Mobile Device as Hotel PBX Extension
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Solution Overview
Problem
Guests in hotels are limited to placing and receiving calls using in-room telephones connected to the hotel communication system and cannot do so outside their assigned room or without a physical handset.
Innovation Solution
A mobile communication device can interface with a hotel's private branch exchange system (PBX) and property management system (PMS) to allow guests to place and receive calls as an extension of the hotel PBX, enabling communication within the hotel premises or a predetermined distance, and request services through a graphical user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If guests use in-room telephones connected to the hotel communication system, then they can place and receive calls within the hotel, but they cannot do so outside their assigned room or without a physical handset
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile communication device is configured to function as a PBX extension, enabling it to place and receive calls through the hotel's communication system. This multi-functional approach allows the device to serve both as a personal communication tool and as a hotel telephone, eliminating the need for a physical in-room handset and enabling calls from any location with mobile device access.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a mobile communication device as an intermediary between the guest and the hotel's PBX system. This intermediary enables communication functionality to be accessed through a portable device rather than being constrained to fixed in-room telephones, thereby providing location flexibility while maintaining integration with the hotel's communication infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If guests are confined to using in-room telephones, then the hotel communication system maintains simple architecture, but guest mobility and service accessibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile communication device is configured to function as a PBX extension, enabling it to place and receive calls through the hotel's communication system. This multi-functional approach allows the device to serve both as a personal communication tool and as a hotel telephone, eliminating the need for a physical in-room handset and enabling calls from any location with mobile device access.
3Ease of operation
If guests must be physically present in their room to use the telephone, then the system requires minimal infrastructure, but service convenience and guest satisfaction decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables guests to independently configure their mobile communication devices as PBX extensions using automated provisioning. The device automatically receives configuration data from the property management system, including extension numbers and service access codes, allowing guests to set up their own communication capabilities without requiring physical presence in the room or assistance from hotel staff.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile communication device is pre-configured with PBX extension parameters before the guest needs to use it. The system provisions the device with necessary communication credentials and settings in advance, enabling immediate call functionality when the guest arrives or needs to make a call, rather than requiring setup procedures at the moment of use.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for communicating with a hotel, for example, by establishing calls from a mobile communication device as an extension of a PBX of the hotel. The mobile communication device can receive, by a network interface, guest registration data for a guest of the hotel, including the room assignment and one or more guest service extensions on the PBX. The mobile communication device can store the guest registration data in electronic memory to configure the one or more guest service keys with the one or more guest service extensions. The mobile communication device can based on a selection of a key of one or more guest service keys, communicate directly with the PBX, by the network interface, to place and receive calls as an extension of the PBX associated with the hotel room assignment.