Introducing the Barrière Group
Barrière is a historic leader in the luxury hotel business, with 18 emblematic establishments including Le Normandy Deauville, Le Royal Deauville, Le Fouquet's and Le Grand Hôtel Dinard. Barrière is also 33 casinos that welcome the public for the pleasure of gambling and entertainment, and over 140 bars and restaurants that symbolize the French art of living.
Innovation is an integral part of the group's culture, and three generations of entrepreneurial owners have succeeded in retaining a leading position in the modern hotel industry.
The partnership
he management of the group's connectivity has been handled entirely by Wifirst since 2014 (preliminary technical studies, dedicated project team for equipment deployment, connection of the network to the Internet thanks to fiber optics, supervision, 24/7 maintenance) enabling Barrière to focus on its core business.
At the beginning of 2020, the Information Systems Department expressed the need to update its fiber and WiFi radio infrastructure as part of a program to deploy and renovate its establishments. In line with its ongoing digital transformation, the group turned to Wifirst and its partner CommScope Ruckus for this new large-scale deployment.
Objectives
The new infrastructure will enable the Group to meet its business challenges and enhance the customer experience.
- Excellence is an integral part of the service expected by the Group's customers. The aim is to ensure that they have a smooth, uninterrupted Internet connection wherever they are in the network.
- The new network deployment will leverage emerging technologies in the hospitality sector such as IoT, building automation and artificial intelligence, boosting operational efficiency across the business.
Result
Upgraded infrastructure enables the introduction of numerous digital transformation services. Guests can use their mobile devices to make reservations, download keys to their smartphones and go straight to their rooms, without having to pass through reception. The WiFi network also supports the use of mobile technologies throughout the organization, enhancing the productivity and working comfort of the group's 7,000 employees.
Key figures in the partnership between Groupe Barrière and Wifirst:
- 18 hotels and 1,761 rooms connected
- 33 casinos equipped
- 1,700 WiFi terminals in use
- WiFi Booking score up
- Hundreds of corporate seminars benefit from a dedicated WiFi offer
"The Wi-Fi solution developed by Wifirst with CommScope RUCKUS will help us achieve our vision of digital transformation. The challenge was to find a business partner who could help us find an economically viable, reliable and scalable solution to adapt to the new uses of today and tomorrow. We had a dual need for connectivity, and it's very important both that our customers are fully satisfied with our services, and that we can simplify our employees' daily lives by giving them access to the best technologies on the market".
Emmanuelle Anglade
DG Commerce, Marketing and Technology - Groupe Barrière
