Hard rock & easy network

Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American advances guest experience with Wi-Fi 6 from Extreme

When Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton founded the first Hard Rock Cafe in London, they were probably inspired by the 1969’s ‘Easy Rider’ and its legendary soundtrack featuring popular rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Steppenwolf. Today, almost exactly 50 years later, the free spirited and easy-going atmosphere rubs off not only on the guests of the Hard Rock Hotel in Amsterdam, but also on its IT team. Get your motor runnin'… this is a story of one rocking network!

The legend has it that Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, two shaggy-haired Americans just wanted to find a good American burger while living in London. They couldn’t find one so they decided to open up their own diner. Among the first regulars was none other than Eric Clapton who asked Isaac to hang his guitar over his bar stool to "mark his spot." A week later, a package arrived with a guitar and a note that stated, "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete." Pete was, in fact, the one and only Pete Townshend, the legendary guitarist of The Who.

And so began the largest private collection of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia in the world, spanning more than 86,000 pieces and counting, including Michael Jackson's red "Beat It" jacket, John Lennon's glasses, Madonna's "Like A Virgin" wedding dress, Jimi Hendrix' Flying V guitar, among others. But it is also an origin story of the Hard Rock International, one of the most globally recognized companies in the world which has venues in over 74 countries: Cafes, Casinos and Hotels.

Today, Hard Rock Hotels span the globe with an uncompromising dedication to hospitality that promises much more than merely a place to stay. Every Hard Rock Hotel takes the spirit of its destination and blends it with the vibrant collection of music and memorabilia.

Bringing the rock star fantasy to life definitely sounds tempting. But to feel and share such a unique experience, the Hotel’s guests need secure and reliable connectivity…

Photo: Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American

Ain't no fortunate son

The 173-room Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American is one of many hotels facing unprecedented demands for wireless connectivity due to the increased number of devices used by guests and staff, as well as demands for technology-driven experiences.

To make matters even more complicated, the Hotel is located in historic premises – one of the city's most famous Art Nouveau buildings, a monument built in 1902 in the Leidseplein district. The site was a challenge to equip with reliable Wi-Fi using legacy wireless technology, making it difficult for Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American to offer its guests modern, digitally driven amenities. The existing solution didn’t make it easy for the IT team either, in terms of network management.

You could say they weren’t exactly the fortunate sons…

It became clear that the Hotel needed to upgrade its wireless network infrastructure to meet new demands for contactless services including guest registration, in-room dining requests, remote check-outs, and coordinated housekeeping. The new solution needed to deliver faster connectivity across the hotel's premises, enabling secure, reliable Wi-Fi access for guests and staff as well as simplified network management for the hotel’s IT team.

Extreme Networks, in partnership with DWE ICT, has deployed a cloud-managed Wi-Fi 6 network, which proved to be a truly rocking change.

“The most important thing is that our guests have the best possible experience when they stay with us, which includes their experience using any guest-facing technology we provide. With Extreme, our guests now have access to seamless Wi-Fi connectivity across the entire hotel so they can stay connected with family, friends, or work. The new solution has also greatly simplified network management, reducing stress for our IT team”, says Claire Van Campen, General Manager at the Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American.

Get your motor runnin'

Extreme’s high-density Wi-Fi 6 solution delivers faster speeds and improved network capacity, providing powerful wireless coverage as well as reduced network congestion. After deploying indoor and outdoor ExtremeWireless access points throughout its premises, the hotel has experienced a significant reduction in the number of helpdesk tickets related to Wi-Fi connectivity issues. They’ve also been able to roll out new services, such as expanded health and safety measures for guests to meet COVID-19 guidelines.

With ExtremeCloud IQ, the hotel’s IT team now has a single pane of glass cloud network management solution that provides full network visibility, simplifying the process to deploy, scale, manage, and maintain devices on the network. The platform provides actionable insights at a metadata level, enabling the hotel to optimize performance based on how guests, applications, and devices are leveraging the network.

ExtremeCloud IQ supports remote network management, allowing the small IT team to react quickly to network demands without physically attending to each access point. The IT staff is also able to leverage the platform’s unlimited data retention capability, which drives increased machine learning accuracy and precision of artificial intelligence actions, provides more context for troubleshooting, and enables them to improve services based on historical performance benchmarks.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Hard Rock Hotel, and it was a privilege to support the implementation of Extreme’s cloud-driven networking solutions. The new network not only provides reliable Wi-Fi connectivity inside and outside of the building but represents the gold-standard of network technology within the hospitality space”, explains Colin Hoogerwaard, IT Advisor at DWE ICT.

“Hard Rock Hotel has built an envious reputation for customer service, attention to detail, and amazing guest experiences. Those experiences include and are often supported by the Wi-Fi network, and Extreme is proud to provide a solution that the Hard Rock Hotel can rely on to ensure guests and staff are just as impressed with the wireless connectivity as they are with the hotel’s other services”, Boris Germashev, Regional Director Sales – BENELUX, Eastern Europe & Nordic at Extreme Networks sums up.

What else can we add? If you happen to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American and use their network, you know you were born to be wild!

Additional Resources

• The Wireless Challenge for Hospitality Blog Post
• Satisfying Guests Wi-Fi with a Personal ‘At Home Experience’
• How Can You Leverage the Network to Optimize Customer Experience and Guest Access?
• Cloud Managed Networking for Dummies eBook