Case Study

IoT Platform Cuts Administration Time and Costs for Hotel in Naples

Simple IoT systems can streamline everyday operations – delivering real savings to companies and benefits to end users. This is exactly what Axis partner SmartNet has achieved deploying its IoT platform for managing operations and security at Caruso Place Boutique & Wellness Suites in Naples, Italy.

Caruso Place Boutique and Wellness Suites, located in the heart of Naples, is the perfect choice for travellers looking to mix Neapolitan style and culture with luxurious modern relaxation. Located next to the historic Galleria Umberto shopping gallery and the Royal Theatre of Saint Charles opera house, this independent luxury hotel offers its guests a stylish and charming atmosphere by using Internet of Things (IoT) technology to deliver superior guests services as well as streamline its own hotel administration costs.

Vision to reality: A luxury design hotel that suits both classic and modern tastes

Modern convenience was one of the key requirements for the owners of what would become Caruso Place Boutique & Wellness Suites. The management wanted guests to have clear connections to the history and music surrounding this area of Naples – hence the hotel’s name, which is a tribute to the great Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso. Another, equally important priority was to provide superior convenience, services and experiences to the guests. These objectives set their overall requirements framework.

“We wanted to see if we could use technology to provide guests with smooth, comfortable services,” said Manuela Cicala, Hotel Manager at Caruso Place, “We chose Smartnet to put together the components and manage the IoT system.”

Guest booking and check-in without staff

Easy booking, convenient access control, secure video surveillance and efficient hotel administration – all in one IoT system. That was the focus for Smartnet Srl, an Axis partner.

“We provided one IoT system to connect all their existing hotel management software with VoIP phones, access control and video surveillance devices,” said Marco Pirone, Managing Director of SmartNet, “It handles everything – online guest booking with immediate and secure provision of access control codes that grant guests access into the hotel and their individual rooms.”

The SmartNet ConsolONE platform unites the hotel’s reservation and booking functions with hotel security and building access control. It all starts with integration to the Hotel4 hotel software from Ericsoft, which enables dynamic association of access codes for guest room doors as well as their automatic removal at the end of the room’s reservation period. Customers booking online immediately receive their own personal identification number (PIN) code for their room sent to them via email or SMS. This code is all they need to access their room during their stay at any time – which means that there is no need for physical keys or plastic cards, which can be easily lost or stolen. Thanks to this system guests now don’t have to wait in line anymore to do their check-in.

“The use of a key or electronic badge at the hotel is now an old concept for the opening of rooms. In a world more and more based on new technologies, it seemed appropriate to give an additional service to our customers,” declared Cicala.

Further, ConsolONE is integrated with camera-based intercom devices, which provide audio/ visual two-way communication and control. Everything is managed entirely over IP by either the hotel staff or remotely by SmartNet.

Through the installation of an open IoT platform, open IP-based technologies and open standards, IP-based technology has enabled Caruso Place Boutique & Wellness Suites to reduce maintenance requirements by using a system that can be remotely controlled.

“The open standard of Axis’ solutions allowed us to build a system that is functional, yet at the same time simple,” Pirone explained, “The solution was also appreciated by the suppliers of the hotel software, who were quite impressed with the system’s simplicity of integration, underlining that prior to this they had never been involved with such sophisticated and advanced systems.”

For Cicala it is simple – “Technology helps us provide more personal, efficient services to our guests, and keep our hotel and guests safe and secure. This technology reduces our administration time and costs. It means we can focus on providing high-quality services to our guests.”



 

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