Destination Hotels & Resorts, USA

Hospitality | Branch Edge

Destination Hotels & Resorts is consistently ranked as one of the top ten hospitality management companies in the country. Their portfolio includes more than 30 distinctive properties scattered throughout the country’s most desirable and attractive vacation destinations.

 “Peplink meets with all our requirements: aggregation, VPN, ease of setup, and range of models to suit any of our properties circumstances.”

Ted Ely, Corporate IT Director
Destination Hotels Creates Hotel-Wide WiFi Access for Guests #2

Challenge

“It’s common to find guests bringing their laptops on their trips and most will want to take full advantage of all that the internet has to offer, including streaming video, video chat, and VoIP phone calls. We need to provide a positive experience for guests,” said Josh Brace, Director of IT at Sunriver Resorts. “If the internet doesn’t satisfy them, many will tell their friends, families, and colleagues to avoid our facilities and we lose business.”

The challenge for Destination Hotels & Resorts is that many of their properties operate in secluded areas. Internet service is these areas are usually not as readily available as it is in major market cities. This made it difficult to provide the bandwidth demanded by hotel guests. At best, they can expect to find T-1 service for $450/mo. In addition, higher bandwidth options are rarely available where these properties are located. Previously, when Destination Hotels & Resorts tested offerings from other vendors, they were left disappointed. They were put off by the complicated user interfaces and the need to pay more to get the throughput specific hotels may need. In the end, they found the overall package that Peplink Balance series offered is the best for their needs.

Solution

Ted Ely, Corporate IT Director at Destination Hotels & Resorts, chose Peplink Balance. He chose this because the Balance could combine multiple internet services together to strengthen bandwidth. This allows each property the ability to satisfy their guests’ connectivity demands. “Peplink meets with all our requirements: aggregation, VPN, ease of setup, and range of models to suit any of our properties circumstances,” said Ely.

Destination Hotels Creates Hotel-Wide WiFi Access for Guests #3

“Peplink really understands what features are ‘real world’ useful and they clearly have the best combination of features, ease of use, cost of ownership, and range of products,” said Ely. “It’s our goal to have a Balance router installed at all of our properties over time.”

Destination Hotels Creates Hotel-Wide WiFi Access for Guests #4

Result

With some hotels having as many as 800 rooms, Ely has a tough task managing it all. But with the Balance, Ely can pick from a range of models to best suit his needs. He recently purchased the Peplink Balance 1350 for a San Diego conference center. This was due to the router’s ability to handle as many as thirteen internet services. “The Peplink Balance even makes it easy for us to split off a certain amount of connectivity, making us a more attractive host to special events,” said Michelle Koch, IT Manager at Skamania Lodge.

The Peplink Balance is makes Josh Brace and Ted Ely happy because of its easy setup. When it comes time to equip one of their hotels, their in-house IT staff can easily do it. This results in additional savings as they never need to hire an outside integrator. The Peplink Balance series is “rock solid and works right out of the box,” added Ely. “If there was a high cost of ownership, it would not be our solution, even if it was the greatest product in the world.”

Deployment

Enterprise SD – WAN