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SAT

Kathrein Solutions for Hotels and Guest Houses

AccorHotels

C A S E S T U D Y

2 I Kathrein I Company Portrait

Who we are and what we stand forKathrein is a leading international specialist for

reliable, high-quality communication technologies.

We are an innovation and technology leader in today’s

connected world. Our ability to provide solutions and sys-

tems enables people all over the world to communicate,

access information and use media, whether at home, at

the office or on the road. We cover a broad spectrum:

from mobile communication, signal enhancement and

data transmission in buildings, to fibre optic and cable

networks and satellite reception technology, to radio

and TV transmission and transmission and reception

systems in vehicles.

As a hidden champion and family-owned enterprise, we

have been working on the technologies of tomorrow since

1919. We take pride in our dedicated employees and our

passion for customers and quality.

Our Solutions

Find out more about us at www.kathrein.com

MOBILE COMMUNICATION INDOOR SAT BROADBAND BROADCAST AUTOMOTIVE

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Long before analogue satellite signals were switched off in 2012, modern cable networks were no

longer restricted to merely transmitting radio and TV programmes.

Many headend providers, in particular hotels and guest houses, are facing the challenge of meeting

their guests´ demands for digital programme diversity. “In view of the fast growing demands for

digital programme quality and diversity, it was our goal to quickly implement an innovative and

sustainable system,” summarises Frank Schedler, AccorHotels´ Vice President IT and Digitalization

Central Europe.

Kathrein provides digital solutions in AccorHotels

Case Study AccorHotels

Room – Mercure Hotel Vienna First

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AccorHotels go digital for the benefit of their guests

Cable networks for use in entertainment

“These days, nearly 85% of our guests use smart phones and the

internet to a great extent,” explains Frank Schedler. Additionally,

the number of digital end devices, such as tablets and laptops, is

increasing. Hotels no longer offer entertainment and information in

the form of radio and TV programmes alone. Especially in areas

of high population density, such as Berlin, Hamburg or Munich,

broad band cable networks are at their limits. “We want our guests

to feel welcome. This means that they should not have to do

without the convenience and the use of modern media. For us it

is just a matter of course that we make the entire diversity of TV

programmes, mostly in HD, and a great bandwidth of international

infotainment media, or the access thereto, available to our guests,”

states Frank Schedler. Installing a fully digitised headend is not

only a matter of updating, but also an investment for the future.

It supplements the fibre optic infrastructure

already available in many AccorHotels with

a further important component towards

digitisation.

Kathrein aboard right from the start

The planners of AccorHotels and Kathrein already joined forces

in the run up to the analogue switch-off. Ukmedia GmbH from

Meissen – a company specialised in modern communication

technology in hotels - was also called in. It soon became clear

what the main challenges and requirements for the newly to be

realised infrastructure would be: the highest possible programme

and service diversity along with absolute reliability and minimum

maintenance requirements. “As soon as we started talking with

Kathrein, we realised that they would be best suited to meet the

criteria and that a long-term partnership on a technological and

strategic level would be most promising,” adds Frank Schedler.

In the past, AccorHotels already relied on the know-how of the

Rosenheim based company for installing various headend

stations for their hotel brands, such as ibis, Mercure, Novotel

and Pullman, throughout Germany.

Quality and service requirements

fulfilled

The task was not an easy one: more than

150 hotels had to be converted and

upgraded. “It was of greatest importance

for us that the Kathrein engineers would

contribute their expert knowledge to the

entire planning and conceptual process

right from the start,” as Frank Schedler

remembers it. Being the project manager,

everybody involved reported to him

regularly on the progress. There were

never any serious problems. Quite the

contrary: the close and successful

cooperation helped to overcome

numerous obstacles. “You need indivi-

dual solutions to get optimal, technically

feasible results from a signal processing and conversion unit,”

states Frank Schedler. No other technology provider is as good

as Kathrein in offering these solutions. What is more, the parts

and components themselves are very long-lasting and trouble-free

in operation. Frank Schedler points out that, “In order to have

our high demands for quality, service and sustainability fulfilled,

“The partnership with Kathrein is a commer-cially and technically finely-tuned concept, which already guaran-tees effective headend operation in as many as 200 hotels in several countries throughout Europe.”

Frank Schedler

Case Study AccorHotels

Importance of digital end devices in the technical equipment of hotel rooms is increasing

Room – ibis Hamburg City

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The facts

Challenge

In the course of digitisation, the growing demand

for access to infotainment media challenged the

AccorHotels Group to provide a wide range of radio

and TV programmes in all of their hotels in Germany.

AccorHotels was looking for a partner who offers

a combination of high efficiency and outstanding

quality in headend technology.

Solution

Together with their partner company Ukmedia, the

planners from AccorHotels and Kathrein started to

design a networked uniform headend system for all

hotels throughout Germany. The well-proven coope-

ration helped to exactly determine the requirements

and to implement customised solutions. All of the

signal processing and conversion units were ready

for operation according to schedule.

Advantages

A technically mature unit concept in combination with

an exact requirements planning ensured the on-time

delivery, smooth installation and the failure-free set-up

of the units. Individual solutions helped to skilfully

master challenges which arose during the planning

phase of the unit. The top quality of the components

used, guarantees the highest possible stability of the

entire network and low maintenance costs.

we like to rely on a well-balanced concept. Taken as a whole it

pays off, as we can centralise service and maintenance, minimise

on-site operations due to IP integration and can therefore offer

short response times and short-term solutions when the hotels

call on us.”

