Hotel Torreblanca

Hotel Torreblanca relies on technology from the German manufacturer innovaphone to modernise its communication system

The Spanish hotel chain owns hotels that are strategically located in some of the best areas of the Costa del Sol, Fuengirola, Murcia and Marbella.

Hotel Torreblanca, renovated in 2020 and surrounded by a large yet cosy garden, is located very close to the Paseo Marítimo and the exceptional Las Gaviotas beach, which has been awarded the Blue Flag by the European Union, and is just a few minutes’ drive from the best golf courses in the area.

Gradual migration to All IP without any interruptions to service

Following the positive step-by-step migration to VoIP with the innovaphone PBX and the operator Pasarela ON – managed by Pasarela Comunicaciones– in two other sister hotels (Fuengirola Park and Monarque Cendrillón), Monarque Hotels is now integrating an additional hotel into the innovaphone PBX. Thus, the Torreblanca Hotel, can now also utilise the advanced communication platform.

As was the case with the sister hotels that have already been integrated, modernising the communication system, easy access and integrating new applications (such as the Wake Me Up alarm clock app from the myApps ecosystem), replacing old hardware and optimising ongoing maintenance costs for analogue/ISDN lines were important objectives of the project. The challenge was to modernise and replace the old telephone system, which was based on analog and ISDN lines, as it was outdated and was breaking down more and more frequently. Once again, an innovaphone IP0011 gateway, a physical IP PBX with modern Unified Communications features and innovaphone IP222 and IP112 end devices were integrated into the new infrastructure.

In addition to these new innovaphone IP end devices, there were already a number of analog end devices in the hotel rooms that were still in a good condition, which the customer wanted to retain and integrate into the new system. The robust innovaphone IP29 analog adapters were installed to reliably enable this integration, which, like all innovaphone products and solutions, were developed and manufactured in Germany.

The SIP trunk connection is provided by Pasarela Comunicaciones, a global operator, integrator (and innovaphone partner with Advanced certification). “Portability of the lines, the numbers and connectivity with the 4G backup guarantee communication even if the fiber optic access fails. In addition, thanks to the very favorable VoIP traffic, we can enable the customer to reduce their calling costs, connection charges and maintenance costs considerably compared to the previous system,” says Salustiano Alaminos (Sales Manager at Pasarela Comunicaciones).

Secure system and automatic updates

While the old telephone system required an analog modem or access from the hotel’s internal computer system to make changes to the configuration, the new innovaphone system enables secure remote maintenance via IP. Access to the innovaphone expert area is restricted to the public IP addresses of the gateway, so that access to the gateway is secure and maintenance can be carried out immediately, effectively and securely from anywhere.

The range of applications in the innovaphone App Store is constantly growing, both new applications developed by innovaphone and partner apps are being added. In addition, thanks to the innovaphone SSA (Software Service Agreement), innovaphone software updates are regularly installed so that the system is always up to date, protected and optimally prepared for new features and developments.

Maximum flexibility: Reduction/increase in the number of licences depending on the season

The tourism sector is traditionally highly seasonal, which poses a challenge for resource management. In this sense, both the new innovaphone system and the operator, Pasarela ON, enable costs to be reduced during periods of low season or seasonal closure, when the hotel’s needs are very different than in the high season, by reducing or increasing certain temporary licences and the lines and connectivity provided by the operator according to demand.

innovaphone myApps: modern, advanced communication functionalities and integrated application platform

Modern communication is much more than just telephony! The innovaphone PBX integrates numerous functions and applications that go far beyond real-time communication, such as Unified Communications and Collaboration.

The system itself enables audio and video conference rooms to be configured, both internally as well as externally via the Internet, for meetings with colleagues, customers, suppliers, etc. “In addition, the new solution’s modular and open structure means that additional applications for specific services can be integrated directly into myApps. One example that eases our employees’ work load is the ‘Wake me Up’ app for managing the wake-up service in more than 600 rooms. It also really improves the user experience for our guests,” explains Juan Alberto García Espíldora (Purchasing Manager of Hotel Torreblanca).