Saigon’s Caravelle gets out in front on wireless connectivity… again (Vietnam)
|
|
Saigon’s Caravelle gets out in front on wireless connectivity… again (Vietnam)
|
Category: Asia Pacific - Vietnam
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2010-09-14
New system enables 1,000 users at a conference to access wireless Internet simultaneously
In North America, they’re clamoring for free Wi-Fi at the 5-star, luxury hotel level. In Vietnam, they’re already getting it at the Caravelle Hotel.
The hotel recently completed a wireless upgrade that puts one of Vietnam’s most renowned heritage hotels at the absolute forefront of wireless innovation.
In a July 27 hospitality report from J.D. Powers and Associates, one of the world’s leading market research firms, consumer demand for free Wi-Fi is the #1 demand from more than 53,000 hotel guests participating in the survey.
“To be progressive with Wi-Fi in a hotel environment, you need to implement three pieces,” said Richard Warren, a representative from Meraki, a company partly owned by Google. “It’s got to be free; it’s got to be available throughout the hotel; and you’ve got to be able to handle big meetings.”
Warren cited one recent meeting at another hotel in Vietnam where 250 people were trying to log onto a wireless system, and the system pushed back with all kinds of problems.
“If you’re going to do meetings, we realized that we needed to be in a situation where 300 people could open the lids on their laptops and presto, they’re online,” said John Gardner, general manager of the Caravelle.
Gardner doesn’t expect the Caravelle will stand alone for long at the progressive front-lines of the wireless world. Warren figures the Caravelle will enjoy exclusivity in this regard for the next 3 – 6 months.
Today, the hotel’s technology supplier reports that 300-350 unique visitors are accessing the hotel’s wireless space daily. About 250 of them are hotel guests; the other 100 are visitors to the hotel’s bars and restaurants.
At present, Meraki says conferences at the Caravelle can connect as many as 500 – 1,000 wireless users, using technology innovations by Google and Meraki.
In June, the Caravelle installed Wi-Fi systems in its fleet of hotel cars. The four interchangeable Wi-Fi routers create hotspots using 3G and HSPDA technology that enables download speeds of up to 7.2MB per unit.
Two years ago the Caravelle became the first five-star hotel to offer free access to the Internet in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the most rapidly developing business hubs and talked-about tourist destinations in the world.
Within the hotel, fiber optic lines fuel hotspots from the hotel’s guests rooms, to the restaurants, bars and pool deck while copper lines service the hotel’s administrative back side. At just a single day’s notice bandwidth can be ugraded still further to meet any requirements. Guest rooms can accommodate wired and wireless demands.
|
|
