Choice Hotels International Write a fully developed paper in which you: Assess the two distinct networking functions. 2. Analyze the issues Choice is lik

Choice Hotels International Write a fully developed paper in which you:

Assess the two distinct networking functions.

2. Analyze the issues Choice is likely to experience as it expands its network to full global reach.

Provide a rational for your answer.

3. Critique the Choice implementing free high-speed Internet access for all guests in its Clarion

Hotels and Comfort Suites from the security point of view.

4. Use at least three quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do

not qualify as quality resources.

Documents attached Case Study 3: Choice Hotels International
Read the case study titled “Choice Hotels International” found at the end of
Chapter 17.
Write a fully developed paper in which you:
1. Assess the two distinct networking functions.
2. Analyze the issues Choice is likely to experience as it expands its network to
full global reach. Provide a rational for your answer.
3. Critique the Choice implementing free high-speed Internet access for all
guests in its Clarion Hotels and Comfort Suites from the security point of
view.
4. Use at least three quality resources in this assignment.
Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do
not qualify as quality resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; references must follow Writing Standards. Please take a
moment to review
the SWS documentation for details. (Note: You’ll be prompted to enter your
Blackboard login
credentials to view these standards.) Check with your professor for any additional
instructions.
This format is different compared to other Strayer University courses. Check with
your professor
for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not
included in
the required page length.
• Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or Dia. The completed diagrams /
charts must be
imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Evaluate the internal mechanisms and user-network interfaces that have been
developed to
support voice, data, and multi-media communications over long-distance networks.
Case Study 3 Choice Hotels
International
Within the hospitality industry, there has traditionally been a division between networks that
serve guest functions and those that serve operations and administration, both with respect to
data transmission and voice transmission. In recent years, most hotel and motel chains have
moved in the direction of consolidating multiple functions on networks that used to be dedicated
to one use. Tighter integration of voice and data and of guest and operations/administration
networking is a fast-growing trend. Choice Hotels International is a good example of this trend.
Choice Hotels International is the world’s second largest hotel franchise, with enough beds for
about a million people. The company franchises more than 5000 hotels, inns, all-suite hotels, and
resorts open and under development in 48 countries under the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites,
Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Rodeway Inn, Econo Lodge, and MainStay Suites brands.
In-House Networking Functions
Choice supports two distinct networking functions. A central Web site enables customers to
reserve rooms at any Choice franchise accommodation. The central reservation system, known as
Profit Manager, automatically finds the most appropriate hotel based on location, price range, or
standard. Individual hotels also take bookings, so there needs to be a way for hotels and the
central system to remain synchronized.
Choice networks also support its franchisees. Choice is in fact a relatively small company in
terms of personnel (about 2000 employees) and does not own or operate any hotels. All of the
establishments under its brand names are independently owned and pay Choice licensing fees
and a royalty on all sales. In return, they receive a variety of services, including marketing,
quality control, and inventory management. Many of these services are offered via network, such
as allowing managers to order supplies online and check booking status. This support network is
similar to a corporate intranet but has a higher reliability requirement. The 5000 hotel managers
are, in effect, Choice’s customers, not employees. Thus, the standards for reliability and
performance of the network are high.
In the late 1990s, Choice began to focus on providing a state-of-the-art global reservation
system. At this point, the synchronization of local and online reservations was done manually.
Each hotel provided Choice with a fixed block of inventory to sell over the central reservation
system, with an average of 30% of capacity. Once that 30% was sold, Profit Manager listed the
hotel as fully booked, even though there might be plenty of rooms available from the other 70%.
The reverse problem also occurred: If the local reservation system had sold all available rooms
except those assigned to Choice, the local staff had to refuse additional customers or overbook.
Thus, the system was inherently inefficient.
Around this time, Choice moved from a purely telephone-based central reservation system to a
Web-based system. Choice found, as did many companies, that letting customers serve
themselves online saved time and money. Further, unlike many industries burned in the move to
e-commerce, the travel sector is an ideal match for Web-based services. Booking a hotel room
has always been done remotely, via telephone. There are none of the fulfillment problems that
have plagued the online mail-order business, because there are no shipping costs and no shipping
and delivery hassles. And the benefits are striking. Customers can get an instant list of every
room available with their chosen criteria. They can also view the hotel and, in some cases, the
individual room. In addition, hotel rooms are a typical example of “distressed” products; like
airline seats and theater tickets, they can’t be stockpiled if left unsold. Thus, they are ideal for
using last-minute special offers and promotions, which can be posted online or e-mailed to
interested customers.
But all of these benefits require full integration between local reservation systems and the central
reservation system. Choice decided to implement a franchise-wide IP network that provided
every American hotel with a permanent connection to the central Profit Manager database. The
most important criteria for this network were coverage and reliability. The network needed to
reach every franchise and needed to be highly available. Capacity was not a particular concern,
because updates and reservations use little capacity.
To meet its needs, Choice decided to go with a satellite network
[HARL02, DORN01, UHLA00]. Even within the United States, reliable universal coverage
requires expensive leased lines or dependence on switched networks that may not always deliver.
The situation is far worse internationally. Satellite networks provide the universal coverage and
are in fact more reliable than the competition. Satellites that use fixed dishes are a mature,
dependable technology. Downtime averages only minutes each year.
