The Story

The hotel, hospitality, service, and similar industries have traditionally taken great pride and earned their reputations on the ability to foresee and react to their customers’ needs in a prompt, reliable manner. To that end, there has been a strong push to incorporate smart devices and Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) as an affordable, widely available, easy-to-use tool for many staff members. It remains true, however, that Land Mobile Radio (LMR) communications are the best solution for certain personnel, such as for security officials.

A multinational hospitality company realized the benefit of using both smart devices and LMR, and they wanted to tie these communication types together seamlessly, regardless of device type.

Learn how JPS linked PoC apps and LMR radio for this multinational hotel.

The Challenge

The challenge was straightforward: allow hotel staff members with assigned smart devices to reliably communicate with staff members who are assigned traditional land mobile radios, regardless of the radio’s protocol or its transmit or receive frequencies. A residual requirement was to provide staff at the different properties the ability to communicate with associates at the global dispatch center using those same devices.

The Solution

Hotel staff members who do not carry radios are assigned smart devices – in this case an Apple iPod Touch – with the Zello PoC application installed. This makes it easy for those staff members to be made members of radio talkgroups or channels. As talkgroup members, they can communicate with other designated staff at the property using the Zello application. Additionally, through the integration of a gateway between device types, they can effortlessly communicate with staff members who are assigned traditional LMR radios.

The RSP-Z2 Dual Channel Gateway provides the necessary link between these disparate communication systems. Each hotel property is equipped with one or more RSP-Z2 Gateways to support each LMR talkgroup, such as the front desk, engineering, or security. The audio from each of these radio groups goes to its gateway where it is associated with dedicated Zello PoC channels using an encrypted link to the Zello server over the internet for further management and distribution. Satisfying the residual requirement, LMR radio and Zello PoC users can also communicate with the centralized global dispatch center.

The Result

By using a collection of smart devices and LMR radios, staff members at each property can perform their daily responsibilities while working efficiently with their colleagues. Since all devices are provided by the company, an individual worker need not ever be asked to use their own phone or phone plan for work. In addition to being able to communicate with other staff members, individuals can also communicate easily with the global dispatch center, without having to carry or manage an additional device.

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