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Telkonet’s Power Line Communications System Gets Trendwest’s Resorts On-Line
By Sandeep Thakra
Telkonet
Trendwest Resorts, the exclusive developer and marketer of WorldMark, with 60 resorts and 4,500 units, focuses on owner benefits and providing the best in customer service and satisfaction. In the 21st century, that requires high-speed Internet access. The trick is to install it with minimal disruption of business and to hold costs down.
When you’ve got that many units, you want a hands-off system that requires minimal front desk or technical support. Deployment has to be easy across the entire network of resorts, regardless of the location, type or age of building. You also want a solution that is easily scalable and that can act as a dynamic platform to support future services, including energy management and advanced communications, such as voice over IP (VoIP).
WorldMark management considered and discarded Wi-Fi, CAT-5 cable and VDSL as potential solutions. In particular, Wi-Fi would have to overcome the challenge posed by concrete walls in many of the buildings, and getting on-line frequently proved a problem in their tests. CAT-5 cable would have been prohibitively expensive, and management would have to deal with many different cable companies, each having different ways of approaching the project – a patchwork solution that they didn’t want. VDSL failed as a universal solution because it is not available at all of the property locations.
Telkonet’s powerline communications (PLC) system offered a different approach. Telkonet’s system uses in-building electrical wiring for network connectivity meaning that every property already had the necessary connections in place. Every power outlet turns into a data access port.
Trendwest discovered that Telkonet’s solution could be easily installed throughout all 60 WorldMark resorts, even in its San Francisco property that was built in 1907, and its Oregon coast eight-story property with thick concrete walls.
Viva Las Vegas Broadband
Trendwest’s Las Vegas property has 14 buildings on 10 acres. The Telkonet iWire System was installed in only 3 days, using the existing phone lines to connect the buildings. A Telkonet Gateway was installed to convert the broadband IP connection to a PLC signal, which is distributed to the Telkonet Couplers. Then, 27 Telkonet Couplers were installed to inject the PLC signal onto the electrical grid, and 13 Telkonet eXtenders™ broadened the reach of the Telkonet Gateway.
Since Trendwest wanted to enable billing for the Internet service, a Plug-In-Go router was also installed. As a result, when owners who have used the Internet service travel to another Trendwest property, they can simply use the same user name and password, as the system keeps track of this data. The Telkonet iWire System is also used as the backbone for Wi-Fi, providing Wi-Fi to the 4 pools and the lobby areas.
In addition to enabling broadband network access in 402 units, Telkonet’s system was deployed in two remote housekeeping and maintenance offices, enabling employees to communicate with each other at the remote offices within the huge property – this would have cost around $10,000 to run fiber optic cable to these offices.
With Telkonet’s system, the resort enjoys 100% Internet coverage – Telkonet iBridge™ units are mounted to the wall in each unit. To access the Internet, users simply plug a Telkonet iBridge into their computer, with the Internet connected via the computer’s Ethernet port.
The Verdict
Steve Townsend, Director of Resort Services, WorldMark, was impressed with the system’s installation, especially the lack of disruption and service reliability. He stated, “It’s about the most worry-free, high-tech situation that I’ve ever been involved with. The system has been completely hassle-free – we’ve had virtually no service issues at all, according to our 4 veteran resort managers, who are cynical at best. They all agree it’s a very slick system and have no reservations.”
Telkonet’s iWire System for high-speed network and Internet access represents a beginning for Trendwest; the company has advanced plans in place to use the system as a platform for advanced services and other applications, such as in-room entertainment systems and for energy management. The take rate for Internet access has been strong at an average of 10%, without any marketing support.
In addition to the Las Vegas property, Telkonet’s system has been installed in the WorldMark Camlin in Seattle, Washington, the WorldMark San Francisco and the WorldMark Windsor, California. The system has been described as a “hands-off system that just works.” This is exactly what Trendwest was looking for – a highly functional system that did not require any assistance from the front desk.
With the Telkonet system successfully implemented at four of its WorldMark resort properties, Trendwest Resorts is now planning a broad-based rollout of Telkonet’s system.