Pullman Sydney Airport ventures to cloud for comms services

Pullman Sydney Airport, AccorHotel’s newest property in Australia, has deployed a cloud-based communications system that gives the hotel the option to deliver communications and services on a ‘per occupied room per night’ basis.

“Our movement towards a cloud-based telecommunications system is quite innovative for the hotel industry here in Australia and it’s something we see as a true competitive advantage,” Daniel Marden, director IT business systems, AccorHotels Group, Australia said in a statement.

“As the hotel industry faces technology disruption and stiffer competition than ever before, it’s important that we too are embracing the power of technology.”

The cloud-based telephony solution, the Alcatel-Lucent OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud (OTEC), is an integration between the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise cloud solution and Jazz, McLaren Technologies’ cloud-based management service for voice. The platform, which is managed by UXC Connect, was integrated into the hotel property management system (PMS) by McLaren Technologies.

With the adoption of the cloud technology, AccorHotels is able to leverage advanced communication to improve guest services and reduce its upfront costs by distributing the investment over a number of years, according to the company.

Pullman Sydney Airport is the seventh deployment of the cloud based solution in Australia and New Zealand, following projects in Adelaide, Mackay, Newcastle, Brisbane and the soon to open Sofitel Wellington, New Zealand.

By integrating the PABX component of OTEC into the PMS, the hotel properties can separate the communication spending to bill for telephone calls, provide voicemail, as well as set auto wake-up calls. The hotel can also employ network convergence to combine its internet links into the property with all its administration and guest functionality.

McLaren Technologies CEO, Matthew White, said the commercial model upon which the solution is built is “progressive” as it charges on a consumption basis per occupied room per night.

“The feedback we are getting from the customer is that the financial model aligns neatly with their business model – which can be seasonal and unpredictable. By aligning the billing to the seasonal nature of the hospitality industry we are providing AccorHotels with a competitive advantage.”