Story · Hospitality · ERP and Wi-Fi
A hotel's ERP upgrade and a wireless network that finally holds
A large hotel needed two things at once: a major upgrade to the system that runs reservations, billing and housekeeping, and a wireless network guests would stop complaining about. Both touched every room, and the property could not close for either.
The situation
The ERP vendor, the property management vendor, the wireless vendor and the hotel's own operations team each had their own timeline and their own idea of who was responsible for what. Guest Wi-Fi had been patched so many times that nobody had a map of it.
The general manager's constraint was simple: no lost reservations, no guest without internet, and no work during the busiest weeks.
What we did
We became the single point of contact for every vendor. One project plan, one weekly call, one list of open questions. The wireless work was surveyed and installed floor by floor during the shoulder season, with rooms taken out of inventory in small blocks.
The ERP upgrade was rehearsed on a copy of the live system first, so the cutover night had a script and a rollback. The front desk trained on the copy. On the night, the switch took less time than the rehearsal.
"The front desk asked me on Tuesday when the upgrade was happening. It had happened Sunday night."
How the engineer on this one puts itWhat changed
ResolvedOne reliable network across the property, an ERP on a supported version, and a general manager with a single phone number for anything technical.
The guide behind this story
Owner's guideSwitching IT providers: the owner's guide
How to know it is time, what to ask the next company, how to leave without an outage, and what the first month should look like.
Read the guideOrder the internet circuit the week the lease is signed. Carriers take six to twelve weeks. Nothing else on a move fails as often.
The relocation checklist Did you knowA backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan. Ask for the date of the last tested restore.
What to actually testQuestions people ask about this
Can you upgrade a system the hotel runs on without closing?
Yes, if it is rehearsed. The cutover happens overnight, from a script, with a way back if anything looks wrong.
"Awesome "Johnny on the Spot" service! You guys made a scary situation a lot easier to work through."
Debra, packaging companyMore from the survey wall- A technician who knows your setup takes every request. Not a dispatcher, not a queue.
- Every closed ticket is surveyed and a partner reads every response.
- 99.5% of surveys come back positive.
- Family-owned since 2005. 21 years in the same corner of Wisconsin, not going anywhere.
"Thanks for the hard work. I was kept informed with regular updates until the concern was resolved."
Jeff, insurance brokerageTalk to a partner, not a sales script.
Tell us what is going on. A partner will call you back the same business day, look at what you have, and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit. No pricing pressure, no pitch deck.