Crowne Plaza Muscat looks to Exterity for guest entertainment
Crowne Plaza Muscat looks to Exterity for guest entertainment
An Exterity in-room entertainment and digital signage solution has been installed at the Crowne Plaza Muscat Oman Exhibition and Convention Hotel. Installed throughout the hotel and conference facilities by VIT, the new solution includes the streaming of TV channels to mobile devices. The finished project includes full deployment in 295 guest rooms and seven conference rooms, 70 satellite TV channels and YouTube channels with full HD capability and BYOD support. The solution is also integrated into the resort-wide Wi-Fi network to allow streaming of TV shows onto mobile devices. In total, the hotel deployed over 332 SmartTV screens with a mix of TV and digital signage.
The hotel is managed on behalf of the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN). As part of its development process, the Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC IT team worked closely with OMRAN to develop an integrated in-room infotainment and digital signage solution to serve guests across the resort. OMRAN previously had positive experiences with an Exterity IPTV system that has been successfully deployed at Muscat International Airport, as well several high-profile hotels in Dubai that have also deployed Exterity technology.
Based on these experiences, OMRAN recommended the Exterity IP video system as its preferred choice for Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC, even though other systems were deployed in the regional IHG chain. Meslum AlKindi, area information technology director, IHG Oman, and his team met with Exterity and its local integration partner, VIT, to explore its requirements and to test the IPTV solution.
“Our previous IPTV system was very old fashioned. What we wanted for the new hotel was a modern interface that would really grab the attention of the guests,” explained AlKindi. “But with that old system, making changes was very difficult and it did not give us all the features we wanted. With Exterity’s system, we have been able to design a new guest room TV interface from scratch that makes guests feel welcome and special.”
The deployment covers digital signage points across the facility and includes full integration with Amadeus Delphi to provide meeting room functionality. The entire solution includes Exterity’s ArtioSign, ArtioGuest, AvediaStream e2320 Encoder, AvediaStream g4412/g4418 Gateways, AvediaStream c1210 Chassis, AvediaStream t5600 Transcoder, AvediaStream o7500, AvediaPlayer r9300 Media Players and AvediaServer c1555 server with m8365 module.
“Regardless of whether they’re travelling for business or leisure, today’s modern travellers are looking for hoteliers to provide a cutting-edge, in-room experience that’s equal or superior to what they have at home,” concluded Walid Tabet, regional director, Middle East at Exterity. “The Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC is a great example of a hotel offering a better-than-home experience by using a fully customisable portal that seamlessly delivers live TV and VoD services. The quality of Exterity’s IPTV system is exemplified by the fact that our technologies are the Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC’s preferred choice for future projects.”