Case Study

Case Study: Gold Key Resorts WiFi Solution

High-Tech Meets High-Design at Hilton Norfolk The Main

In the Spring of 2017, Gold Key | PHR opened the newest addition to it’s collection of Virginia properties – the Hilton Norfolk the Main hotel. The team at Gold Key | PHR collaborated with Deep Blue Communications to design and implement a hotel WiFi network that was both cutting-edge and with future standards in place to allow the hotel’s network to support multiple services and applications with excellent coverage, reliability and consistency – all at a reasonable cost.

Hilton Norfolk - photo from sidewalkAbout Gold Key Group

In 1986, CEO Bruce Thompson, entered the vacation ownership industry, co-founding the highly successful Gold Key Resorts with 30 employees and 170 rooms. Thompson then expanded into hotels and restaurants, and the company evolved to include Professional Hospitality Resource (PHR).

Today, with $623 million in asset value and $140 million in annual revenue, Gold Key | PHR boasts 1,146 keys under Hilton and Marriott flags, multiple award-winning restaurants and is the state’s largest hospitality employer. Gold Key | PHR now dominates every aspect of the Virginia Beach resort area’s hospitality industry: employing the largest workforce in Virginia Beach, investing the most development dollars, and owning and operating some of the most successful restaurants in Virginia.

The Main is Downtown Norfolk’s newest upscale hotel, dining, and meeting destination. At Main and Granby Streets, this luxury property includes three chic eateries, sparkling indoor pool and fitness center, a Grand Ballroom, and 42,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, including a conference center for up to 2,000 guests.

The Challenge

Gold Key | PHR had worked with a number of vendors in the past, and experienced steep price increases from vendors as they developed each new property – without any real measurable results.

“We were paying a high price for bad service and needed a vendor that was more responsive to our needs. Our IT team was looking for a more approachable vendor that could deliver a reliable, cost-effective WiFi network while maintaining the right brand standards. While researching Deep Blue Communications, we were able to speak directly with some of their existing clients about Deep Blue’s success with hotels of our size and capacity, and that completely sold us on their solution.” – Chris Dunlop, IT Project Manager for Gold Key | PHR

The Solution

Gold Key | PHR engaged Deep Blue Communications to engineer and install a state-of-the-art network for the Main.

Deep Blue has been designing and installing WiFi networks for hotels for over 15 years, and because of our extensive experience with hotel WiFi infrastructure, we were able to design a network for the Main that not only utilized best of breed solutions for optimum connectivity, but also met the property’s unique needs for today’s usage and tomorrow’s technology.

The Gold Key | PHR team also benefited from Deep Blue’s experience with numerous hotel brands – ensuring compliance with Hilton brand standards and saving them the time and expense of a future upgrade.

The Main’s WiFi Network:

  • Designed for 2018 and beyond to be Hilton compliant
  • Resulted in overall cost savings
  • Backed by 24/7 U.S. based WiFi support
  • Provides full conference and meeting room connectivity
  • Provides seamless connectivity for staff and guests

collage of photos from Hilton Norfolk

The Result

The most cost-effective, redundant and reliable WiFi network for the Main’s staff, guests and large scale conference facilities, all supported by 24/7 U.S. based WiFi support team.

“From the very beginning, we found the entire team at Deep Blue to be very responsive to all of our needs. As with any technology project, there are going to be a few bumps in the road. In one instance, a Zone Director failed due to damage which could have meant bad reviews, a loss of convention revenue and worse – a reputation for serious connectivity issues, but Deep Blue had us up and running again in less than 24 hours – ensuring our staff and our guests were connected. Unlike our experience working with some of the larger vendors, we always know we are a priority with Deep Blue’s U.S. based WiFi support team.” – Chris Dunlop, IT Project Manager for Gold Key | PHR

Looking ahead, Gold Key | PHR and Deep Blue Communications will continue their partnership to upgrade existing properties, and develop the right combination of technology, support and brand standards for new properties.

Learn more about our Hotel WiFi services, support and installation, or call 1-877-512-3344to speak directly to a Deep Blue Representative.

“From the beginning, Deep Blue gave us competitive pricing, solid reference customers, and a great experience. During the implementation we could trust Deep Blue’s team to communicate in detail each day’s achievements so we were able to direct our resources efficiently where needed. Now that we are up and running, the support we get from Deep Blue is unparalleled. We always know we are a priority.”

Chris Dunlop
IT Project Manager for Gold Key | PHR

Deep Blue Communications, LLC