Eden Hotels + Resorts

Overview

Founded in 1983, Italy-based Eden Hotels + Resorts has grown steadily throughout the years, providing full service travel solutions for individuals and groups alike. With employees spread across 15 locations, including offices, hotels, and commercial spaces, Eden assisted more than 500,000 travelers last year, and plans to continue this fast pace of growth. Having a reliable network which ties each location together and provides reliable guest access is paramount to Eden’s business.

Challenges

• Secure network access needed for internal company and hotel use, while also allowing guests access to the wireless
• Reliable connectivity needed at locations distributed throughout Italy for coordination of travelers’ information

The web-based dashboard provides us with a well-organized solution that allows optimal use of the Cisco Meraki infrastructure.

Omar Balducci

Responsabile infrastrutture e Networking

Why Cisco Meraki

• Centralized and simple-to-manage solution provides a customized experience for guests and employees
• Intuitive dashboard provides centralized management for the small IT team, as well as complete visibility over devices and users, closing gaps in security and coverage quickly
• Built-in features including security tools, out-of-band architecture, and segmented SSIDs provides secure access for all types of users
• Ability to configure any or all distributed switch ports remotely from the dashboard without having to physically plug into the devices with virtual stacking

The Deployment

• Quick deployment and configuration of Cisco Meraki devices included over thirty indoor and outdoor APs, seven 8- and 24-port switches, and a UTM security appliance
• Pre-configured devices installed at remote sites without the need for on-site IT
• Robust content filtering, firewall settings, Facebook WiFi login, and more configured in minutes using the powerful UTM Cisco Meraki Security Appliance
• Extended WiFi coverage using Mesh routing capabilities built into the Cisco Meraki APs to remote or difficult-to-wire areas

Results

• Monitoring remote sites is simple using the dashboard and no longer requires on-site visits
• Employees and guests are able to reliably access the network from any of their devices
• Company awareness promoted through social media with the Facebook WiFi login feature, where guests must “Check in” to access the wireless network
• Branded login via Facebook provides guests with important travel information and frees up time for the front desk staff
• The network sees about 350 unique users every day, passing nearly 300 GB of data over the past month without disruption
• Network admins receive automatic alerts and are consequently able to troubleshoot problems at any location remotely using live tools in the dashboard
• Seamless firmware updates automatically push feature releases to ensure a future proof network without any additional cost or complexity