Umi London Wi-Fi Hotspot Installation

Umi is a new concept in hotels. Their aim is to offer some of the best London hotel accommodation, with excellent service and facilities, all at a value price. Ideally located in a quiet garden square in the trendy Notting Hill and Bayswater area, this central London hotel offers leisure and group accommodation, as well as the best business accommodation and facilities in the area.

“In terms of Internet Access we wanted to steer away from the stereotypical hotel ‘coin-box’ Internet Cafes that give you little income and even less control. We also inherited a slow plug-in service that again did not satisfy the needs of our customers. Working with PolkaSpots we created a full Wi-Fi Hotspot service for the whole building, including all public areas, such as the bar and the cafe areas. PolkaSpots also converted the existing infrastructure of the plug-in internet so people can choose between plug-in or wireless in the rooms and Internet Kiosks were installed in reception.

This has improved revenue, and also enhanced the customers perception of our services.”

Steve Lowy, Managing Director Umi Hotels

The Challenge

The hotel had an existing network that was unreliable, slow and un-managed

The existing cat-5e cabling was to be retained where possible to cut costs

The old internet kiosks were coin-operated and expensive to use and browsing was interrupted by advertising

Wireless coverage was required throughout the whole building to include all common areas, conference rooms, bed-rooms and reception.

The hotel had invested heavily in a corporate identity and needed a fully branded service

The service had to be fast, reliable and fully managed

The Solution

Because of the size of the hotel, it was decided to split the network and two PolkaSpots Enterprise Controllers were installed. Dual broadband lines were installed for the Enterprise Controllers to ensure there was enough bandwidth to cope with demand. To further enhance the network and manage the bandwidth, service level agreements were set-up per user. This ensures that no single customer can abuse the network and guarantees a quality service.

The existing cabling and network was fully tested and unreliable equipment removed. Power-over-ethernet Wireless Access Points were installed to ensure full WiFi coverage and to avoid the costly relocation of new sockets. Wireless Access points were also added into the PolkaSpots Management System to assist remote management by PolkaSpots. This monitoring enabled early diagnosis plus prompt remedial action if needed, hence keeping any customer complaints to a minimum.

All rooms with existing network points were also tested.

The fixed, coin-operated Kiosks were replaced with three PolkaSpots Internet Kiosks. These Kiosks joined the existing PolkaSpots Network, with the same login screens. Guests were able to use the Kiosk with the passes purchased for their rooms.

Branding

All aspects of the Hotspot, from the log-in screens to the Internet Vouchers were re-branded to enhance the already strong brand identity at Umi London.

Turnkey Service

Users at the Hotel can get online with an affordable and fair selection of prices and packages. Monthly access costs as little as £12.99 GBP and multi-use Internet Vouchers are just £3.00 GBP.

Conference guests receive branded Internet Vouchers are part of their welcome pack, giving them 60 minutes online.

New arrivals in the waiting area can be given Internet Vouchers, keeping them entertained, plus enhancing the image of the hotel.

Usage Levels 

The Hotel has 114 rooms and approximately 4,000 guests per month stay. 

Within three months, the hotel was in profit, having recouped the installation costs. 

On average, 11.5% of the guests per month use the internet with an average revenue per room of £17.10! 

Business travellers return because of the Wireless Connection. 

PolkaSpots hotels report that a Wireless Hotspot can increase occupancy by up to 3% 

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