Bringing Telecommunications Back into Focus

Host | 15 August 2005 |

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Telecommunications was a thriving profit center in the 1980’s and early 90’s, with high margins and low maintenance for hotels, resorts and conference centers. Fast-forward to 2005 and profits have become non-existent, while guest needs and brand demands have complicated options. With the concentration on more profitable areas of business, telecommunications has taken a back seat and in many cases, significant money is being left on the table by hotel operators.

Telecommunications costs can be controlled and maintained while delivering greater profits for each property, with enhanced guest satisfaction. Here are two steps that can lead to efficiency in both operations and the bottom-line.

Take a Comprehensive Approach
Most hotels have taken a “patchwork” approach to integrating needed telecommunications technologies. For example, when installing High Speed Internet Access (HSIA), it is not uncommon to allow the HSIA provider to implement and manage the Internet bandwidth. Allowing the vendor the ability to control products and services leads simply to incremental costs and inefficient operations. The vendor’s objective is to make their product work so they often cannot see or care about the “big picture” of each hotel’s operations.

To control this situation, hoteliers need to manage the product and services holistically. Looking specifically at HSIA, bandwidth is a commodity that hotels should control. As your guests’ bandwidth needs change, having control over the bandwidth gives you the flexibility to meet guest needs and respond to new or more efficient technologies. For instance, many carriers offer aggressive rates and terms on “bundled” voice and Internet services - services that your HSIA provider will not be aware of nor seek for your benefit. However, leveraging the ability to combine products and services will give you operational flexibility and enable better control of your bottom-line.

Take Advantage Of The Products Available
The telecommunications industry offers many new and beneficial products that can help increase available facilities (voice and data) while decreasing associated costs.

The most recent development has been dynamic allocation T-1. This product offers a hotel the ability to have both a fully managed T-1 of data (1.54 meg), and up to 30 voice lines, for a lower cost than most hotels spend for voice services alone. Dynamic allocation is Voice over IP (VOIP) with the advantage of keeping your incumbent phone system. Since a Dynamic Allocation T-1 is managed by the local carrier, you avoid a lot of the pitfalls normally associated with VOIP. There are many variations to this product that fit a variety of needs, but the basic concept is simple - reduce cost while increasing service.

Telecommunications can be confusing. However, developing a strategy and managing your telecommunications and technology now can save you many headaches down the road. More importantly, with proper planning, it can save you money beginning today.

Trevor Warner - Warner Consulting Group
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Trevor Warner is President of Warner Consulting Group (WCG), an independent telecommunications consulting firm serving the hospitality industry. WCG is provider/carrier agnostic and assists hotels in developing short- and long-term strategies while improving efficiencies and P& L results. To learn more about WCG, or to receive a FREE, no-obligation billing analysis and recommendations, please contact:

David Shanks
Warner Consulting Group
Phone: 720-225-9097
E-mail: davidshanks@warnerconsultinggroup.com
Web Site: www.warnerconsultinggroup.com