Hard Rock Hotel checks in Extreme Wi-Fi 6 to enhance guest experience

With travel just emerging from its Covid-19 lockdown hibernation, the two most relieved industries will probably be aviation and the hotel sector. As part of its bid to make the Amsterdam hub of the internationally recognised music-themed hotel chain fit for purpose, the Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American has deployed a cloud-managed Wi-Fi 6 network from Extreme Networks.

Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American is one of many hotels facing unprecedented demands for wireless connectivity due to the increased number of devices used by guests and staff, as well as demands for technology-driven experiences. The 173-room facility is located in one of the city's most famous Art Nouveau buildings in the Leidseplein district.

The historic site was a challenge to equip with reliable Wi-Fi using legacy wireless technology, making it difficult for Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American to offer guests modern, digitally driven amenities. The hotel also needed to upgrade its wireless network infrastructure to meet new demands for contactless services such as guest registration, in-room dining requests, remote check-outs and coordinated housekeeping.

The new network – featuring Extreme Wireless Wi-Fi 6 access points and the ExtremeCloud IQ network management platform, delivered in partnership with DWE ICT – is said to have delivered faster connectivity across the hotel’s premises, enabling secure, reliable Wi-Fi access for guests and staff, as well as simplified network management for the hotel’s IT team.

After deploying indoor and outdoor access points throughout its premises, the hotel has also experienced a significant reduction in the number of helpdesk tickets related to Wi-Fi connectivity issues. It has also been able to roll out new services, such as expanded health and safety measures for guests to meet Covid-19 guidelines.

The hotel’s IT team has a single pane of glass cloud network management solution that is said to be able to provide full network visibility, simplifying the process to deploy, scale, manage and maintain devices on the network. The platform is designed to provide actionable insights at a metadata level, enabling the hotel to optimise performance based on how guests, applications and devices are using the network.

With the ability to perform remote network management, the hotel’s small IT team can react quickly to network demands without physically attending to each access point. The IT team is also able to tap into the platform’s data retention capability, which drives increased machine learning accuracy and precision of artificial intelligence actions, provides more context for troubleshooting, and enables them to improve services based on historical performance benchmarks.

“The most important thing is that our guests have the best possible experience when they stay with us, which includes their experience using any guest-facing technology we provide,” noted Claire Van Campen, general manager at Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American.

“With Extreme, our guests now have access to seamless Wi-Fi connectivity across the entire hotel so they can stay connected with family, friends, or work. The new solution has also greatly simplified network management, reducing stress for our IT team,” she added.

Colin Hoogerwaard, IT advisor at DWE ICT, said: “We have a long-standing relationship with Hard Rock Hotel, and it was a privilege to support the implementation of Extreme’s cloud-driven networking solutions. The new network not only provides reliable Wi-Fi connectivity inside and outside of the building, but represents the gold standard of network technology within the hospitality space.”