Bespoke IT Infrastructure for New Hotel
Enhancing the guest experience now, and with a nod to the future.
Chris Turner, manager of a recent hotel and apartment development in Cambridge, relied on Harvey Norman Commercial for the design and installation of the IT network and hardware, as well as appliances for the thirty-five rooms, “I felt Harvey Norman Commercial really looked after us, in terms of innovation, pricing and both personal and technical support.”
Chris had an existing relationship with the Harvey Norman Commercial team and knew he could rely on their Application Analyst Gareth Cheyne to ensure that the hardware and software would be designed to streamline business processes, “Not only did he ensure that the system can deliver what we need now, but he has also made sure that we can add to our IT infrastructure in the future. He took care of everything, oversaw the design, testing and quality assurance.”
Harvey Norman Commercial provided the server rack, switches, modem, UPS, all the hardware for the in-room phone system, TV system and wi-fi, “The TV system integrates with our property management software meaning that our guests will see a personalised welcome message on arrival, their current balance and we can run advertisements for local attractions. In future, guests will be able to make restaurant bookings and order room service too. We also have the capability for our guests to smartcast from their own devices.”
Chris has been particularly impressed by the level of support, “Mostly they just access the system remotely to do any updates or tweaks. Where they have had to take the network down, they have gone above and beyond, finding a time to suit out business and working after hours on a Sunday night to minimise disruption. You just wouldn’t get that level of commitment from other suppliers.”
A bonus for the Hidden Lake Hotel and Apartments was being able to source appliances too, “Gareth put me in touch with their whiteware design team and again nothing was too much trouble, even when we changed things up. We opened on Christmas Eve and everything was delivered on time in early December.”
Chris concludes, “Harvey Norman Commercial were by far the easiest suppliers to deal with throughout the whole development. Their contribution was seamless.”