Wifi Revolution

Holiday Inn hotels in Massachusetts are poised to see WiFi technology installed as part of a $17 million renovation, according to the Sunnyvale, California-based company that’s leading the effort.

 

Officials from Ruckus Wireless (News - Alert) say a fragile national economy – one that’s hit the hospitality industry hard – has little bearing on the need to install so-called “smart wireless local area network systems.”

 

The company’s vice president of worldwide sales, Rob Mustarde, said customers still require better WiFi (News - Alert).

 

“Value for money is the new mantra across nearly every vertical when it comes to wireless LANs,” Mustarde said. “Ruckus is one of the few vendors that clearly benefits from these macro-economic conditions because our systems deliver the same functionality at a fraction of the capital and operational costs.”

 

In the last 90 days, more than 100 hotels have standardized on Ruckus’ so-called “ZoneFlex Smart WLAN” system, according to the company, mostly because it provides an economic and feature-rich wireless environment that requires no elaborate re-wiring or cumbersome deployment.

 

Midland officials say that today’s economy is driving them toward cheaper and more robust WiFi solutions.

 

“Good Wi-Fi has never been more important for hotels but conventional wireless LAN systems have typically been too complex, disruptive and costly to deploy in such as large fashion,” said Cecilia Arnold, the company’s vice president of hotel operations.

 

Midland officials say their installing the Ruckus systems for guests, visitors and staff inside and outside its multi-story hotels in Dedham, Marlborough and Peabody properties.

 

Arnold said that increasing numbers of guests are arriving at the company’s hotels with WiFi-ready devices.

 

“When they are able to consistently connect at high-speeds anywhere on the property, their overall satisfaction greatly increases,” she said. “This is crucial to attracting and retaining customers.”

 

Midland says it’s providing free Wi-Fi access in all its guest rooms as well as in corporate meeting spaces, restaurants and outdoor pool and patio areas. The Ruckus system is also being used to support administrative services and ultimately emerging applications such as voice over IP and wireless point of sale. Previously, Midland had provided Wi-Fi only in the lobby areas and found the experience to be subpar for users who experienced dropped connections, poor coverage and erratic performance.

 

 

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