The Challenge

To distinguish itself from competitors and provide added features to increase the number of its core clientele of business travelers, Starwood® Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., parent company of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, instituted an aggressive national marketing campaign to promote free high-speed Internet access at all of its Sheraton hotels located throughout the continental United States. Since Starwood's aggressive marketing campaign was launched while some of Sheraton's hotels did not yet have high-speed Internet access, three popular Sheraton resort hotels located in San Rafael, Monrovia, and Culver City, California were in urgent need of finding reliable, cost-effective networking solutions.

From the lobby and outdoor pool areas to the privacy of their rooms, business travelers now expected world-class Internet service at any Sheraton they visited, and the general managers at the three California hotel locations wanted to ensure that their guests, predominantly business travelers in need of high-speed Internet access while away from home and the office, were completely satisfied with their accommodations. A marketing firm employed by the owners of these three Sheraton hotels approached Sudesh Kumar, Vice-President Networking Services for IT Global Solutions, to design and deploy a local area network (LAN) and accompanying wireless local area network (WLAN) for each of the hotels.

Kumar discussed the specifications of the project. To wire every room, as was originally proposed, would not be a cost-effective solution, and opting for Internet over broadband would also be more costly but not necessarily more cost-effective in the longterm. After carefully examining a wide range of networking options, Kumar related, "We selected D-Link business class wireless products because they met Sheraton's strict high speed Internet access guidelines and had exceptional price points for business class products."

The Solution

When it came time to decide which wireless access point to choose, the IT Global Solutions team of engineers selected D-Link DWL-2200AP Wireless Access Points because of their robust security features and easy configuration into any one of four modes: Access Point, Point-to-Point (PtP) bridge with another D-Link DWL-2200AP, Point-to-Multipoint (PtMP) bridge, or Repeater. The IT Global Solutions team was also impressed that D-Link DWL-2200AP Wireless Access Points have an integrated 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) port that allows the installation of the device in areas where power outlets are not readily available. The D-Link DWL-2200APs enabled each Sheraton flexible, strategic placement to eliminate dead spots and increased wireless network coverage.

A total of sixty-five business class D-Link DWL-2200AP Wireless Access Points were strategically placed throughout each of the three Sheraton hotels. According to Kumar, D-Link wireless access points were installed in guest rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants, and in common areas such as in the lobbies and games rooms. To prevent unauthorized usage, three D-Link DSA-3100 Hot Spot Gateways were used to provide secure authentication at each location. By using the D-Link DSA-3100, each hotel was able to build their own private network secure from unauthorized users, while at the same time providing guests the valueadded service of a public Hot Spot network in which private and confidential information remained secure from public access.

Since fiber cables would have been an expensive proposition, seven D-Link Express EtherNetwork® DSS-8+ 8-Port 10/100 Desktop Switches were selected to create high-speed Ethernet networks. While other switches were also being considered, the D-Link DSS-8+ Desktop Switch proved to be the best overall choice as it is compact in size, can be placed virtually anywhere, and installation is simple, as it is truly a Plug & Play switch. For guests that did not bring laptop computers equipped with wireless connectivity, the three Sheraton hotels also had on hand a total of thirty preconfigured D-Link DWL-810+ Wireless Bridges so guests with wired Ethernet interfaces could also connect to the wireless network in the privacy of their rooms.

Although most of the rooms were now wireless ready, each Sheraton set aside a number of wired rooms. Therefore, four D-Link DSS-24+ 24-Port 10/100 +2 Optional 100BFX Switches were placed in the main wiring closet to provide a cost effective way of providing hard-wired Ethernet network connectivity to guest rooms.

Benefits

After installing D-Link's robust networking solutions, coverage was more than adequate and far exceeded Starwood's stringent standards. Each Sheraton hotel could now assure guests that it provided free high-speed Internet connectivity in rooms, meeting areas such as lobbies and conference halls, and in outdoor areas, as well. This not only gave them a distinct advantage over competitors, it reinforced to business travelers that the Sheraton brand equals high-quality and affordability. "Sheraton provides world-class service and amenities, and D-Link networking solutions reinforces that guests can expect worldclass networking services, as well," said Steven Smith, general manager for Sheraton, Monrovia. "D-Link exceeded our expectations in terms of affordability, speed and reliability."

"D-Link provided reliable business class solutions at a very affordable price point. We will definitely use D-Link products again," concluded Smith.

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