Background

In the late 90's, High-Speed Internet Access emerged as the hot, new technology amenity for hotels.  Momentum was driven by the belief that for HSIA-equipped properties, users would provide the impetus for a blossoming, new income stream and occupancies would increase as demand grew. 

As a result, several Internet Service Providers (ISPs) emerged armed with very optimistic revenue-sharing business models that captured the attention of the industry, and many systems were installed across the nation.  Then, when user forecasts fell short and significant income streams failed to materialize, many of these early revenue-sharing ISPs withdrew from the market, or closed their doors altogether.  Today, there are a number of hotels in the U.S. who still have the HSIA equipment that was installed by their former revenue-sharing partner.  However, in many properties, that equipment is sitting idle for lack of technical and user support. 

New Life

"We have talked with several hotels who have Elastic Networks Etherloop DSL systems that were installed by Darwin, CAIS, or other early ISPs, to try and help them get back into the high-speed Internet access business," said John Faruolo, Vice President of Sales for Ze-Net Technologies.  "In situations where their former ISP has gone out of business and left behind good equipment, the customer can usually negotiate a very favorable purchase price with the leasing company. Then, we can replace the old Elastic Server with a new state-of-the-art server, use the existing EtherLoop infrastructure and in-room equipment, and create a very cost effective and robust Plug & Play HSIA solution," said Faruolo.

Ze-Net began discussing the idea with several hotel companies who visited their booth at HITEC 2002, and before long, they found General Hotels of Indianapolis, who had eight properties that fit the profile.  Over the next several weeks Bill Keener, General Hotels' Manager of Information Services, Scott Jamison, Ze-Net's Vice President of Technical Services, and John Faruolo worked closely to establish the performance criteria Ze-Net would have to meet to make keeping the old EtherLoop DSL equipment a viable option. The challenge was made even more difficult because several system features that General Hotels wanted today did not exist when the original equipment was installed. 

"In the beginning, it looked like bringing the older Elastic EtherLoop systems back to life would be easy, but believe me, providing room-to-port-association for guest billing and a PMS interface has been a challenge," said Scott Jamison.  "One server vendor tried for months to develop a working solution and, in the end, it took the coordinated resources of General Hotels, the cooperation of the hardware and software manufacturers, and the flexibility of our company to produce the functionality necessary to deliver the requested features."

Support

When Ze-Net began talking with prospective customers, it became clear that the number one concern was support.  Many felt they had never received the level of support that was promised by their revenue-sharing partner, while others said support was good for a while, but as time went on, guest complaints grew and support disappeared. 

Ze-Net recognizes the importance of good vendor support and offers all of its customers long term Support Services and Maintenance Agreements.  More importantly, each Agreement can be customized to provide just the level of support each property wants.  For instance, if a property wants only 24X7 user and staff Help Desk support, Ze-Net will provide just that service.  On the other hand for those who want it, Ze-Net offers hardware and software maintenance and service, sales and marketing support and even Web design services. 

"Rejuvenating one of these systems to deliver current state-of-the-art features and functionality is just the beginning of a success story for us," said Faruolo.  "We know the quality of the ongoing support will play a major role in determining a success, so we make sure our support is delivered by professionals who understand the hotel services environment."

To learn more about reactivating and/or rejuvenating an early generation Elastic Networks EtherLoop 4&6Mbps DSL HSIA system, or for any of your wired or wireless HSIA needs, contact Ze-Net Technologies, or visit their Web site at: www.ze-net.com.

About Ze-Net Technologies Inc.
ZE-NET Technologies Inc. of Richardson, Texas, provides both wired and wireless broadband infrastructure and High-Speed Internet Access solutions to hotels in guestrooms, meeting spaces and common areas for guest and administrative users. 

About General Hotels Corporation
General Hotels Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana, operates nine Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites, Courtyard by Marriott and Hampton Inn hotels in and around the greater Indianapolis area that cater to the lodging and meeting space needs of the Central Indiana business community.