Dubai make no secret that they want to become the destination of choice for tourists from around the world. So much so that it explicitly stated in the latest communication from the Dubai Government Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), circulated on 13 November 2016 to all Hotel Establishments.
In a very forward thinking approach, the DTCM recognise that to realise their aspirations, there must be an ongoing commitment to the improvement of service and facilities, to meet the ever-increasing demands of the tech savvy international traveller.
To that end, DTCM have updated the legislative requirements for the Provision of WiFi Internet Service in Public Areas of Hotel Establishments. The requirements and expectations have been clearly stated within the annexed Executive Order (Administrative Order No. 22/2016) regarding the associated Executive Resolution No. (3/2016), and the implications are significant and potentially challenging.
WHAT’S REQUIRED?
Hotels must be able to demonstrate that a ‘proper and scalable’ WiFi network is installed and operational before the Commencement Date of December 9, 2016, even explicitly defining what constitutes public areas. Bearing in mind, that with the clear statements of expectation which are made doesn’t leave venues with much time to react and comply!
‘Proper and scalable’ is also given due consideration within the Order, with clear statements on ensuring that the infrastructure deployed provides for a throughput that allows for the expected number of devices to each gain a minimum upload and download rate. Given that Airangel have been assisting Hotels in surveying, designing and capacity planning for over a decade, the experience of our Pre-Sales specialists means that we know how challenging this can be, and how to avoid some of the pitfalls.
As guest expectations continue to increase, Hospitality WiFi Internet Services need to be flexible, allowing the Hotelier to easily take advantage of improvements in technology, security and service presentation. Only with a management
Within the Genisys platform, the Hotel Establishment can configure and control the service delivery settings in such a way as to optimise the use of any available bandwidth from the venue and manage the guest connection experience, whilst meeting regulatory compliance requirement, such as storing communication data logs for the newly-stated required minimum time period of six months, and within a recognised data protection framework, such as the ISO 27001 Information Security Standard.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
To be considered as the destination of choice, you need to be seen to be a leader and not a follower, but when it comes to offering Hotel guests internet access, too often venues have been left having to battle with technology bottlenecks.
With such short timescales, and some technically challenging requirements, Hotel Establishments are going to need to meet this challenge ‘head on’ by proactively engaging with specialists and suppliers to ensure the criteria are met.
Given that the Genisys platform has been designed in such a way as to be infrastructure-agnostic and as such can be deployed within any existing network infrastructure topology, and has also been designed to provide for fast-track implementation, integration & commissioning, the adoption of the Genisys WiFi Service Management platform can assist Hotel Establishments in abiding by the provisions of the Executive Resolution prior to the “Commencement Date” of December 9, 2016.
