Mandarin Oriental New York Secures Cost Effective In-Room Solutions

As technologies in the IP environment evolve, requirements of the physical supporting network have also grown exponentially. The low-voltage Ethernet infrastructure required to support many networks has risen dramatically (along with the cost of copper), and the increase in cabling requires larger conduits and a dramatic increase in IDF based network equipment.

Management for Mandarin Oriental, which opened its flagship property in the Americas in the large mixed-use Time Warner Center in New York City in 2003, has over the past four years looked at alternatives to address this infrastructure problem. The search for a solution that would close the distance between the network and the guestroom could potentially reduce infrastructure, development and active networking components costs, as well as provide a more fault-tolerant solution and increase future-proof design to guestrooms.

Management's search led them to Lorica Solutions where they found a partner that understood their goal and took on the challenge to build a true solution. Mandarin Oriental began using Lorica network monitoring and management services at several properties, including its New York property.

Converged smart-switch capabilities
Lorica's management team went to work developing the Lorica Room Center, a guestroom level network switch that is best described as a smart-switch on steroids. It provides all of the converged networking capabilities required to fully operate a hotel guestroom or suite while also providing many onboard ancillary capabilities. This also includes a suite of software and tools that allow Lorica to proactively monitor all of the applications and systems on the network. These capabilities include:

• Multiple Wireless Access Points which allow management to populate the wireless deployment as needed based on the coverage patterns of current and future wireless frequencies.
• Zigbee Wireless Antenna which enables Mandarin Oriental to utilize the Lorica Room Center as a bridge for Zigbee enabled devices such as doorlocks. Management is also deploying Zigbee enabled room automation platforms and exploring how the Lorica LRC can backhaul that data.
• Remote Power which allows the guestroom network to stay alive during power outage situations.
• Hot-Swap capability which allows a quick non-technical resource to replace a LRC anytime of day if needed. This functionality which operates much like a VoIP phone, allows the property the peace of mind of not requiring a network expert to be part of the local technology head count.
• On-Board Logic which has the processing power and head-room to monitor not only its own state but also the state of local IP devices. This platform can also run other applications for room provisioning of in-room control platforms if required.
• Uplink Options which allows management to be flexible on how they design and deploy their network. In vertical buildings Mandarin Oriental deploys it via fiber riser and copper horizontal cabling (in resort locations they may use all fiber or GPON) with the Lorica LRC as the guestroom endpoint.

When looking at the big picture, which includes the initial construction costs and network equipment purchases, all the way through to Lorica's network monitoring and management capabilities, management at the Mandarin Oriental- New York feels that they can continue to push forward in its goal to use technology to delight guests and cut its bottom line.

David Heckaman is the VP of Technology, Hotel Development - Americas/Europe for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, where he oversees the technology development and deployment plans for all Mandarin Oriental's development and renovation projects in the Americas and Europe. David has participated in the openings of a number of Mandarin Oriental hotels throughout this geographic area and brought new and emerging technologies to these hotels.