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NextiraOne's Creates Converged Infrastructure to Increase Hotel Occupancy Rates

November 03, 2010

In order to increase occupancy rates, build customer loyalty, and ensure that its future investment projects are a success, hotel management staff of Holiday Inn Express Marseille, needed to implement a converged infrastructure to handle all communication issues. For that purpose, Holiday Inn Express chose NextiraOne, Europe’s leading expert in communications services.


NextiraOne converged infrastructure will be solely responsible for the entire communication network in the hotel. This will include telephony, free Internet access, IPTV and video on demand for guests. In addition it will provide video surveillance and access control. Multitec has offered to supply IPTV, VoD, video surveillance and access control, all of which will be 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 2010. The hotel has 120 rooms, two meeting rooms and a business center and receives a fair share of business and private guests. It is able to offer an all-inclusive multimedia service, because of NextiraOne's converged infrastructure.

NextiraOne implemented an IP telephony solution for the hotel rooms to facilitate maintenance. It also provided a mobile solution consisting of 30 terminals and six DECT phones, a LAN to connect IP handsets, 40 wireless access points, 124 IPTV points, and 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 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 that includes spares on network equipment and the IP-PBX. The infrastructure is based on Alcatraz-Lu cent technology.

Occupancy rates have reached 55 percent 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."

Headquartered in Paris, NextiraOne is Europe’s leading expert in communications services. The company designs, installs, maintains and supports all of its customers’ communications needs from voice to mobility, security and applications.

In a related news release, NextiraOne will be a major sponsor for Alcatel-Lucent’s Dynamic Enterprise Tour 2010. The company will sponsor the tour as it visits many of Europe’s major cities including Prague, Milan, Madrid, Kiel, Brussels, Bath and Utrecht.


Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for ContactCenterSolutions. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf



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