YOTEL New York

By Joe Bousquin ■ Contributing Editor, Broadband Communities

In this issue, Broadband Communities features YOTEL, a futuristic hotel near New York City’s Times Square that’s taking wireless to new heights in all its 669 rooms. Our thanks to Spot On Networks’ Dick Sherwin and YOTEL’s Louise O’Brien and David Chu for their assistance in preparing this feature.

arning a reputation as the hippest the 669-unit YOTEL offers tiered In- premium rooms and 10 Mbps speeds to new hotel near the epicenter of one ternet connectivity as an amenity to its those in first-class or VIP suites. Eof the world’s great cities requires guests. The system is fed by the build- By deploying 151 wireless access more than a modern design fused with ing’s active Ethernet fiber backbone. points throughout the hotel, Spot On clean lines and indirect lighting. Today’s The tiered speed offerings – guests ensured that guests have all the band- on-the-go travelers also expect all the can get 7 Mbps or 10 Mbps symmet- width they need for the exponentially right amenities, from the comfort of their ric speeds, based on room selection – multiplying Wi-Fi–enabled devices pillow-top queen-sized beds to the super- demonstrate YOTEL’s philosophy. The they’re taking on the road today. fast download speeds on their iPads. company, founded by London restaura- “YOTEL has recognized the need YOTEL New York, the newest of- teur Simon Woodroffe, owner of the YO! for Wi-Fi in every single room,” says fering from the London-based YO! Sushi chain, strives to extend the tiered Dick Sherwin, Spot On’s CEO. “Be- amenity packaging of air travel to a hotel cause of the widespread use of iPads, Company, can offer both to the eclec- stay. Guests can choose from premium, Wi-Fi–enabled phones and other de- tic mix of business and leisure travelers first-class and VIP rooms. Checking in vices, you’re seeing a shift away from the who walk through its doors. The prop- through the YOTEL’s automated system traditional entertainment systems that a erty scores high in the cool column – in the lobby simultaneously launches a hotel would normally provide in a room. it sports a futuristic, though art deco– tiered service-level agreement based on Guests are bringing their own entertain- inspired, look and offers the services of the room class, which automatically ex- ment devices with them, which means the YOBOT, a robotic concierge, to help tends the 7 Mbps package to guests in you’re starting to see more and more guests check in. It is also at the cutting edge of connectivity, boasting a next- generation wireless network that dis- About the Author tributes speed, along with security, into Joe Bousquin is a contributing editor to Broadband Communities and a journalist every corner of the hotel. with more than 15 years’ experience writing about finance, real estate and technology. Through a team effort from New -Ha You can reach him at [email protected]. ven, Conn.-based Spot On Networks,

30 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | November/December 2011 High-rise/mid-rise/garden style?: High-rise Date services started being delivered: June 2011 Technology How does fiber get to the property? Fi- ber backhaul is supplied by RCN Corporation, a Herndon, Va.-based broadband services provider that

YOTEL’s stripped-down décor is reminiscent of a cabin on a ship or an airplane; the rooms are small but functional and comfortable. devices that utilize only Wi-Fi, versus an RJ-45 Internet connection.” Although the rooms do provide wired connection points, the wireless access points are the focus of the system and are secured accordingly. Through a proprietary system Spot On dubs User- Safe, the network prevents wireless de- vices from communicating directly with one another, a step that significantly in- creases the difficulty of spoofing, hack- ing and scanning of other users. “Unless you designate two devices through their unique MAC addresses, you’d have to go all the way out to the The YOBOT handles guest luggage quietly and efficiently – Internet, and then come back in, to try and doesn’t accept gratuities. to access someone else on the network,” Sherwin says. “That makes it a lot harder.” by Rockwell Group of New York in operates in Philadelphia, Boston, Vital Statistics collaboration with Softroom of Lon- New York City and Washington, Property Description: YOTEL New don, features 20,000 square feet of D.C. Spot On Networks provides all York, the YO! Company’s flagship flexible and dynamic entertainment wired and wireless communications city center hotel, is located just two space, including the largest hotel ter- services inside the property. blocks west of Times Square in New race in the city. How is fiber distributed inside the build- York City. Inspired by air-travel ing? From the main demarcation concepts of tiered amenity offer- Greenfield or retrofit? Greenfield point, fiber strands feed into vertical ings, such as premium and first-class Number of units: 669 risers that lead to intermediate distri- “cabins,” YOTEL New York opened in June 2011, building on the firm’s development of several European airport locations. YOTEL New York Property of the Month Highlights cabins are 30 percent larger than the YOTEL New York airport product and come with floor- • 669-room hotel in Times Square features airplane-style design. to-ceiling windows. There are three • RCN provides bandwidth for the active Ethernet fiber backbone. main cabin types: premium cabins with queen-size beds; first-class cab- • 151 secured wireless access points designed and managed ins with king-size beds, private ter- by Spot On Networks accommodate guest iPads and smart- races and hot tubs; and all-inclusive, phones; guests use their own Netflix accounts. double-cabin VIP suites, the ulti- • Vendors include HP, Engenius and Apple. mate luxury. The hotel, designed

