LodginLink – Why TCP-IP? Understanding the benefits of TCP-IP networks for hotel devices

As the hospitality market continues to migrate hospitality devices from standard serial to Ethernet TCP/IP connections, property management system vendors face the daunting task of upgrading their existing device interfaces from serial to TCP/IP. IP. Many property management system vendors are now turning to new ways to connect to hotel devices to gain this connectivity, rather than spending valuable development time releasing enhanced interfaces. Fortunately, there are many options available.

Why the TCP/IP network in the hospitality industry?

The benefits are numerous for hotels to integrate IP-based devices:

• Communications are in real time, allowing hotel staff to provide immediate assistance to guests.
• Connectivity is more stable, reducing helpdesk requests and providing higher service availability for guests.
• Remote configuration and diagnostics allow system providers to access and immediately troubleshoot and repair the hotel device without the delay and expense of dispatching a technician.
• The device infrastructure can be located anywhere on the hotel property, allowing the back office to make optimal use of limited space.

As providers migrate to this architecture, expect all categories of their interface library to have IP interfaces, including: voicemail, minibar, in-room Internet, and power management.

There are hotel solution manufacturers supplying more than 50 IP interfaces available for various PBX systems, call accounting, pay movies, POS and hotel door keys. The buy versus build analysis clearly indicates the great advantage of outsourcing interface supply to products like Comtrol’s Lodging Link vs. continue to develop internally. PMS companies are eager to refocus on their core competency of developing a more feature-rich property management system for hotels, rather than dealing with device interface software. The decision to outsource was compelling, as the task of facilitating software protocol connectivity between multiple devices is frustrating for PMS providers. Currently, 63 PMS providers worldwide have chosen to simply develop an interface to Lodging Link’s protocol translation software and take advantage of the extensive library of Lodging Link interfaces available.

Therefore, as the task of interfacing with more complex TCP/IP-connected hotel devices accelerates, the time is ripe to take advantage of the expertise provided by the LodgingLink interface solution.