If your hotel is still running on an analog phone system, with phones plugged directly into the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through copper wires in the wall, your options for scalability are limited. Adding a new phone line requires physical infrastructure upgrades, and you’ll still pay for the trunks you don’t use even if you unplug the phone.
With a VoIP system, those concerns are a thing of the past. Adding and removing phone trunks is as simple as a software update, with no infrastructure changes required. All you need is a device to make and receive calls and you’re ready to go! Here’s why the scalability of a VoIP system should be one of your top priorities.
The main reason you should be focused on scalability is the ability to easily and inexpensively add new numbers. As your hotel grows over time, you’ll need to add new rooms or even new locations, and you’ll want to add phone trunks to accommodate your expanded facilities.
The same is true for opening a new location. Whether you’re adding a building to your existing hotel or opening a new hotel entirely, you’ll need phone trunks in the new location. With a VoIP system, you can add numbers to a new building across the street or across the country and seamlessly incorporate them into your existing computer systems.
Scalability is also crucial when you add new facilities to your hotel. Hotels across the world are adding off-site calling to accommodate remote work and increase their service capabilities. You might add a new restaurant, bar, or fitness center that needs its own contact information.
Finally, many large businesses are now adding virtual local numbers to their phone systems. You can set up a virtual number with any area code so that it appears to be a local number to any potential guest. Then, you can route them all to the nearest hotel and answer them as if they all came from the same place.
The year 2020 was a harsh lesson in the importance of budgeting for many in the hotel industry, and hundreds of hotels had to partially or completely close down, cut staff, or reduce other services and amenities to stay afloat.
While your communications solution isn’t the biggest piece of your operating budget, it’s not insignificant — when times are tight, every little bit helps. The ability to instantly turn off any phone lines or trunks you’re not using and reduce your budget accordingly could be vital to your business in the event of a disaster.
Finally, you might want the ability to move or change phone numbers as your hotel evolves. There are two options:
For the flexibility and scalability of a VoIP hotel phone system, you need the capabilities of a Phonesuite system. We’ve been installing VoIP systems in hotels — and only hotels — for more than 30 years, serving thousands of hotels of all sizes all over the world. If you’re ready to upgrade your hotel phone systems to the best in the business, talk to Phonesuite today.