WIRELESS SOLUTIONS FOR
Hospitality
High Performance Wireless Networks
Wireless networking keeps guests coming back. Wireless connectivity is everywhere. Your hotel? Of course. Trade conference? Absolutely. People expect to connect without wires. They now depend on it. The explosion of smartphones and tablets has seen to that. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, there are now about 800 million wirelessenabled devices being produced every year.1 Intelligent hospitality enterprises are using those devices to engage guests and entire audiences, providing new digital marketing opportunities and ensuring connectivity under even the most demanding circumstances. At Xirrus, we see why. When we help Microsoft deliver wireless access to 3,000 developers in a single room, a speaker can interactively direct the audience to web sites as part of the presentation. When the Oregon Convention Center asks us to deliver wireless, they know we can cover over 1 million square feet with the least infrastructure requirements and the best wireless performance. And when we provide wire-like reliability for Hilton’s wireless network, guests rest assured that they will get a reliable, high performance connection every time. Wireless isn’t a “nice to have” anymore. Done right, it’s a strategic IT infrastructure advantage that fuels hospitality organizations and lets them do more than ever before. And Xirrus does it right.
The survey clearly demonstrates how critical wireless networking has become to guests when choosing a hotel. Progressive hospitality chains are quick to recognize that great wireless service is no longer a “nice to have” but rather an absolute business necessity that impacts occupancy rates, repeat bookings, and the overall bottom line.
A recent survey of over 1,200 frequent travelers conducted by iPass (a leading provider of enterprise mobility services) suggests that guests not only expect to have good wireless connectivity in their hotel but a poor wireless hotel experience may even result in the loss of their future business. Here are some interesting statistics gleaned from the survey:
With Xirrus High Performance Wireless Network solutions, you can:
• 95 percent of the survey participants said they care if they have wireless or a wired hotel connection.
• Protect users from security risks and breaches
• 63 percent of the survey participants confirm, prior to booking, whether a hotel has Internet.
• Meet and exceed the bandwidth expectations of hotel guests • Effectively support high densities of users at conferences and events • Future proof your investment with a highly scalable wireless solution
• 79 percent of survey participants return to the same locations on business trips. • Nearly 36 percent of survey participants stated that a poor wireless service influences their decision to stay with that particular hotel again.
XIRRUS
INDUSTRY BRIEF // 2
Xirrus wireless solutions are decidedly different.
XIRRUS
COMPETITOR
When we designed our wireless networking solution, we saw little point in developing yet another conventional thin AP + controller architecture. That technology can’t provide hotels with the high performance, wired-like reliability they require. Our technology is based on modern cell phone tower technology, where multiple radios per tower and directional antennas produce greater capacity and coverage. What does this superior architecture translate to in operation? Noteworthy performance improvements over conventional thin AP architectures: 4X the coverage and up to 8X the bandwidth and capacity per access device. All with better security and the equivalent reliability of wired networking. And at the user level, organizations see dramatic gains in productivity and satisfaction, too.
CELL TOWER
XIRRUS ARRAY
A hotel convention space covered with 9 Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays versus 80 traditional access points
Lowest cost • 75% less equipment to deploy and maintain • 75% fewer cable pulls and switch ports • 75% less installation time • Lower total cost of ownership compared to other wired and wireless solutions
Highest performance • Multi-radio design with 4 to 16 802.11n radios per Array Wireless architectures
• Distributed intelligence in each Array with no central controller • High-gain, directional antennas for greater coverage per Array • 4X more coverage and up to 8X the bandwidth per device and per cable drop
Additional hospitality clients BELL HARBOR CONFERENCE CENTER :: BEST WESTERN HOTELS :: CARLTON HOTELS DOUBLETREE HOTELS :: GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER :: H2C HOTELS PALEXPO EXHIBITION CENTER :: SHERATON HOTELS :: W HOTELS :: WESTIN HOTELS HILTON HOTELS :: OREGON CONVENTION CENTER :: THE PALACE HOTEL
XIRRUS
INDUSTRY BRIEF // 3
CASE STUDY — WALT DISNEY WORLD SWAN AND DOLPHIN RESORT The award-winning Walt Disney World® Swan and Dolphin Resort is located in the heart of Central Florida’s greatest theme parks and attractions. The resort offers 2,265 guest rooms, over 329,000 square feet of meeting space, and has been chosen North America’s Leading Conference Hotel in the 14th Annual World Travel Awards. The Swan and Dolphin takes pride in offering guests a world-class infrastructure to support all networking needs with a guarantee that the wireless service provided will never be a worry.
Requirements
Solution
• Reliable wireless connectivity throughout the guest rooms, meeting rooms, common areas, and outdoors
• 65 Arrays
• Wireless network to interface with existing wired-infrastructure gateway • Simple network to be managed by hotel staff
• 195 fewer cable pulls • 195 fewer switch ports • $3,250 average power savings per year
• Quick installation with minimum number of devices • Aesthetically pleasing design
The benefits of smarter wireless High scalability The Xirrus Wireless Array scales to the highest user density and traffic capacity in the industry with 4 to 16 radios and distributed intelligence in each device, as compared to traditional solutions with 2 radio APs and centralized controllers. More radios leverage the available spectrum to deliver a better experience to all clients.
Upgradeability While traditional APs are static, throwaway devices, the Xirrus Wireless Array employs a fully modular radio and software upgradeable design. Maximum investment value is provided by avoiding future forklift changes to add network capacity or incorporate new wireless technologies.
Complete security Xirrus implements multi-level security for comprehensive wireless network protection. Each Array integrates a stateful firewall and dedicated threat sensor radio for 24/7 RF security protection without compromising user servicing resources.
High Performance Wireless Networks
• 195 fewer Wi‑Fi devices
High reliability Xirrus distributes intelligence across the network into each Array, eliminating the single point of failure and performance bottleneck of centralized controllers in legacy wireless architectures. Redundant radio, uplink, and Array features ensure seamless wireless network operation.
Economical With 4X the coverage of traditional APs and no central controller, a Xirrus Array network can be deployed with 75% less equipment. With far fewer components to install and cables to pull, a Xirrus wireless network can be turned up much faster and more economically than traditional solutions to accelerate ROI.
About Xirrus Xirrus provides unique, high-performance, array-based wireless solutions that perform under the most demanding conditions, while delivering wired-like reliability, superior security, and less infrastructure requirements. Xirrus is a privately held company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA.
1.800.947.7871 Toll Free in the US +1.805.262.1600 Sales +1.805.262.1601 Fax 2101 Corporate Center Drive Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA
© 2011 Xirrus, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Xirrus logo is a registered trademark of Xirrus, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Content subject to change without notice.
To learn more visit: xirrus.com or email
[email protected]
INDUSTRY BRIEF // 4
