ONE OF THE SOUTH'S TOP BOUTIQUE HOTELS ADOPTS FIBER AND ADVANCED CLOUD COMMUNICATIONS
Customer Case Study
The Durham is a mid-century modern, 53-room boutique hotel in the heart of the Research Triangle. It has been featured by CNN as one of the best new hotels in the U.S. South and is home to what Bon Appetit magazine rates as one of the top restaurants in the nation.
The Challenge
The Durham was born when developers decided to renovate an historic building that seemed an ideal fit for a small, boutique hotel. Space would be tight, but with the right plan, they could make every inch count. Since an on-premises PBX would consume costly power and take up valuable square-footage, they began to explore alternative. But they were determined they wouldn’t skimp on functionality. A top-of-the-line communication solution would be needed to help them deliver exceptional guest experiences.
The Solution
Hosted America, a leading provider of IP voice, data, fiber and managed services for the hospitality industry, designed and delivered a space-saving infrastructure for The Durham that eliminated the need for an on-premises PBX. At the core of the solution is a BroadSoft-powered unified communications and collaboration cloud service designed specifically for hoteliers. This state-of-the-art solution is supported by the same high-capacity fiber optic network used for on-premises TV and guest Internet connectivity.
Hosted America services are powered by the BroadSoft BroadCloud unified communications platform, including a cloud-based BroadSoft Hospitality solution built specifically for hotels. BroadSoft Hospitality integrates seamlessly with the hotel’s property management system. It supports a complete range of traditional hotel premises PBX capabilities that can be centrally managed from the cloud, including:
- Auto attendant
- Call accounting and billing
- Conferencing via voice, video & web
- Guest check-in/check-out
- Instant Messaging
- Room status
- Telephony
- Guest wakeup calls
- Voicemail
- Analytics
“
Renovating an older, historical building required a network infrastructure that occupied as small a physical footprint as possible. By leveraging Hosted America’s fiber network – as well as BroadSoft Hospitality’s cloud offering – we were able to quickly and cost-effectively transform our communications network and experience all the benefits cloud services can offer.
”
— Craig Spitzer
General Manager of The Durham Hotel
The Impact
The Durham provides hotel staff and guests with reliable, advanced telecommunications services, without having to manage costly, complex on-premises technology. The property has also been able to repurpose valuable space and power that would have been devoted to a bulky PBX. The hotel is now fully equipped to deliver standout southern hospitality, while benefitting from significant productivity gains, such as:
Guest Billing
Since the BroadSoft platform is integrated with The Durham’s property management system, in-room services are automatically transferred to a guest folio for billing.
Guest Room Status
Maids, maintenance crews and other personnel can use room phones to report the status of their services and whether the room is ready for occupancy.
Guest Call Routing
A BroadSoft Auto Attendant can provide automated information on hours, location and special events to incoming callers. It also can route calls to a specific individual or function, including registration, the restaurant, front desk or concierge.
Guest Wakeup Calls
Guests can use an interactive voice response system to set up their own wakeup calls, with automated alerts sent to their cell phone or email if they fail to answer the room phone. Staffers can set guest wakeup calls using an easy-to-navigate web portal.
Guest Life Safety
Emergency calls and emails are immediately routed to authorities in real time, along with the guest name and room number. There is no delay needed to match calls to guest records for identification.
Mobility
Cloud communications allows the hotel staff to work more effectively beyond the reach of traditional office and guest room phones. They can answer and make calls from anywhere on the property using any convenient device, whether a phone, PC, laptop, cell phone or tablet. As a result, they can deliver faster and more responsive service.
Simplicity
The Durham benefits from centralized management, without having to integrate and manage multiple technologies. A single, web-based cloud interface connects staff with all the communications, hospitality and property management tools they need to serve guests and to support back-office operations. They don’t need to log in and out of multiple systems.
Reliability
The carrier-grade infrastructure supporting The Durham is designed for high reliability and is delivering continuous, uninterrupted, “always on” service.
Innovation
Hotel communications and collaboration technologies are evolving quickly, including innovations in fixed and mobile video, messaging, collaboration and presence. The Durham is positioned to take advantage of future innovations and to maintain its leadership in guest experience without having to change its technology infrastructure.