INTERVIEW WITH HEDI ELKILANI, IT DIRECTOR, ROYAL MONCEAU – RAFFLES PARIS: 'INCREASING OUR BANDWIDTH AND THROUGHPUT HAS ENABLED US TO TAKE THESE WALK-IN GUESTS INTO CONSIDERATION’ (France)
Modernizing the IT infrastructure of a parisian palace without interrupting its activity and preserving the fluidity of the guest experience is a major challenge that Hedi Elkilani has been able to meet. |
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INTERVIEW WITH HEDI ELKILANI, IT DIRECTOR, ROYAL MONCEAU – RAFFLES PARIS: 'INCREASING OUR BANDWIDTH AND THROUGHPUT HAS ENABLED US TO TAKE THESE WALK-IN GUESTS INTO CONSIDERATION’ (France)
Modernizing the IT infrastructure of a parisian palace without interrupting its activity and preserving the fluidity of the guest experience is a major challenge that Hedi Elkilani has been able to meet. |
Catégorie : Europe - France - Économie du secteur
- Carrières
- Interviews et portraits
vRénovation ou nouveauté dans un établissement - Carrière - Interviews
Interview de Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine le 27-03-2025
 Hedi Elkilani, IT director of the Royal Monceau, has overseen a complete overhaul of the luxury hotel's facilities
Crédit photo © Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris
Behind the elegance of the Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris, where every detail counts to transform a simple stay into a memorable experience, lies a cutting-edge technological network. For almost two years, Hedi Elkilani, IT director of the palace, has been orchestrating an overhaul of the establishment's technological infrastructure.
With nearly 10 years of experience in the luxury hotel industry, marked by the management of opening projects for the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts group, from Tunis to Venice, this innovation enthusiast specialises in network redesign, negotiation with technology providers and the implementation of system migrations during rebranding. His latest achievement? The brilliant modernisation of the entire information system at the Royal Monceau. A success that involved multiple objectives, including connectivity needs, the expectations of an increasingly demanding MICE and leisure clientele, and the anticipation of technological developments, not to mention the increasingly demanding technological uses in the back office.
In an interview with the Journal des Palaces, Hedi Elkilani discusses the challenges of such a transformation in an operating hotel, as well as current projects, including the use of artificial intelligence and the increased digitisation of the customer experience. From networks to Wi-Fi and security considerations, the IT director leaves nothing to chance.
Journal des Palaces: What facilities have you modified or deployed at the Royal Monceau?
Hedi Elkilani: When I joined the Royal Monceau, the hotel's main requirement was to change the Wi-Fi. Before making this change, it was necessary to change the entire LAN by adopting a converged LAN. Before, there was a physical separation of networks, several cables, several networks.
We opted for a single physical network, virtually segmented, to enable us to supervise it better. All the old cables were therefore removed to make way for a single physical network. The slightest flaw, the slightest failure, the slightest disconnection, the slightest connection, are now monitored by the supervision tool. We were also among the first to implement Accor's new network architecture programme.
Why did you overhaul everything rather than just replacing the Wi-Fi?
The initial aim was to change just the Wi-Fi, but we wanted to roll out 10-gigabit Wi-Fi, i.e. a connection that would give the end user the best possible connectivity. Our local network part did not allow it technically. We had to change the interconnections, and then change the Internet connection, because we were on a one-gigabit connection, which is sufficient, but I had greater technological ambitions.
In my opinion, it was now or never to set up an infrastructure that will remain there for the next seven or eight years.
How did you manage to integrate the new facilities while maintaining an uninterrupted experience for teams and customers?
It is a building with a built-in cabling system, which creates an initial complexity, to which we have the constraint of an operational hotel. It is not easy to run cables or to intervene without impacting the customer experience.
In order not to slow down the teams‘ activity, we used a secondary network to ensure continuity of service. On the other hand, we could not have the slightest impact on our customers’ experience. There was a part that consisted of pulling cables and replacing them at the patch panels, including changing all the switches. These switch changes were likely to cause network outages, so we carried them out at night, between three and four in the morning, to limit the impact. The outage lasted between 15 and 20 minutes, the time it took to remove and change the cabling.
What were the main stages of these changes?
I arrived at the Royal Monceau on 1 April 2023, and the work began in July, after an initial phase of auditing and budget validation.
We then proceeded with the network change, which took us five to six months. Between the LAN part, the physical network, and the Wi-Fi part, the deployment took a year.
How did the Wi-Fi change go?
Two days after our first contact, the technical director was on site to carry out an audit and mapping of all our public spaces over a period of four days, including in the evening, after midnight, after the shops had closed.
