AI solves Wi-Fi problems before they are noticed

A well-functioning Wi-Fi connection is indispensable for a hotel. "Besides a good bed, this is one of the most important requirements of our guests," says Dominic de Boer, IT Director at Pulitzer Hotel. "People don't just surf and work. Our guests want to be able to use all their phones and tablets at the same time to stream or play games." Together with Steven Blees, Enterprise Sales Director at Juniper Networks and Andre van Dam, CEO at DeLorentz & Partners, he welcomed Hotelvak behind the scenes at the hotel. Here, they told how the new AI-Native Networking solution from Juniper Networks optimising Pulitzer's network.

When Hotelvak arrives at the Pulitzer Hotel on a beautiful spring day, preparations for a garden party are in full swing. De Boer points the way to the 'Merchant Suite'. This new suite is spread over three floors and offers three bedrooms, three modern bathrooms, and a spacious living room. "Even for me, it is sometimes still searching to find my way around the hotel," says the IT director, laughing. Because the hotel consists of 25 contiguous canal houses, navigating within the Pulitzer is a challenge.

Achieving a proper IT infrastructure was therefore no simple task. The major refurbishment of the hotel in 2015 provided an opportunity to tackle this properly. "In collaboration with Juniper Networks we were able to wire the entire hotel to provide the best internet connection. All 225 rooms then got their own Access Point, as did the 30 public areas." A single cloud-based interface makes it possible to monitor the status of the network.

For a long time, the network met all requirements, but after six years, problems did arise. "Our guests were suffering from pixelated TV images when using the Chromecast. This problem was caused by the access points, so we started looking for a future-proof solution." ICT service provider DeLorentz & Partners helped with this search. CEO Andre van Dam: "Guests expect the same connectivity they have at home. You therefore want to be able to be ahead of complaints and solve problems immediately. Of course, this has to be secure and user-friendly for a hotel's ICT specialists." Soon the solution came from Juniper in the picture. Its access points collect large amounts of metadata on connection performance, which the Marvis Cloud-based AI engine uses to pinpoint and solve problems.

The next edition of Hotelvak will feature the full version of this article. With more information on how the AI-based network improves the guest experience and how this affects the work of hotel employees. An extensive report on the Pulitzer Hotel will also appear in this issue, with more on the 'Merchant Suite' and other innovations within the hotel.