November/December 2011 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 31 suites. This allows guests to stream music and movies using their own iTunes and Netflix accounts. Are there amenities beyond the triple play? Wireless is free on all guest floors as well as in public areas. Business center PCs with printing capabili- ties are available at no cost to guests. These PCs are equipped with built- in cameras and microphones for videoconferencing. The club cabin and boardroom are fully equipped with flat-screen televisions, speaker phones and adapters that allow guests to connect any device to a TV via VGA, RCA Wireless access points in the hallways provide Wi-Fi access in guest rooms and throughout the building. or HDMI. In-cabin lights are con- trolled by motion sensors. The StudiYO room is a multi- bution frame (IDF) closets. Link ag- Ethernet port built into it. function space equipped with a state- gregation is employed on three floors of-the-art sound system that includes Have you provided wireless signals within multifunction speakers; a projector; via four pairs of fibers. units? Yes. Wireless signal is distrib- wireless, wearable and handheld mi- What is the FTTH technology? uted throughout the building from crophones; RCN TV service; Apple Active Ethernet Engenius 9550 access points in the TV; an iPod docking station; and What type of gear is used? hallways on the guest-room floors. video and audio inputs that allow the HP ProCurve switches with gigabit The amenity and back-of-house areas connection of any device via VGA or interface converters and small-form- have access points on the ceilings. HDMI. A fully loaded portable DJ factor pluggables. All areas of the hotel, except for the booth can be installed on several lo- basement, are covered with Wi-Fi. cations on the fourth floor. How did you deal with wiring and plug Who is the wireless service provider? access within the units? Wiring was How much square footage is dedicated to Spot On Networks done by a third-party contractor the network inside the building? Could during construction. The RJ-54 closets be shared with other utilities? At jacks are below the desks and behind the demarcation point and on every the flat-panel TVs. A patch cord was third floor, a full rack is dedicated to run up behind each desk to a wall- communications equipment. Space mounted phone that has a 100 Mbps was limited, so the service provider had to work closely with the prop- erty owner to ensure that equipment would fit and that power and ventila- tion were adequate.

Services Does the building have triple-play ser- vices? In addition to Internet band- width, RCN provides video through a fiber optic feed. YOTEL offers TV service in all units at no charge to guests. The channel lineup includes a variety of high-definition channels, standard channels, and news, sports, entertainment and movie channels. In-cabin IP phones also provide guests with a wired way of connect- ing through the Internet service. First-floor distribution frame Apple TV is provided in all VIP Fourth-floor distribution frame

32 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | November/December 2011 Are other emerging IP services available? computer equipment from the YO! Video monitoring is currently pro- Company’s temporary office space to vided, and energy management is the hotel, which took a great deal of being considered. coordination and hard work. Guests are easily able to obtain access to the Who provides support? If guests have an is- Internet through any of their devices sue or a technical challenge, whom do anywhere in the hotel. they call? Spot On Networks What would you say to owners who want Who owns the network? YOTEL owns to deploy a similar network? What is- the cable network infrastructure, sues should they consider before they and Spot On owns the equipment get started? Spend more time on the and provides technical support. network design and run the design through different scenarios until all Onsite Experience/ areas are covered. Lessons Learned What was the biggest challenge? Thanks What is the hotel manager’s perspective to the help and support of Spot On on this installation? Has it been a suc- Networks, challenges have been cess? What has been the response from minimal, but the workload has been guests? There were some bumps in the beginning, as expected, but all these enormous. The biggest challenge issues were corrected in a very short was not having enough hotel staff to time. Currently, help tickets have cover all the different areas and stress been minimized, with most guests test all systems. calling for help setting up their own What was the biggest success? The ma- equipment rather than because of jor success was the relocation of all Main distribution frame for YOTEL problems. v

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