For its initial effort, Choice went to Hughes Network Systems, which set up a dedicated IP
network using two geostationary satellites based at separate hubs (Figure VIII.1). The hub is a
ground-based control center that includes a number of switches and routers. At the hub, Hughes
separates Choice’s traffic from that of its other customers and routes it accordingly. The Los
Angeles hub covers the entire United States via a broad-beam satellite service. The Germantown
hub controls a number of narrower spot beams that service Alaska and Hawaii and provides extra
capacity for major cities. Each hotel is equipped with a VSAT (very small aperture terminal)
dish.
The satellite system has worked well, and Choice has gradually transitioned operational and
administrative functions to the network. For example, data for settling accounts with travel
agents and tracking the Choice Privilege frequent-stayer program are sent on the satellite
network.
Figure VIII.1 Choice Hotels U.S. Network
Guest Internet Access
In 2004, choice began implementing free high-speed Internet access for all guests in its Clarion
Hotels and Comfort Suites, using 3Com equipment. The implementation uses an efficient
combination of wireless and wired access within each hotel [3COM04, 3COM06].
To be able to affordably provide Internet service, hotels have traditionally invested in expensive
and disruptive construction, including the installation of additional cabling and forcing the
closing of income-producing rooms. To recover their costs, hotels normally surcharge by the
minute for Internet access—which is exactly the situation Choice Hotels wished to avoid. To
allow its franchises to affordably fulfill its mandate, Choice Hotels needed a powerful, low-cost
network solution that could be installed quickly and easily.
Access is provided in wireless and wired modes. For wireless access, each hotel implements WiFi that serves all guest rooms. Using the 3Com Wi-Fi network, guests are able to check e-mail,
exchange files, and browse the Web at speeds up to 54 Mbps. Built-in encryption and support for
multiple security options help safeguard data as they travel over the wireless network. With each
access point supporting up to 256 users, setting up conference room connectivity requires no
additional wiring or IT assistance to provide ample bandwidth even to large groups.
Users without wireless capabilities will be able to plug their laptops into 3Com wireless LAN
workgroup bridges in guest rooms and hotel data centers for immediate connectivity.
Discussion Questions
1. 1. Perhaps the major drawback to a satellite-based system is latency. The delays can be
noticeable on some online applications. Discuss what issues this might raise for the
Choice suite of applications.
2. 2. What issues would you expect to arise as Choice moves to expand the network to full
global reach?
Case Study 3: Choice Hotels International
Due Week 9 and worth 140 points
Read the case study titled “Choice Hotels International” found at the end of Chapter 17.
Write a fully developed paper in which you:
1. Assess the two distinct networking functions.
2. Analyze the issues Choice is likely to experience as it expands its network to full global reach.
Provide a rational for your answer.
3. Critique the Choice implementing free high-speed Internet access for all guests in its Clarion
Hotels and Comfort Suites from the security point of view.
4. Use at least three quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do
not qualify as quality resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
•
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all
sides; references must follow Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). Please take a moment to review
the SWS documentation for details. (Note: You’ll be prompted to enter your Blackboard login
credentials to view these standards.) Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
This format is different compared to other Strayer University courses. Check with your professor
for any additional instructions.
•
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in
the required page length.
•
Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or Dia. The completed diagrams / charts must be
imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
•
Evaluate the internal mechanisms and user-network interfaces that have been developed to
support voice, data, and multi-media communications over long-distance networks.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and
language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
Points: 140
Criteria
1. Assess the two
distinct networking
functions.
Weight: 30%
2. Analyze the issues
Choice is likely to
experience as it expands
its network to full global
reach. Provide a rational
for your answer.
Weight: 30%
Case Study 3: Choice Hotels International
Unacceptable
Below 70% F
Did not submit or
incompletely
assessed the two
distinct networking
functions.
Did not submit or
incompletely
analyzed the issues
Choice is likely to
experience as it
expands its network
to full global reach.
Provide a rational
for your answer.
and did not submit
Fair
70-79% C
Proficient
80-89% B
Exemplary
90-100% A
Partially assessed
the the two distinct
networking
functions.
Satisfactorily
assessed the two
distinct networking
functions.
Thoroughly
assessed the two
distinct networking
functions.
Partially analyzed
the issues Choice is
likely to experience
as it expands its
network to full
global reach and
partially provided a
rationale for your
answer.
Satisfactorily
analyzed the issues
Choice is likely to
experience as it
expands its network
to full global reach
and satisfactorily
provided a rationale
for your answer.
Thoroughly analyzed
the issues Choice is
likely to experience
as it expands its
network to full global
reach and
thoroughly provided
a rationale for your
answer.
3. Critique Choice
implementing free highspeed Internet access
for all guests in its
Clarion Hotels and
Comfort Suites from the
security point of view.
Weight: 30%
4. 2 references
Weight: 5%
5. Clarity, writing
mechanics, and
formatting requirements
Weight: 10%
or incompletely
provided a rationale
for your answer.
Did not submit or
incompletely
critiqued Choice
implementing free
high-speed Internet
access for all
guests in its Clarion
Hotels and Comfort
Suites from the
security point of
view.
No references
provided
More than 6 errors
present
Partially critiqued
Choice
implementing free
high-speed Internet
access for all
guests in its Clarion
Hotels and Comfort
Suites from the
security point of
view.
Satisfactorily
critiqued Choice
implementing free
high-speed Internet
access for all guests
in its Clarion Hotels
and Comfort Suites
from the security
point of view.
Thoroughly critiqued
Choice implementing
free high-speed
Internet access for
all guests in its
Clarion Hotels and
Comfort Suites from
the security point of
view.
Does not meet the
required number of
references; some or
all references poor
quality choices.
5-6 errors present
Meets number of
required references;
all references high
quality choices.
Exceeds number of
required references;
all references high
quality choices.
3-4 errors present
0-2 errors present

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