Largest possible programme diversity –

centralised administration – best ease of use

“At first it was a matter of offering our guests the highest possible

number of national and international programmes. We also set

great store in having a centralised remote maintenance service

and requiring as little programming effort as possible for our units.

As the list of programmes was designed and pre-sorted by

Kathrein and Ukmedia, it was no longer necessary to do the

tedious sorting work in all of our hotels. Last but not least, we

needed to be able to rely 100% on our infrastructure. All in all,

with systems from Kathrein we consider ourselves to be extra-

ordinarily well-positioned for increasing future requirements,”

says Frank Schedler, looking back.

For the Head of IT Central Europe and his team there is no doubt

that they will continue to count upon Kathrein system solutions.

“We want the best, and from Kathrein we get the best, plus

flexibility and international availability.”

Case Study AccorHotels

View of a Kathrein headend system

In lobby and lounge areas, too, Kathrein technology provides reliable connections

Cafeteria – ibis budget

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“We wanted to get the most modern, reliable and future-proof technology“

What were the challenges with

respect to “signal processing

and conversion in hotels”?

“Development in the last few years

has been fast and not always

predictable. Media offers and data

volumes have increased conside-

rably. Today it is downright inac-

ceptable to offer our guests 20

programmes only, regional pro-

grammes at worst, at a location

such as

Berlin, which is virtually at the heart of

Europe. We get more and more inter-

national guests, who want to watch

the same entertainment and info chan-

nels as in their home countries whilst

travelling. This is why we attach great

importance to offering a wide package

with up to 100 programmes, including

international programmes and premium

contents. Another important issue for

the implementation was to design the

units so that they could be program-

med and updated from a central server

to facilitate quick reactions to changes.

Last but not least, we intended to make

it as simple as possible for our guests

to choose and use all the programmes

offered.

What were the problems you had to

deal with during the planning period

and how were they solved?

“The biggest challenge was to interconnect and manage several

hotels from one central server and control point. When we first

started planning, this seemed more like wishful thinking than feasi-

ble reality. However, the engineers from Kathrein and Ukmedia

worked together to deliver a technically mature concept which

completely fits into our corporate IT infrastructure and convinced

us entirely right from the start. Apart from that, we were more

than happy with the LCN programme list they presented us.

This list ensures a common programme sorting in all of our

hotels and thus minimises time-consuming programming and

sorting. A feature, which was developed in cooperation with

Kathrein´s development department, enables us today to de-

tect malfunctions and changes in the infrastructure pro-actively

using IT monitoring software, and to initiate immediate measures.

The competence of the Kathrein team enabled us to enhance

these IT standards also for both the headend technology and

the TV infrastructure”.

How would you evaluate the collabo-

ration during the course of the entire

project?

To put it in a nutshell: When we first met,

we already realised that we were dealing

with absolute professionals. Both our

partner companies always had an open

ear for our wishes and concerns. As

difficult as these might have seemed in

Case Study AccorHotels

Frank Schedler, Vice President IT and Digitalization Central Europe

“We expect the best with regard to perfor-mance, reliability and flexibility of the components that are used in our units. A technology partner like Kathrein, which com-mits itself to meet customer require-ments and provides top quality, guarantees the success of a project.”

Frank Schedler

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About AccorHotels

AccorHotels is a group of companies which stands

for perfect hospitality while keeping its essential

promise: Feel Welcome. In 3,800 hotels in 92 coun-

tries, 180,000 employees care for their guests.

AccorHotels is the world´s leading hotel operator,

consisting of two business units. With its two com-

plementary fields of expertise as hotel operator and

franchisor (HotelServices) and as owner and investor

(HotelInvest), it commits itself to serve clients and

partners. In the luxury/upscale segment (Sofitel,

Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, The Sebel), the

midscale segment (Novotel, Novotel Suites, Mercure,

Mama Shelter, Adagio) and the economy segment

(ibis, ibis Styles, ibis Budget, Adagio access and

hotelF1), AccorHotels is continuously developing its

strategies to be able to fully meet the demands of

business travellers and holiday makers all over the

world. Social responsibility, solidarity and sustainability

have been key priorities for the company for nearly

50 years and are being implemented within the

framework of the PLANET 21 programme.

The Group offers first-class digital services, in particular

the online booking portal accorhotels.com and the

loyalty scheme Le Club AccorHotels. In Germany

AccorHotels is represented by about 340 hotels

of the following brands: Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery,

Novotel, Novotel Suites, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, ibis

Styles, ibis budget and Adagio access.

the beginning, we always discussed details and solved prob-

lems with a focus on the facts. Quick decision-making and the

direct contact between developers and engineers had a very po-

sitive impact on solution-finding and fast implementation. In short,

they were the best people to do the job. And we definitely plan to

employ them again for future projects of that kind.

Why did you choose a system solution from Kathrein and

would you choose it again?

“We wanted to get the best solution. This means: the most

modern, future-proof technology with the lowest failure rate. In

the past, Kathrein products proved that the company can meet

these requirements reliably and on a continuous basis. The

components are notable for their durability and longevity. We

knew what we were getting. It was also important for us to jointly

develop solutions that were customised for our business and

implement these solutions in an optimal manner.

Case Study AccorHotels

LobbyMercure Hotel Berlin City

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KATHREIN-Werke KGAnton-Kathrein-Straße 1-383022 Rosenheim, GermanyPhone +49 8031 184-0Fax +49 8031 184-52360www.kathrein.com | sat@kathrein.de