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Smart connections

PBX systems makes complex hotel telephony easy to manoeuvre. The constant technology upgradation will see new additions to the existing systems, till we reach the plug-n-play based telephone age. Sanjeev Bhar elaborates

Technology keeps us on the edge. A modernised hotel telephone system is just one example of it. When the situation is favourable for hotels (read high occupancy) the pressure on the telephone department increases manifold. In such situations, the telephone department needs to handle outgoing calls as well as address the smooth flow of incoming ones for reservation, rooms, etc. What would be the most viable solution for such situations? Increasing the number of telephone terminals is the obvious call. But here, 'terminal' gets replaced with 'port' for numerous connections over a single line. A private branch exchange (PBX) or the frequently used term - electronic private automated branch exchange (EPABX) - manages a single telephone number to be used by many users.

A hotel telephony system is a complex one and deals with an exhaustive communication link for which there should be a point at every nook and corner for effective flow of information. 'No congestion' is the key motto that guides hotels to offer relentless good communication service and a PBX comes to its rescue for congestion free connectivity between the hotel and outside world.

About PBX

A PBX system is considered as the most powerful type of business telephone system in today's business environment and most hotels rely on this facility for their telephony needs. The basic task of a PBX is to widen a single telephone line to numerous connections used for outgoing and incoming calls, through analogue or digital applications, which is attained through programmable software supporting most complex implementations. This system provides a certain range for a single telephone line, depending upon its capacity or load factor feature. A premium is paid for individual lines that are made out of the telephone number, usually referred to as ports - varying according to the hotels' needs.

According to N L Pai, director-IT, Claridges Hotel, Delhi, "All EPABX systems, which are sold in market today come with their respective software, where, as per the need, one can configure it for optimum use." Hotels using an EPABX see it as the most robust communication system available today. Upgrading the system is also not a very rigid task as the number of ports can be increased, for which one pays a an additional premium, explains Manik Dhodi, director, front office, The Park Hotel, New Delhi. Rubin Cherian, front office manager of The Grand Ashok, Bangalore, says, "These days, most of the telephone lines are fibre optic-based with high bandwidth that can also support video conferencing. Hence an EPABX meets the major criteria for selection of such system. The only concern remains the labour factor required to supervise the same."

Technology high

Hotels are constantly trying to keep telephone congestion at bay with adequate number of ports for smooth flow. "incoming calls should not be kept waiting for long and most importantly, people should get connected with ease," asserts Dhodi.

Choosing the right PBX system is vital for any hotel. Every hotel has some specific needs, which usually are found to be similar on account of number of ports to be served on single connection, division of incoming/outgoing ports, etc. Pai explains, "A good unit is dependent on various factors such as implementation cost, running cost, network availability, usability etc. The configuration of our PBX system is 'AT&T EPABX Multivantage R 12' that supports 650 extensions, which meets our requirement." Hotels should consider the fact of congestion and try to make it obsolete.

Ravindra Singh of Delcom Telesystems Pvt Ltd, a business partner of Avaya Global Connect, says, "A 250-300 room hotel requires a 500 port system, which includes ports for guest rooms, internal office and the services and some scope for expandability." The latest technology 'Delcom Telesystems' is based on IP (Internet Protocol) instead of TDM (Time Division Multiplexing), which has a series of products like IP Office-8300 servers-8500 servers-8700 server from Avaya. These are all IP based telephone exchanges and make 44000 extensions work worldwide with one single exchange.

Claridges has segregated all its telephone lines into two groups, i.e. one used to receive calls and another for outgoing calls. All these ports are configured in the EPABX system, so that as and when someone dials '0', the EPABX routes that extension to the respective telephone line group (i.e. local call only, STD/ISD call only). Pai says, "At any stage, our infrastructure supports 30 incoming calls and 40 outgoing calls. For STD/ISD lines, at a time 12 such calls can be made from the hotel to the outside world."

Contrary to it, The Park uses 50 lines where it doesn't have any segregation at all for incoming or outgoing. Dhodi says, "There is no point in keeping a few lines for outgoing and another few ones for incoming. We have kept all our lines on dual mode." This gives the hotel the option of not restricting itself to a certain number of incoming or outgoing calls. Hence, it can be said that a PBX system has the advantage of adopting every individual hotel's specific requirements. Maintenance can be carried out annually, along with routine checks and on-site assessment if the need arises.

The right system

The two crucial factors - lines and extensions - are vital, as are they also linked to fax machines, credit card terminals, modems, and any other equipment that requires a phone connection should also be taken into consideration. Therefore, the number of ports also takes into account the various accessories such as voicemail or automated attendants. Singh remarks, "Before deciding on the system, one should always check for the latest technology, the service provider in India and their standing, look for the post sale support set up specially for the hotels where they need a 24x7 back up."

A hotels telecommunication system gets an edge with additional features linked with PBX systems. Pai says, "The additional features vary from a few to many. Vendors of PBX systems today allow numerous features like digital extensions, mobility solution, voice mail, connectivity between PBX system with hotel data network and many more."