Leading Luxury Hotels and Resorts Chooses Mitel

June 17, 2008 - PRLog -- OTTAWA, Ontario – As an innovative force in the hospitality industry, Marcus Hotels and Resorts needed a communications system that decreased costs but also enhanced the guest experience. After reviewing systems from Nortel, NEC, and Avaya, Marcus Hotels and Resorts, which operates 20 luxury hotels and resorts under the Inter-Continental, Starwood and Hilton flags, chose the trusted provider of unified communications for the real world, Mitel® http://www.mitel.com.

“We racked and stacked the feature sets and costs of the different systems, and after a thorough analysis of the overall performance, functionality, and TCO the Mitel system is the right choice for our hotels and resorts,” said Brian Borucki, director of infrastructure and technology with Marcus Hotels and Resorts. “Mitel’s system is easy to integrate into a hospitality environment, and its functionality is hard to beat. Mitel understands what is important to a hospitality customer and tailors solutions accordingly.”

The Mitel Hospitality Solution (http://www.mitel.com/hospitality) selected by Marcus Hotels and Resorts has improved all aspects of the business including customer service, operating costs, and has enhanced reporting capabilities. Comprised of the Mitel SX-200 IP Communications Platform (ICP) and Mitel IP phones with Mitel Cordless Handsets, the Mitel system integrates easily with Marcus’s property management system. This allows housekeeping staff to key a code into a room’s phone when it is clean so front-desk staff can quickly determine whether a room is ready for guests.

Moreover, other systems require restrictive operating environment controls for air-conditioning and power than the Mitel SX-200 ICP needs, enhancing the Mitel offering.

Using embedded voice mail and automatic call distribution (ACD), calls can be conveniently routed to their destinations. It also supports alternative greetings to provide callers with important information, and it allows guests to set their own wake-up calls. These kinds of features ease the burden on reception staff without compromising customer service.

The ACD enables Marcus to generate a host of valuable call-performance reports that immediately answer some important customer service questions: How often are callers put on hold? How often are they abandoned? How long do they wait on hold? Is the hotel answering calls quickly enough?

“Our maintenance costs have plummeted, and we’re better able to optimize our staffing levels to meet our desired call-handling responses,” said Borucki. “The bottom line is that SX-200 ICP is the easiest to use and most hospitality focused telephone system on the market today. Its features, its simple integration into property management systems, and its functionality make it ideal for hotels and resorts.”

Mid-America Telephone Systems, Inc. (MTS), a Mitel Hospitality specialistPARTNER, helped implement the solution.

“Our partnership with Mitel allows us to offer superior products with outstanding service,” said Mark L. Sanders IV., vice president of sales for MTS. “We are uniquely positioned to leverage unified communications, providing our clients better solutions and outstanding support. Mitel is our solution due to its flexibility, migration, and focus on hospitality. It’s an honor to work with Marcus Hotels and Resorts and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”

“Working together with MTS, we were able to implement seamless communications at reception, in guest rooms, and throughout the facility to enhance the guest experience,” said David Johnson, Mitel’s vice president of hospitality sales. “Marcus now has a unified communications solution that allows them to integrate into their existing hospitality environment and provide simple to use communications to both staff and guests.”

Marcus is one of the many properties that have made the move to Mitel unified communications solutions. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts chose to implement a pure IP Mitel hospitality solution for multiple properties in the U.S. and Mexico. While long-time customer, Westgate Resorts decided to upgrade its business operations, with a Mitel unified communications solution tailored for the hospitality industry.

Mitel’s complete line of innovative applications, feature-rich IP phones and scalable platforms lower operating costs, drive revenues, enhance the guest experience and make it easy for hotel staff to provide outstanding customer service. Mitel’s tailored applications allow hotels to personalize services and features based on guest profiles and preferences. Mitel’s migration strategy enables hoteliers to implement IP solutions at their own pace.

About Marcus Hotels and Resorts
Marcus Hotels and Resorts owns or manages a distinctive portfolio of 20 hotels, resorts and other properties in 10 states, with three additional properties under development.  The company owns eight hotels and resorts, is a third-party manager for 12 hotels, resorts and other properties and is providing technical and pre-opening services for the Carmel City Center Hotel in Carmel, Ind., the Venturella Resort and Spa in Orlando, Fla. and the 7th Wave Resort in West Warwick, RI

About The Marcus Corporation
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., The Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment industries. In addition to its Marcus Hotels and Resorts division, the company’s movie theatre division, Marcus Theatres®, owns or manages 678 screens at 56 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska and one family entertainment center in Wisconsin.  For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.marcuscorp.com.

About MTS
MTS has the elite status and accreditation of being a Mitel hospitality specialistPARTNER. Since 1990, MTS has been a leader in hospitality communications providing custom voice & data solutions. Through our strategic partnerships, MTS is implementing unified communication solutions and applications to hotels throughout the U.S. MTS’s (www.mts.cc) headquarters are in Chesterfield, MO. with offices and partners nationwide. Providing a Single Source Responsibility, MTS is the choice for hospitality voice and data communications.

About Mitel
Mitel delivers flexibility and simplicity in smart unified communications solutions and applications for organizations of all sizes. Combined with a full range of managed services that include voice and data network design and traffic provisioning, custom application development, and attractive financing options, Mitel is reinventing how successful organizations gain competitive advantage by easily collaborating and communicating over distance and time with customers, colleagues and partners. Mitel’s (www.mitel.com) US headquarters are in Phoenix, AZ. Global headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, with offices, partners, and resellers worldwide.

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Note to editors: Mitel will be attending HITEC 2008, booth #831. If you would like to schedule an interview with one of our industry specialists, contact Danielle McNeil at 613-592-2122 x4643 or danielle_mcneil@mitel.com.

For Mitel media and analyst contact information visit: http://www.mitel.com/DocController?documentId=9831

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Mitel delivers flexibility and simplicity in smart unified communications solutions and applications for organizations of all sizes. Combined with a full range of managed services that include voice and data network design and traffic provisioning, custom application development, and attractive financing options, Mitel is reinventing how successful organizations gain competitive advantage by easily collaborating and communicating over distance and time with customers, colleagues and partners.

Website: www.mitel.com