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FAQ's About Meeting Guests' Technology Needs

We are seeing more and more business travelers at our property. How can a telecommunications system help meet their needs? Business travelers are expecting to see more and more of the same services that they receive in their office. The most important amenities to consider are voicemail and High-Speed Internet access, which will be driving factors in their selection of a place to stay. Additional features that will attract prospects include: unlimited local and long distance calling, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and offering a wireless hotspot (Wi-Fi) on the property. Some of our guests are inquiring about in-room voicemail. Is this going to become an expected amenity? How do I determine if the demand is worth the investment? Voicemail is in demand, especially for business travelers, and it will definitely become an expected amenity over time. The question you need to answer is what percentage or your guests (or potential guests) require this specific feature and in what timeframe. Measure these needs with your planned infrastructure enhancements. Many vendor’s IP-based PBXs will incorporate voicemail into the switch allowing you to bundle this investment with other infrastructure costs. While our service works fine, our in-room phones are out of date. Can I simply swap out the phones or do I need to make more comprehensive changes to my network and wiring? There are more than 50 types of phones geared toward the hospitality market and all of these phones are designed to work with both today and tomorrow’s systems. Upgrading phones is as simple as determining which features your want and replacing the old phones with the new ones. One word of caution, the new phones will probably offer additional features and functionality that will need to be tested.

What features and benefits do modern in-room phones offer? Will this year’s models be obsolete by next year? Modern in-room phones come with a host of features previously unavailable. Some of the more popular include: Cordless units with all features or corded models Single touch voice mail retrieval Programmable guest service keys Hold, redial, mute, volume and speaker controls Most of the new IP-based phones will allow additional features to be downloaded remotely through software updates. This means you can keep the same phone for several years and still add new functionality as your needs change. Our property has a small business center. Are there benefits to handling the telecommunications for that space separately from the rest of the property? Not really, especially not with the newer systems that let you converge voice, video and data onto a single infrastructure. Combining the two means less equipment to monitor, fewer points of failure, cost savings and similar feature/functionality throughout the property for your guests. My customers have asked about videoconferencing in our business center. Would it require a whole new system to offer this feature? Offering videoconferencing is an easy solution as long as your property has enough bandwidth and network in place to support it. You would need to purchase some equipment (video camera, screens, etc as well as some network products); the cost of these items varies based on the level of service and features you require. The best way to find out if videoconferencing is right for your property is to speak with your telecommunication vendor to determine what changes, if any, are needed to your existing infrastructure.