Enterprise computing is everywhere - even in your hotel room. Simon Bisson puts his feet up in one of the world's most connected hotels.
You don't pick a hotel for the technology, especially in Las Vegas. But in Steve Wynn's latest hotel, the technology is taking service to a new level. Wynn is responsible for luxury Las Vegas theme hotels such as the Bellagio and the Mirage. Recently, he opened the eponymous Wynn hotel, a giant golden monolith that looms over the Strip. It is not just the artificial mountain at the entrance, the golf course, or the lake lit from beneath by an array of more than 4,000 computer-controlled lights.
This is a hotel that has been designed with IT at the heart of its operations, from the front desk, to the casino floor, to the rooms, and up to the penthouses on the 42nd floor.
The hospitality business isn't normally the home of cutting-edge IT. The best you usually get is billing and room reservation systems linked together, using the room TV as a display. Guest services tend to be centralised, with terminals at reception and in restaurants. Whenever you want something, you need to call reception. The Wynn takes a different approach, using a voice and data network to link staff and guests.
Each room in the Wynn has a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone connected to a USB printer, so you can use it as a fax machine. The phones are linked into the hotel's room management system, and services are set up and customised as soon as you check in. (They are also cleared as soon as you check out.) The phones, a customised version of Avaya's standard desktop IP phone, are intended to be your personal portal to the hotel's services.
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Source - Guardian
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