[VoiceOps] Hotel Phone Requirements

[Jay Hennigan]

On 2/2/24 11:40, Nate Burke via VoiceOps wrote:
> We run a WISP, and have been doing business phone systems for a long 
> time.  We provide Internet connections and Voice Trunk services to 
> hotels today, but a few are asking us to quote taking over their 
> internal phone networks (Usually from Mitel systems).

Mitel has always been huge in the hospitality space. These systems often 
have hooks to other parts of the hotel management where a maid can dial 
a code to indicate that a room has been cleaned, tie-in to reservation 
systems, tracking occupancy, automated wake-up calls, per-extension real 
time billing, etc. Lots of custom features not easily adaptable to most 
systems.

> Just curious what caveats others have run into specifically with 
> Hotels.  Seems different than a typical office setup.  Thinking about 
> the need to re-bill usage on a daily basis, per room 911 concerns, Daily 
> Voicemail setup/cleans.  What else would make a setup like this special?

9-1-1 precise location is one thing. Integrating with other systems like 
Mitel does is another.

Back in their heyday, hotel PBX systems were a nice profit center with 
jacked-up long distance rates, charging for local (and often toll-free) 
calls, etc. Hotels needed their phones to always work and really valued 
the system.

Post-cellular, hotel phone systems are a cost center and most properties 
spend as little as possible to keep them functioning. The ability to 
easily order room service is about the only profit to be made.

Unless you're willing to spend a lot of time and resources on becoming 
the local 800-pound gorilla in the hospitality phone space I'd pass on 
it beyond handing them a PRI off of a TA900 to keep the legacy Mitel 
alive. Those things are built like tanks and may outlast us all.

-- 
Jay Hennigan - jay at west.net
Network Engineering - CCIE #7880
503 897-8550 - WB6RDV