Guests enjoy internet, video on demand, IPTV and advanced telephony and hotel gains IP-based security

Paris, 02 November, 2010 - NextiraOne, Europe’s leading expert in communications services, has been chosen by the Holiday Inn Express Marseille to implement a converged infrastructure that will manage the hotel’s entire communications network, including telephony, free Internet access, IPTV and Video on Demand (VoD) for guests, as well as video surveillance and access control. Applications such as IPTV, VoD, video surveillance and access control were supplied by Multitec and integrated into the system through NextiraOne’s integration and networking expertise.

With Marseille due to become European Capital of Culture in 2013, Holiday Inn wanted to invest in the city and opened a hotel opposite the Gare Saint-Charles in March of this year. With 12 employees the hotel has 120 rooms, two meeting rooms and a business centre. Located in the heart of a city which is the hub of tourism and the regional economy, the hotel welcomes a regular flow of business and private guests and offers an all-inclusive multimedia service.

NextiraOne implemented an IP telephony solution for the hotel rooms to facilitate maintenance (10 Alcatel IP 4038, 120 terminals 4019), as well as a mobile solution comprising 30 terminals and 6 DECT phones). NextiraOne also deployed a local area network (LAN)  to connect the IP handsets, the 40 wireless access points, and 124 IPTV points, plus video surveillance cameras and servers.

The hotel has a main access control for the CCTV solution, plus coverage of critical areas and the hotel emergency exits. In addition, integration with the Brilliant PMS (Property Management System) through the Hospitality.net portal allows the billing of IPTV and VoD, mobile and Internet services. The contract includes an operational support agreement which also provides operational incident management (including spares on network equipment and the IP-PBX).

The infrastructure is based on Alcatel-Lucent technology, including Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise IPTouch 4038 for IP telephony, Alcatel-Lucent (OS-6400 PoE / PoE OS-6248) LAN and LWAN, plus Ucopia Express 200 captive portal, Eona IP-TV and VoD, and the Hospitality.net billing portal.

The hotel management sees this modern infrastructure as a means to build customer loyalty and maximise its occupancy rates – these have reached 55% already within the first year of operation. In addition, the solution implemented by NextiraOne is extremely reliable, allowing staff to concentrate on their main responsibilities and on building customer loyalty without having to manage technical issues. Finally, the infrastructure deployed within the hotel is a showcase for other investment projects within the Holiday Inn group.

Francis Quantin, COO of Holiday Inn Group said: "When we opened this hotel we were looking for innovative and scalable solutions to meet all our current and future needs but which would also enable our customers to use solutions which are simple and secure. The reliability of the solution and the responsiveness of the NextiraOne team has made a world of difference."