December 12th 2023
HOW LILY STREAMLINED HOTEL OPERATIONS AT WEETWOOD HALL ESTATE
In 2020, Weetwood Hall Estate contacted Lily to update their outdated phone system, which soon developed into a robust digital transformation project covering all aspects of the hotel’s operations.
Weetwood Hall Estate is a four-star hotel in Leeds that dates back to the 16th century. Offering over 100 rooms, an on-site restaurant and nine acres of woodlands and gardens, Weetwood is an escape for guests of all ages. The University of Leeds has owned the Manor House Hotel since 1919 and continues to run it as a popular getaway.
In our video, hear from Weetwood Hall Estate about their experiences working with us.
The Challenge
Although the Weetwood team valued its historic past, they recognised the need for more digital solutions to ensure ongoing efficiency. Their outdated phone systems impacted staff operations, such as alerting staff when a room was available and how they assisted with guest requests.
While working at Weetwood Hall Estate, we identified additional challenges impacting their day-to-day operations. The current Wi-Fi network was poor and did not have the bandwidth to effectively handle merchant services, staff communication and the hotel’s operating system. Weetwood also relied heavily on hardware, meaning data was vulnerable if there was downtime and had limited IT security in place.
How Lily Helped Weetwood Hall Estate
Business Phone Systems
We first installed Ericsson-LG phone systems (iPECs system), allowing the housekeeping and maintenance staff to work on the go with business phone handsets. In each guest room, housekeeping could easily key in a code in the phone system to alert the reception staff of the room status (e.g., cleaning). Our hybrid phone system is easily integrated with business processes, allowing for quicker internal communication.
Wi-Fi Efficiency
To improve efficiency, our team did all the cabling for the Wi-Fi and implemented a new mesh network. We installed two leased lines and a FTTP (Fibre to the Premise) network to allow voice and data traffic to work over dedicated lines. The guest Wi-Fi also used Stampede technology to compliantly capture data for marketing purposes.
All internal traffic, including staff comms and merchant services, were reserved for the leased line, allowing Weetwood to benefit from ultra-fast upload speeds. As Weetwood Hall Estate is a listed building, we powered the iPECs phone systems with the Wi-Fi network to avoid restricted building modifications.
IT Management
Weetwood Hall Estate did not have a battery backup, meaning if there were a power outage, the hardware system they used to store data would be out of use. We implemented robust data batteries to ensure all data was backed to the cloud if the server went down. This allowed safe access to crucial company data at all times.
We improved their IT infrastructure with Lily Shield, our complete IT security solution. Weetwood now has expert IT support, anti-spam and anti-virus management and web protection for their employees. Our team also installed a remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool to supervise and update endpoint systems. The RMM system allowed us to conduct preventative maintenance, helping to reduce costs and downtime.
Merchant Services and Business Energy Cost-Saving
At the time, Weetwood Hall Estate was looking to renew its energy contracts and reassess the merchant services it had in place. We renegotiated new pricing with their energy supplier and provided face-to-face payment solutions, drastically reducing merchant service costs.
Our team additionally resolved issues surrounding their CCTV and audio systems and helped install two Electric Vehicle (EV) charge points to accommodate their guests.
Drive Digital Transformation with Lily
Lily is dedicated to future-proofing your organisation’s success with award-winning digital solutions. Contact our team to discuss your goals and how we can help you today.