Having a single supplier for a project of this scale is so important. The team at Exponential-e weren't just on hand throughout each phase, ensuring we were able to hit our targets on time and to budget, but they have always been just a call away if we have any concerns. They have also offered invaluable input into ways we can further optimise our guest experience and broaden our range of services.

Ben Otton, IT Manager, Atlas Hotel

Once the project specifications had been defined and agreed upon, Exponential-e worked closely with Atlas Hotels' IT teams at both the head office and various hotel locations across the UK, under the direction of a dedicated Exponential-e project manager, ensuring that their specific needs were met at every stage of the implementation.

The first phase of the project focused on the deployment of highly resilient, 1Gb connectivity across all 60 Atlas Hotels locations, leveraging Exponential-e's own enterprise-class network to ensure consistent quality and availability for all guests and staff, with built-in redundancy to ensure 24/7 availability and minimal downtime. This resulted in double the available internet speeds at multiple sites, particularly those still reliant on legacy connectivity.

The second phase focused on migrating the legacy on-site infrastructure to a secure, highly available private Cloud, configured with end-to-end encryption and advanced firewall protection to guarantee the integrity of guests' data. By moving virtualised servers and workloads into this new environment, the resulting improvements in performance, scalability, and the availability of critical systems – particularly the central PMS – allowed for more efficient resource management, freeing staff to focus on the guest experience.

The entire migration process was completed in six months, with minimal disruption to Atlas' day-to-day operations. For additional levels of resilience, a robust disaster recovery plan was put in place, ensuring business continuity would always be maintained in the event of a system failure or data loss.

The partnership between Exponential-e and Atlas Hotels continues to evolve, with plans already in place to further enhance the guest experience through the application of new technologies. This includes implementing the next generation of interconnected meeting and event spaces at all 60 sites, incorporating advanced AV systems, platforms for simplified booking, and high-performance video conferencing.

With this successful transformation, Atlas Hotels now has a robust, high-performance, and secure digital foundation in place, which will support their ongoing growth and operational excellence. As more locations are added to the Atlas portfolio, Exponential-e will continue to expand and optimise the network infrastructure, ensuring all guests and staff continue to enjoy the highest quality connectivity and new opportunities for improvement can be identified and acted upon.

Solution Benefits

• Highly resilient 1Gb connectivity available for staff and guests at all 60 Atlas sites across the UK and beyond, encompassing 7,555 hotel rooms
  
  
• Improved communication and collaboration between dispersed staff, with optimal performance and availability for the central PMS
  
  
• A seamless migration to a highly secure private Cloud environment, with in-built redundancy and robust disaster recovery systems minimising the risk of downtime
  
  
• Effortless scalability and potential for future upgrades, supporting Atlas Hotels' ongoing growth and the adoption of emerging technologies

About Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide and a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's ten largest hotel groups.

Rezidor features a portfolio of more than 435 hotels in operation and under development with over 95,000 rooms in 71 countries.

About Montcalm Hotel

From the West End to the City, and beyond to trend-setting Shoreditch, The Montcalm Luxury Hotels echo the unique fusion of heritage and cutting edge that defines London itself.

Every Montcalm property is unique and is situated near iconic London landmarks. Lavished with breathtaking suites, award-winning restaurants and exquisite event spaces, each property has been designed by renowned architects to capture each hotel's unique location and character.

With acclaimed restaurants and bars, state-of-the-art spas, intelligent technology and advanced business facilities, the Montcalm experience epitomises next generation London luxury.

Solution 

Using its wholly owned Network, Exponential-e is delivering a Wide Area Network (WAN) that connects all 18 sites in The Montcalm Hotel Luxury Hotels. The Royal London House by Montcalm Finsbury Square London site has 10 Gig Network capacity, which ensures the hotel has the agility to quickly share information and can respond to customer demands. In line with this, the WAN will be combined with High Bandwidth Internet that is delivered using a single piece of Fibre to offer clients a scalable Internet connection. Being able to provide Bandwidth to different areas of the hotel from a supplier they trust, was a high priority for Montcalm. The high-capacity, low latency Bandwidth will ensure that the flagship hotel has the flexibility to cope with peaks in Network usage to meet the needs of its guests, events and business processes.

In an industry that competes on exceeding expectations, delivering a powerful Internet Connection is key to meeting the demands of its hyper-connected guests. The scalable infrastructure will allow The Montcalm Luxury Hotels to portion off a dedicated section of its Bandwidth for operations. In addition, since all services sit on the clean side of the Firewall, the hotel can be reassured that it is offering customers a Secure Network that is compliant with PCI DSS regulations and safely delivers customer data.

Upon implementation, The Royal London House by Montcalm Finsbury Square became the first in the UK to boast 10Gig Capacity, both up and down. "We now have Connectivity that is on a par with large media organisations or broadcasters, which is unheard of in the UK" explained a spokesperson at The Montcalm London Marble Arch. "Exponential-e provides us with visibility into the level of Internet traffic running over our Network so that we have the flexibility to scale Bandwidth up or down to reflect the facilities that our guests are using and the number of applications running over our Network. For example, when we have conferences, video calls and live demos happening simultaneously, then Bandwidth can be instantly scaled to meet demand whilst ensuring that all hotel guests benefit from a rich user experience".

With 24/7 x 365 support provided by Exponential-e, alongside a dedicated sales team, the implementation of the service was managed by Exponential-e from beginning to end. The Montcalm Luxury Hotels are now looking to implement the Exponential-e Network and infrastructure across six more hotels, including their newly launched Shoreditch property.

 Challenges

With some of the most recognised luxury boutique hotels in the capital, The Montcalm Luxury Hotels are known for their premium customer experience across their 5* hotels.

With 250 rooms at their Finsbury Square location, The Montcalm Luxury Hotels were looking to improve their technology and Connectivity throughout the building.

The Montcalm Luxury Hotels are recognised as technology leaders within the industry, and their Network Connection.

With changing demands, both within the industry and guest expectations, a reliable, superfast Internet Connection and Network were essential for The Royal London House by Montcalm Finsbury Square London City. They needed to be sure that the new service would withstand high usage peaks at events, alongside that of guests and employees. Having a service that could scale and be flexible was a key driver for the project.

After rigorous assessment of the market, The Montcalm Luxury Hotels selected Exponential-e as their preferred supplier. In July 2014 they signed and the implementation of the service began.

Features

• Improved guest and customer experience.
• Increased revenue for events.
• Highly flexible solution.
• Dedicated and scalable bandwidth.
• Ability to access further services through single pipe.

Whatever your star rating, its still all about customer experience and service is at the heart of the hotel industry. Ensuring guests are catered for 24 x 7 means facilities need to be fully accessible. This includes access to fast Internet, HDTV and state-of-the-art guest systems. Download our Hotels booklet for more information on the solutions we can offer the industry.