We carried out a test under real conditions to assess the time needed to install Wi-Fi in each room, stopwatch in hand. The aim was to work in the room in the shortest possible time, so that the customer experience was not impacted. We worked in collaboration with the general housekeeper, and chose to work when the housekeeping team was on the premises. We took 15 minutes per room during the service to change the Wi-Fi part, knowing that our LAN network was already in place. The housekeeping team was thus present to instantly clean up the work residues.
Each room now has at least one Wi-Fi access point, to connect all the equipment in the room. Each Wi-Fi access point is used as a switch.
What was the direct impact on the fluidity of the back-office tools and on the equipment connected in the room, and how?
The main aim of the new Wi-Fi was to improve the customer experience, to offer maximum connection stability, with optimised bandwidth to meet the needs of our customers. Our customers are increasingly demanding due to technological developments, which require more and more bandwidth for streaming, videoconferencing, etc.
Furthermore, internally, our main communication tool is the Wi-Fi telephone, the DECT. Previously, we sometimes had internal communication problems, network losses, for example, depending on where we were located. The Wi-Fi change solved that. We then equipped all our staff with the new iPhones, to use these tools internally.
This is the case for a whole range of home automation, BMS (Building Management System) and room locks, which are also connected to Wi-Fi to provide real-time feedback and lock readings.
Was data security taken into account in the renewal of the network, and if so, how?
Previously, we had physical segmentation. Today, we have virtual segmentation. Each flow has its own network. The firewall manages all the interconnections between the different virtual networks. Traffic is supervised and protected in real time.
To respond to the increase in traffic and bandwidth, we have deployed more robust firewalls. Our infrastructure has moved from a 1 Gbps connection to 10 Gbps interconnections, thus optimising flow management. In addition, the firewall plays a key role in securing and controlling incoming and outgoing flows between the hotel and the outside world.
How does this new Wi-Fi network help to improve the customer experience, particularly for leisure and MICE use?
On the MICE side, previously, our customers asked for dedicated wired connections, to be sure that there would be no disruptions to Wi-Fi connectivity. When we changed everything, I explained to customers the benefits of the new Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6 with unlimited connections. For each event, we carry out a test phase with our customers. They were impressed by the quality, the speed of our connections and the stability. The presence of our IT team at their side during the events reassured them. Today, we have set up specific Wi-Fi hotspots in each conference room, and each hotspot can support up to 500 users.
In the leisure sector, we have two types of customers: on the one hand, those who visit our points of sale, and on the other, resident customers. We had already set up a Wi-Fi network dedicated to occasional visitors, while prioritising hotel guests.
Thanks to the increase in our bandwidth and our speed, we have been able to better meet the needs of walk-in customers. A specific Wi-Fi network has been rolled out for them, offering a fast connection, without a password, for an optimal experience. Their satisfaction is now total.
Today, the speeds for these walk-in guests have increased tenfold. More and more visitors are frequenting our points of sale, attracted by the quality of our connection, which also allows them to work in luxurious surroundings. This improvement allows us to build customer loyalty.
What other technological projects are in progress or being considered?
We are working with a major brand on a project to change video surveillance, with the integration of artificial intelligence, a first in Parisian luxury hotels, taking into account the numerous GDPR constraints. We have a PCS, a central security station, equipped with a fire safety system and several video surveillance screens that are constantly monitored by a security team leader. Today, despite the multitude of screens, there are always limitations. We are going to define algorithms that will determine suspicious behaviour and situations where assistance is needed, monitored by artificial intelligence. As soon as suspicious behaviour is identified, the AI comes into play via notifications. This system will comply with the GDPR, without the use of facial recognition or the storage of personal data.
We are in the negotiation phase with the manufacturers, and we hope to start the roll-out soon. New generations of televisions will soon be on the market, with an emphasis on optimised Wi-Fi connectivity with smartphones. In concrete terms, the TV will be able to identify the customer and allow them to stream content from their smartphone directly to the screen, offering a more immersive and personalised experience.
How do you anticipate the evolution of customers' digital needs in the coming years?
We strive to make the use of technology as simple as possible for our customers, i.e. to ensure that they can connect and have access to everything from their smartphone, from check-in to their room key and room service. The aim is to give them the option of accessing all our support services in real time, including contacts via the communication applications on their smartphone, to be in direct contact with the desired service.
Today, the Royal Monceau hotel has the necessary infrastructure to support all the new generations of these information systems.
More and more organisations are turning to AI, which in my opinion can be used in a limited way. As far as I'm concerned, we can't talk about luxury hotels if human interaction and personalisation are not present. For me, the hotel business is above all about human contact and interaction.
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