and Cisco 1700 Series modular access routers.

"The Bellevue Manila is a relatively young hotel but we have already established a reputation for service excellence," says Daniel Carreon, Management Information Systems manager for The Bellevue Manila.

"Discerning business travelers today have come to expect high-speed Internet access as part of the offerings of top-notch hotels. Cisco's BBSM provides us with a very powerful tool to manage the Internet access in our guest rooms."

Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, Grand Hyatt Singapore has invested more than US$1 million in an advanced high-speed network that will offer its corporate clients the convenience and sophistication of an 'office away from the office'.

The wired and wireless network infrastructure, built with equipment from Cisco, places Grand Hyatt at the leading edge of hotels serving the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions sector.

Featuring new and improved in-room technology and guest service applications, as well as high-tech conferencing capabilities, Grand Hyatt's network, like that of Langham Place, enables hotel guests to access the Internet from anywhere in the hotel.

This includes all the guest rooms, public areas such as the restaurants and lobby and even around the swimming pool.

"About 75 per cent of our clientele comprises business travelers and our conference and meeting rooms and facilities are much in demand all year round," says Willi Martin, general manager of Grand Hyatt Singapore.

"Our 'totally wired/totally wireless' infrastructure helps us to present our guests with easy connectivity such as an 'office away from the office' par excellence. Our clients also expect reliable and secure connections to their corporate networks and to the Internet.

"Our aim is to exceed their level of service expectation when they come to Singapore and stay at Grand Hyatt Singapore."

In a similar vein, the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit recently became the first hotel in Thailand able to provide its guests with 24-hour high-speed Internet access from virtually anywhere on the property, thanks to an advanced IP-based wired and wireless network.

Powered by Cisco Catalyst® 3550 and 2950 switches, the network is among the most advanced among Thailand hotels, allowing the Sheraton Grande to offer innovative services that attract travelers.

The Catalyst 3550 Intelligent Ethernet switch enables services such as advanced quality of service (QoS), rate-limiting, Cisco security access control lists, multicast management and high-performance IP routing, while maintaining the simplicity of traditional LAN switching.

Wireless access is provided in many places around the hotel, such as the lobby and the swimming pool, via Cisco Aironet 350 wireless LANs, complementing 24-hour high-speed Internet access to guest rooms.

The hotel's own IT and technical staff were responsible for the complete installation and maintenance of the system, with close consultation with Cisco engineers.

Starwood's Sheraton chain has also introduced the 'Internet anywhere' concept into Eastern Europe at the Sheraton Krakow Hotel, Poland.

The recently-opened hotel features an integrated Cisco IP communications system created with help from NextiraOne, a worldwide supplier of integrated networking systems and services.

The network improves both customer service and the efficiency of hotel management. It comprises Internet, data and voice access for all guests and staff at the hotel and includes more than 600 IP telephone handsets and wireless connectivity.

NextiraOne based the communications system on Cisco CallManager call processing servers and software and Nevotek V/IP Suite Server, which provides specific functionality for hotel applications.

All 232 hotel rooms are equipped with Cisco 7970 IP telephones with large color liquid crystal display monitors and touch screens.

As well as accessing the Internet, this allows guests to send e-mails, use voice mail, read text messages sent by hotel reception, check hotel bills (including telephone calls and mini-bar charges), book meeting rooms and access hotel information services such as exchange rates, city guide, hotel facilities or weather forecasts.

None of this would seem remarkable to a visitor arriving from Dublin's Crowne Plaza. The hotel was the first in Ireland to introduce IP-enabled services, in December 2003.

Using Cisco networking technology, the Crown Plaza has created applications that deliver significant business benefits.

They include the now familiar combination of high-speed Internet access in all bedrooms and conference facilities, plus Wi-Fi access in key locations such as restaurants, the bar, lobbies and the fourth floor executive club lounge.

As a result, the Crowne Plaza can offer guests four-star luxury combined with the technology standards they are accustomed to in the modern office.

Guests arriving at the hotel receive a personal identification number allowing them to use Cisco IP phones and other devices, to do everything from sending an e-mail to ordering refreshments and entertainment or hiring a car.

Even this is but a fraction of what integrated network communications can achieve. At the Hotel Valencia in San Jose, California, for example, guests start getting the IP treatment before they have even reached the front door.

The first clue is the personal digital assistant dangling from the doorman's belt. As guests step from their cars, the doorman confirms their reservations, processes their credit cards and makes magnetic room keys on the spot-all before the luggage leaves the trunk.

"No more waiting seven-deep at the front desk for check-in," enthuses Matthew Nuss, executive vice president of the Valencia Group hotel chain.

At the brand-new hotel and its sister, Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, wireless curbside check-in is just the beginning of this high-tech hospitality experience.

Cisco and HP collaborated to help Hotel Valencia create one of the most technologically advanced properties in the world, from wireless access throughout the hotel's public areas and IP telephony to state-of-the-art in-room content delivery.

Hotel guests can take advantage of a variety of services, including advanced IP telephony, high-speed wireless Internet access, wireless printing and digital video on demand. A Cisco network is what makes it all possible.

Jason Deign is a freelance journalist located in Barcelona, Spain.