Carlton Mitre Hotel, Hampton, London, UK — Photo by HOIST

The Carlton Mitre, Hampton Court, London is the latest hotel to benefit from Swisscom's convergent IP entertainment and Internet solution. The system delivers live HD TV and video on demand on LG's interactive flat screens, plus seamless wired and wireless Internet access across the hotel through the telephone system using innovative VDSL technology.

On the banks of the river Thames in southwest London lies the historic building which houses the 4 star Carlton Mitre Hotel. Catering for the corporate market during the week, the hotel's stunning riverside location makes it a perfect choice for leisure guests at the weekends, when it also hosts numerous wedding parties. Dating back to 1665, the hotel retains a sense of antiquity and elegance that attracts distinguished visitors from all over the world. Part of the appeal lies in the fact that Charles II first used the building, in conjunction with Hampton Court Palace, located opposite the hotel, to accommodate royal guests.

The hotel was mid way through a refurbishment programme when Swisscom was approached to propose a new TV solution for its guests. "However, rather than planning to change to just another VoD vendor, the hotel looked at its IT expenditure as a strategic investment that would actually create value for its business," remembers Simon I'Anson, VP Sales EMEA at Swisscom Hospitality Services. "This is exactly where our convergent guest services come into play. Swisscom IPTV enables application sharing with Swisscom High-Speed Internet services and other IP-based applications on one common network. This means we can reduce the hotel's network-related costs while enhancing the guest experience."

Anthony Levin, general manager at the Carlton Mitre Hotel says that the guest is ultimately the driver for all hotel investment. "Guests are looking for that home from home experience. They arrive with their own personal devices and expect to be able to use these within the hotel room environment. We have to cater for those needs in order to remain competitive -- it's what is expected of us as a quality hotel."

The Swisscom system has been live at the hotel now for several months. "Customer feedback has been extremely positive," says Anthony. "Guests can connect to the Internet from anywhere on our property, through their laptop or through their Smartphone. Once they turn on the TV screen in their room, they are taken by the beauty of the user interface and the multiple service options proposed. They particularly appreciate the flexibility of being able to watch a film of their choice at a time that suits them. From Swisscom's content offering, we have selected a library of 30 HD blockbusters in 6 languages with trailers at any one time, plus a series of short documentaries which are ideal for guests with limited viewing time. The language options are also important for us as we have a lot of international guests at the hotel."

"Above all, we now have a future proof system which we can extend with additional guest services as and when we feel it is appropriate."

Tailored to the needs of the hospitality industry, Swisscom IPTV can be implemented on CAT-5, CAT-6, CAT-7 or VDSL technology using the existing telephone system. The user interface can be fully customized according to the hotel's lay-out and enables a personalised, multilingual welcome message. Likewise, the channel line-up reflects the guest's nationality and preferred viewing choices as defined in the Property Management System. The hotel can promote its own guest services, integrate specific value offerings and propose customized service bundles. In addition to live-TV viewing, a range of services is free to the guest, including local weather forecasts, flight statistics and express checkout.

As for the TV hardware, the Carlton Mitre chose the new LG Series 300C fully interactive flat screen LCD TV systems for each of the guest rooms. "LG has an excellent track record for reliability and has one of the lowest failure rates in the industry," says Anthony Levin. "Their screens also have lots of user features that are critical to us, e.g. Hotel Mode which prevents guests from changing TV settings, LinkLoader for easy and quick programming and volume control which prevents neighbours being disturbed. With LG's new Premier Partner programme, hoteliers can also be assured of delivery times, which is reassuring for any large-scale deployment."

About Hoist Group

Hoist Group is the complete hospitality partner for hotels, health care institutions and public operations. With more than 20 years of proven hospitality experience, Hoist Group is the market leader in innovative High Speed Internet Access, conference services, TV & content solutions, PMS and back-office software as well as other guest-facing amenities. Many hotel chains, flagship independent hotels and public hospitals have entrusted their IT to Hoist Group. Based in Sweden, the company has offices in a total of 18 countries in the EMEA region. Learn more about the company at www.hoistgroup.com.