Wifirst has been selected by The Ascott Limited to support The Crest Collection and Citadines brands across Europe on all connectivity issues. The Ascott Limited is one of the leading international owner-operators of serviced apartments in the hotel industry. The company is committed to the ongoing modernization of its portfolio, and for this reason chose Wifirst to provide a connectivity base for its 50 European residences.
// HISTORY OF THE PARTNERSHIP
A relationship of trust with The Ascott on all connectivity issues
The partnership with The Ascott began almost 8 years ago with the first property, The Cavendish, in London's Mayfair district. With a defined budget and just one month to deploy a complete infrastructure, Wifirst had a challenge on its hands. Shortly afterwards, a Europe-wide invitation to tender was issued, and following this initial success in London, Wifirst was chosen by the Ascott Group to carry out a massive redeployment of its 40 European properties. 3 years later, The Ascott Group has renewed its confidence in Wifirst by extending and upgrading all its properties to a higher standard, with greater radio coverage across its entire portfolio. In fact, The Ascott was looking for a reliable partner with a mastery of new technologies, so that it could concentrate on its core business: ensuring that customers find their "home away from home".
The Wifirst solution has now been deployed in all the group's European establishments, guaranteeing guests free high-speed WiFi access to their rooms, suites, apartments and all common areas.
The partnership in figures
// WIFI AS A SERVICE: THE ANSWER TO THE GROUP'S DIGITALIZATION CHALLENGES
From modernization to avant-garde
The digitalization of hotels has made WiFi critical. Through its scalable multiservice WiFi offering, Wifirst meets the challenges of its customers' digital transformation: simplified management, a single point of contact, optimized costs, enhanced quality of service and productivity, and an improved customer and employee experience.
For the Ascott, Wifirst has created a technological foundation within each residence, enabling many different devices and services to be connected securely to the same network. The Chromecast is an example of a service that breathes new life into in-room TVs, while digital signage in common areas enhances the overall guest experience.
Wifirst has also increased radio coverage on the 5Ghz spectrum and thus the quality of connectivity for the various connected devices. This means that a faster, more reliable WiFi connection is available everywhere, enabling staff to become more efficient even when on the move. This foundation paves the way for numerous improvements that have led to increased revenue-generating opportunities for Ascott's properties.
Reinvented in-room TV experience
A multiservice solution to meet business challenges and enhance the customer experience
Connectivity has become essential for guests and employees of The Ascott. In 2019, as part of its digital transformation journey, The Ascott switched to a cloud-based management system to consolidate customer and booking data across all its properties. In 2020, they launched a new "Discover ASR" mobile app for members of its loyalty program, Ascott Star Rewards. Thanks to a clear and intuitive user experience, guests can, for example, easily manage their reservations, perform self-checkin and checkout, obtain digital keys to access apartments and indicate from their smartphone that their rooms and apartments are available for housekeeping.
To support this digitalization, Wifirst has isolated each type of network. Guest and staff networks, for example, are isolated within a virtual LAN, meaning that guest networks cannot see the back-office network and vice versa. We can introduce further security measures by adding a layer of encryption to each network, or even hide certain wireless networks completely, guaranteeing maximum security and connectivity.
The Ascott, connected properties
Customer satisfaction : No. 1 for WiFi
The Ascott benefits from excellent customer feedback, particularly when it comes to the Chromecast, which is highly appreciated by travelers. Booking and TripAdvisor ratings are also excellent. It's the reward for the investments we've made: offering connectivity up to the Citadines brand standard.
"With Wifirst we have succeeded in setting up a network for every need on the same infrastructure, guaranteeing security and quality for our customers and staff at all our European properties. Our partnership goes far beyond WiFi; we rely on the Wifirst teams for everything to do with connectivity."
Stéphane Mayere
Information Security Officer & Digital Innovation Director EU
