High performance network provides the platform for consistent guest experiences and new digital services

Feline Fields by Mantis in Botswana is a 50-minute helicopter ride from the nearest airport. Deep in the Kalahari Desert, you are more likely to see a passing elephant than a passing car.

“我们经营一些世界上最好的生态胜地，”南部非洲IT客户技术服务总监Clinton Govender说，Accor，Accor，酒店集团在螳螂业务中拥有50％的股份。“客人开始体验自然，逃离现代世界。但是有时他们想连接到互联网。”

在全球业务中建立网络一致性

对于螳螂，网络连接可能具有挑战性。该企业在10个国家 /地区经营22家酒店，其中大多数位于农村或偏远地区。并非所有人都是静态的：该公司还在Chobe河上有船屋。而且它们往往很小。一些房间最多有80个房间，有些房间不超过六个房间。

Partnership with the global hotel group Accor in 2018 was a key turning point. Needing to be integrated with Accor IT systems and having to meet certain infrastructure standards, Mantis was ready to rethink its network. With the hospitality sector undergoing digital transformation, Mantis wanted to establish a platform on which to add its own digital guest and operational services.

“We needed to bring Mantis’ systems into the Accor ecosystem and we needed to establish consistent Accor standards in the business,” says Clinton. “The ability to deploy, monitor and manage the network centrally was key.”

从中心管理大陆的连通性

Aruba方法建立在Aruba Central，AP-515 Wi-Fi 6统一接入点和Aruba 2530第2层POE+访问开关围绕。Aruba Central建立在云代表微服务体系结构的基础上，可为Mantis的远程网络提供全方位服务的AI洞察力，安全性和基础架构监督 - 全部来自一个玻璃窗格。它使克林顿首次可以从约翰内斯堡办公室查看和管理整个非洲曼迪斯物业的网络。该团队能够在同一基础架构上定义安全的客人，员工和管理网络。

“在测试期间，我们发现Aruba Central非常有效。这是我们希望在整个地区采用的基于云的解决方案类型的示例。”克林顿说。“此外，这是一项低成本的投资，我们偏爱那种每次使用付费模式。”

简化管理和维护IT基础架构的任务

2020年11月，第一个螳螂财产转移到了阿鲁巴建筑。开普敦附近的曼迪斯（Mantis）的71间客房珍珠谷酒店是螳螂的新物业之一。螳螂计划在今年晚些时候推出其投资组合中的其他物业。

Clinton says Aruba fundamentals will be common in all future roll-outs: “The advantage of Aruba is that, with a standard architecture agreed, we can roll-out quickly when required. It can be applied consistently to larger or smaller sites. We don’t need expensive IT support on site. It’s effectively a zero-touch deployment, orchestrated remotely.”

Mantis operates the majority of its hotels under licence, meaning property owners have to justify their investment in the new network infrastructure. Clinton says the ease of installation and ongoing management represents significant value: “You can imagine the difficulty and cost of having IT engineers come out to some of these locations. With Aruba we have a transparent service and much lower cost of deployment.”

Exploiting Digital Touchpoints to Elevate the Guest Experience

The Aruba approach creates the required platform on which to digitise elements of the guest experience. This may include self-service check-in, streaming content on smart TVs, online room service or location-based services around a hotel property. Accor IT can now manage the deployment of these new services centrally.

“对于客人来说，我们认识到螳螂的体验并不能在您进入我们的一项财产的那一刻开始。在整个数字旅程中，我们需要跟随并与我们的客人互动。

Crucially, the Aruba Edge Services Platform (ESP), allows for local differences. Property owners can choose to deploy from a menu of services.

“We know that some digital services are just not wanted or needed at some properties,” adds Roger. “There won’t be a central mandate. But if it is selected, then there will be consistency and no need to reinvent the wheel. That investment could be better spent elsewhere.”

Creating a Platform for Business Agility in a Changing World

Without doubt 2020 has been a challenging year for the hospitality sector. Roger is confident Accor will come out of it stronger. The sector expects a surge of demand for travel – and ‘experiential travel in particular’ – once a traveller confidence returns and travel restrictions are eased. The Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme, to which the Mantis Collection has access, has over 65 million members worldwide.

“我们利用这段时间对业务进行必要的更改并投资于我们的平台。我们为客人提供更多共享服务和更清洁的数字体验。这创造了成本效率和服务一致性。”罗杰说。“未来会有所不同。关键是能够识别新机会并迅速发展的能力。数字平台为我们提供了敏捷性。”