Scenario
The Metropolitan :- HotelThe Metropolitan Hotel has recently had a change of management due to a recent sale of its national collection of hotels spanning a number of UK cities. The Metropolitan chain of Hotels across the United Kingdom are well known for their affordability and have been very successful in light of the well-known international hoteliers proving to be a stronger competitor in the local market share.
Due to the new acquisition, the owners (the TATA Group of Industries based in Mumbai, India) and the management board of the Metropolitan Hotel chain in the UK wish to improve upon their already well respected level of service and accommodation by improving their offering to the local, national communities and also look to attract international interest from tourists and potential business clientele alike.
Currently, the service offered by the Metropolitan Hotel chain has been very personal and face to face with all its guests. Although, this is a well-liked characteristic routinely commented and praised by its numerous guests staying at the hotel, its new management team feel it’s also important to embrace the technological advances that the hotel and hospitality industry has available to it.
In light of this desire to improve accessibility of services; expand market share; have a greater online presence; allow for online reservations to be made; give staff and the management greater access to hotel information systems both internally and securely from remote off-site locations; introduce technological advances to their corporate conference facilities giving delegates and business clients an opportunity to make use of their own laptops, mobile platforms and use them seamlessly with the technology available to them, such as wireless printers, tablet devices and projectors at the hotel it has been identified that the current systems and networks will need reviewing and updating to accommodate this new vision of the future for the hotel.
Also, on the agenda for improvements is to introduce integrated in-room services to allow guests to have access to Hotel Guides (e.g. details of hotel facilities, emergency information, menu’s for dining, information about local transportation, local events and nightlife). For business clients staying at the hotel it is desired they will have access to Microsoft Office based productivity software and secure access to their corporate email to ensure they are not restricted by their accommodation. For guests not on business, it is desired that the in-room services available to them should also meet with their needs and expectations. The envisaged in-room services to meet their needs have been identified to include a TV Service, access to music, ability to social network and have access to the hotel’s selection of online games. Obviously, the customary automated in-room services will also be available to include a wakeup call service, the ability to schedule room service, make payments from the comfort of the guests’ hotel room with the aid of an integrated payment system, concierge services, along with a VolP telephone service.
The final requirement of the management and the new owners of the Metropolitan Hotel chain is to link all city-wide Metropolitan Hotel information systems together so that they can integrate the details from all their inner city hotels to manage their bookings, reservations allowing hotel staff to make bookings, reservations and transfer guests to other alternative Metropolitan Hotel sites within the city, and manag offered to all their nileSiS more effectively

In order to accommodate the above improvements it has been identified that the IT Networks and Communications of the Metropolitan Hotel will need to be explored in depth and adapted to allow for greater functionality and access to information systems services to flourish in this demanding industry of hospitality.

Evaluate the Usage and Effectiveness of Networks

a) Using the Metropolitan Hotel scenario, describe and evaluate the potential usage of the 5 different types of networks that the management and the owners can introduce within the Metropolitan Hotel IT network structure to accommodate their vision of the future in relation to their proposals for enhancements to their organisation. (a) PAN (b) LAN (c) WAN (d) MAN (e) VPN