Marriott International is a global leading lodging company with nearly 4,500 properties in 87 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of more than US$14 billion in fiscal year 2015. Founded by J. Willard and Alice Marriott and guided by the Marriott family leadership for nearly 90 years, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
Marriott International is a global leading lodging company with nearly 4,500 properties in 87 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of more than US$14 billion in fiscal year 2015. Founded by J. Willard and Alice Marriott and guided by the Marriott family leadership for nearly 90 years, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
Challenges faced by JW Marriott:
Marriott properties and its sorts fall easy prey into the hands of various militant groups and extremists who are creating unrest across the globe and preying on tourists. The Marriott properties, sabotaged in the 2003, 2008 and 2009 bombings in South Jakarta, Islamabad and Jakarta respectively, alarmed the global industry. Perturbed by the uptick in terror attacks targeting the tourism and hotel industry and being a leader in the business, JW Marriott decided to address this in its security strategy.
Situation:
Sysware Infotech, along with
VIVOTEK, were both part of an undertaking that involved transforming JW Marriot Massoorie Walnut Grove Resort and Spa, an analog video surveillance customer, into an Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance patron. The idea was to bring the property at par with security trends adopted and followed across the globe. The duo pointed out inadequacies that the hospitality giant can suffer from continued use of analog video surveillance solutions, such as reduced image quality and limited coverage area per camera. Furthermore, video storage management and retrieval or playback could exhibit certain inefficiencies that would not match up with Marriott’s evolving security strategy and requirements. JW Marriot can become technically inadequate to address the current threat landscape using a single appliance, and operational expenses will just add to the strain. They wanted solutions that were highly reliable, consistent in performance and more accurate.
Solution offered:
JW Marriot Massoorie Walnut Grove Resort and Spa was recommended to transition from analog video to IP surveillance solutions. Picking the models best suited for the project within a given budget and set specifications in alignment with analog camera solutions, VIVOTEK, along with Sysware Infotech, segregated the cameras for multiple sites based on lens types, such as fixed lens cameras, varifocal lens cameras, as well as size of the lenses.
Of which, varifocal lens cameras were installed outdoors and in public areas for maximum field of view (FOV). Furthermore, the FOV of these cameras were such that it could be readjusted depending upon the changing needs of the customer. Fixed lens cameras were mostly used in the corridors or specific counter coverage requirements, for example, at the front desk, laundry section and any point of sale section like the pastry shop, etc.
Course of action – VIVOTEK:
Touted to be its pilot hospitality project in India, VIVOTEK, in association with the highly acclaimed system integration company Sysware Infotech, charted out the entire implementation process in three phases.
#1 Planning phase: Thriving on their prior experience of working together, VIVOTEK, along with Sysware Infotech, formulated a complete implementation plan. Comprehending the significance of security in JW Marriott Mussoorie, IP surveillance solutions were planted in their current locations on the basis of the property’s floor plans, site plans and interior plans to better understand the camera utility in those areas. Furthermore, the duo operated within the given security guidelines, specifications and budget by the client.
#2 Implementation phase: Realizing the criticality of the situation in the post-planning phase, cameras were deployed in certain areas even before the site was ready during construction. The team also ran simulations before fixing the cameras to maintain accuracy and get a hang of the situation. Post-implementation, the devices were further fine-tuned to exploit their maximum benefits, within the given specification.
#3 Post-deployment phase: The process of security solutions deployment didn’t end with just the deployment. After the placement, the entire commissioning was verified and then a user level training was also conducted. Only after the training, was the entire facility handed over to the in-house team.
Products deployed:
A total of 125 IP network cameras were deployed in the project, including varifocal indoor domes – FD8131, ultra-mini indoor domes – FD8136, outdoor bullet cameras – IP8335H, outdoor speed dome cameras –SD8322, and indoor speed domes – SD8121. Each model that was installed featured different functionalities and use cases. For instance, the speed dome model – SD8323 are being used for outdoor coverage as the resort is spread over 25 acres, on a hilly terrain that experiences extremely low temperatures and snowfall. To connect these cameras, the software installed in the control room was QNAP NVRs.
Benefits to the client:
Post-installation, the client applauded the ease of management enabled by features like remote viewing. Not only did they experience improved image quality, but the number of cables between the control room and cameras were also reduced greatly as compared to analog solutions, mitigating cabling mess. Furthermore, the image quality is maintained with the use of UTP 6 LAN cables in IP cameras, which is better than coaxial cables that deteriorate faster.
Led by such positive results, JW Marriott was eventually compelled to transform its security guidelines across the country, with VIVOTEK being its most preferred brand.