Company background:
Station B&B is based in Northland Road, Derry and is run by husband and wife team, Ursula and Liam Walsh. Ursula has years of experience in the hospitality industry and opened her first award-winning B&B, Hidden Gem, in 2017.
Challenge:
Station B&B wanted to create and configure an advanced network using cutting edge hardware to compliment the newly installed custom Apple TV’s and Wireless LG WEBOS TVs. The business also wanted to create a secure portal to allow guests to log into the network where they will have access to Apple TVs and LG TVs only in the room they are staying in .
Solution:
In order to overcome this obstacle, Station B&B made contact with North West Regional College (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) who supported them through the InnovateUs programme, funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE)
This provided 60 hours of 1:1 mentoring support from NWRC Technical Consultant in Electronic Engineering Cathal Ferry, who trained Liam and Ursula Walsh in; network & radio planning, deployment of RADIUS servers, VLANs & WLANs, HTML & JavaScript for customer portal creation, testing & debugging of the network and portal.
Impact:
On completion of the project, Station B&B developed a cutting edge media system for all their guest rooms, dining room and lobby.
Testimonial from Liam Walsh discussing the benefits of working with NWRC’s Cathal Ferry:
”On behalf of everyone here at Station B&B I have pleasure in providing a testimonial for the outstanding support we have received since first contacting your Business Support Centre a few months ago. Cathal Ferry and Fergal Tuffy have been extraordinarily helpful in guiding us through the process and helping us deliver a world class technology experience for our guests.
”After working with a number of I.T. service companies both locally and abroad for almost 6 months, we found ourselves at an impasse. We were unable to find someone who could assist us with configuring our I.T. network in a suitably secure way such that guests could cast content from their mobile devices to their in-room-TV’s without being able to broadcast said content to neighbouring rooms or view other guests’ connected devices whilst on our Wi-Fi network.
”The expertise provided by your college has helped us provide an innovative experience for guests which is a world-first for any B&B or guest accommodation. Visit Derry and Tourism NI have since been in contact with us to present the project at member engagement events and there have been a number of prominent travel technology publications which have featured articles about the project. We cannot thank you enough for the technical expertise and professional support we have received.”
