Case Study: Connecting a New 70-Room Hotel the Sphere IT Way

When we were contacted by one of our existing clients to help connect their new 70-room hotel from the ground up we knew we had a large scale project on our hands. Let’s take a brief look at the challenges and considerations involved, the user requirements and the solutions we provided.

Client Type: Existing

Industry: Hospitality

Location: Brighton

Data Points

IP Cameras

Rooms

Access Points

IP Phones

What makes these types of moves challenging?

With no existing infrastructure to base the network on, new build properties offer challenges and opportunities at the same time.

It’s great to have the freedom and flexibility to design a solution from the ground up, but this also comes with the challenge of needing to get it right the first time before everything goes live and opens for business.

The Sphere IT Approach

As with every project we take on, we started by getting to know the needs of our clients as if they were our own.

This allowed us to see precisely what their end users would expect from them during their stay, as well as to understand the needs of the business itself.

By getting a clear idea of the day-to-day activities and expected occupancy and staffing levels in the hotel, we were able to create a starting point for a range of custom solutions.

Sphere were very responsive to any queries or adjustments that became necessary as the build progressed. It made managing the cabling and connectivity side of things much easier
Client Site Manager

Our Solutions

We liaised with all relevant third party services and vendors to oversee the individual aspects of the project on behalf of our client.

Examples include: private VLAN and an on-site server, access control, Sky TV and a whole suite of guest controls such as in-room HVAC and lighting control options. This allowed us to build the core infrastructure for the hotel in a timely and cost effective manner.

Our key areas of responsibility included:

Building and testing of the hotel’s core network
Deployment of IP CCTV and comprehensive guest WiFi
Procurement of all necessary hardware
Liaising with the site manager to bring in the gigabit fibre to the premises at appropriate points during the construction process

Ongoing Support

At Sphere IT we don’t believe in just focusing on our side of things at the exclusion of everything else.

In a new build project like this it was essential to take a proactive approach at every stage of the process so we could provide expert insights into how the construction and design would impact the deployment of our intended solutions.

As a result, we provided a comprehensive specification and a range of other inputs right the way through from the initial planning stage to the site opening.

This project was managed professionally from start to finish. All the services were installed on time and on budget. Sphere was on hand at every step to ensure it all went smoothly, from the early planning stages through to being there on our launch day as we welcomed our first guests
Client Operations Manager

What does the future look like?

The project was completed on time and on budget, allowing us to play a significant part in the opening of a major new hotel in the local area.

Going forward, we are currently offering all the services above as managed services. This means we will be providing support and maintenance on an ongoing basis for the foreseeable future.

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