Guests who stay at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel can now access the Internet at super high speeds throughout the property using their own laptops.

The Davidson Hotel Company
, owner/operator of the hotel, has inked a deal to have wireless, high-speed Internet access installed throughout the building. StayOnline
of Atlanta, the nation’s premier provider of 100% wireless high-speed Internet access solutions to the hospitality industry, is handling the install. 

“This is a ‘must-have’ service in the Chicago area, and wireless Internet access provides a more flexible solution for our customers,” says Ron Hardin, Director of Technology for Davidson.  “StayOnline’s system can also be implemented faster and with fewer hassles than wired alternatives.  Their wireless network covers the entire property, and they augment that with a redundant Cat5 cable network in our meeting rooms, so we can handle virtually any customer requirement.”

Through StayOnline’s state-of-the-art system, guests at the hotel will be able to ramp on to the information superhighway at blazing speeds, while avoiding busy signals, lost connections and interminable delays often associated with dial-up connections. StayOnline will wirelessly enable all of the Renaissance North Shore’s 386 guest rooms, three suites, 22,000 square feet of meeting space and restaurants, as well as common areas including the lobby. The Renaissance North Shore is StayOnline’s 99th hotel installation, and puts the service in nearly 20,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Canada. 

“We appreciate the confidence that the Davidson Hotel Company continues to show in us,” said Antonio DiMilia, President of StayOnline, Inc. “No other company is installing wireless Internet access in hotels as fast as we are. That’s because our service and our components are proven and dependable.  StayOnline follows the belief that hotel technology amenities must benefit everyone, from meeting planners to hotel staff to the most important customer, their guests.” 

For Davidson, utilizing wireless technology also provides the hotel with considerable cost savings. 

“We have installed StayOnline’s wireless high speed Internet access in 4 of our hotels, ” said Hardin.  “We keep coming back to StayOnline for this service because they are efficient and cost effective, in every case.  The quotes we received from other vendors for a wired system were 2-3 times more expensive than StayOnline’s solution,” states Hardin.  “And StayOnline has a lower total cost of ownership over three years than comparable wireless systems.”

Related stories on ITN:

(10/10/2002) Davidson Hotel Company Selects StayOnline for Wireless Connection

(09/01/2002) AFM Hospitality Corporation Selects Stayonline

(28/11/2001) Noble House Hotels & Resorts Selects StayOnline

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