Although phone service is now less of a guest focus with the popularity of cell phones and other personal devices, reliable communication is still key to running a safe and successful hotel. Good news: the most reliable and optimized communication solution is now also the most economical and the most compliant with municipal and federal laws.
Simplify your Selection – SIP Phone Circuits
Traditional phone service has so many limits that we take for granted, from local/long distances calling to jittery service during storms to the series of headaches that come with installing and updating the service. All of these are solved with SIP phone circuits. Whether you’re calling within the hotel or to one of the dozens of countries included within most networks, SIP phone service is flat-rated and far more flexible. The install process can even take place remotely in many cases and upgrading/downgrading service can be done instantaneously through a simple phone call or change on an app. And, SIP voice data travels on a private network, guaranteeing the highest QoS. So, for it’s reliability, flexibility and ease of use, we recommend going SIP ASAP.
Optimize and Reduce Costs – Unmetered and Unlimited
Whether you’re buying a T1 or a PRI, chances are you’re getting far too many lines. What’s worse is that most of these services come with limited blocks of minutes and steep overages, not to mention the seemingly unending list of confusing surcharges and taxes. Most hotels actually only need enough trunks to cover a handful of potential admin calls and a few guest calls simultaneously at a given time, roughly 10-20% the number of rooms. Then, why pay for 23 or 24 trunks with the standard PRI options from the phone company? Instead, we recommend that you go SIP; pay for the trunks you really need and go for unlimited plans that don’t have surprising fees and overages.
Mitigate Risk – Ray Baum’s Act
In addition to better data security with advanced TLS encryption, SIP phone circuits meet the requirements of the new 911 Laws, Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act. These laws dictate that a 911 call must be able to be made in any iteration from any place in the hotel and that the call must be able to be identified by a dispatchable location, an exact location (building, floor, room #) where the emergency services can locate and rescue the caller. Unfortunately, many legacy phone systems require 9 to dial out and do not register a 911 location until after the call is completed (phone hung up). Further, traditional phone systems are not capable of transmitting the detailed dispatchable location to the PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) and therefore not compliant with the law. Although the law hasn’t yet taken effect and the rollout of legal ramifications may take time, we advise owners to act now and secure a SIP phone service that meets these requirements to guarantee guest/employee safety and limit liability.
