No Stress With IP

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY Ashley Roe

           

Situated within walking distance of Montreal's whirlwind financial district, Embassy Suites Montreal opened its doors to patrons last August. With its contemporary style, including Zen-inspired lobby décor, black granite floors and large suites boasting fireplaces and Jacuzzis, the hotel offers a stress-free “home away from home” for business travelers and tourists. Part of the stress-free experience is hotel guests knowing that they and their belongings are safe and protected in the establishment, just as they would be at home.

To help fulfill this expectation, the hotel staff and managers at Pacrim Hospitality Services Inc., the hotel's management company, and at Aquilini Investment Groups, the owner of the hotel, decided to install a digital, state-of-the-art networked video surveillance system for the 210-suite facility. The installation is the first of six planned among the owner's Embassy Suites franchises throughout the eastern seaboard of Canada, including Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Working with InterCam Systems, a Montreal-based integrator of networked video systems, hotel leaders chose an IP-based system from Axis Communications, Lund, Sweden. The system provides staff with remote access to real-time surveillance footage and advanced features that bolster security in the high-traffic hotel. “An IP-based system coupled with the modern network infrastructure in the new hotel is ideal for an effective security system because it maximizes technology while minimizing cost,” says Bob Moore, regional manager in Canada for Axis Communications.

The networked security system includes 35 AXIS 207 Network Cameras, offering high-quality video and built-in microphones to enable remote users to view and listen in on a surveyed area. In addition, five AXIS 211 Network Cameras were installed for indoor and outdoor surveillance, motion detection-based recording and event management. A handful of analog cameras had to be installed in the elevators of the hotel because Canadian law prohibits IP ports in elevators shafts. Hotel security leaders chose AXIS 241Q video encoders to convert the analog video to digital.

According to Elie Kadoch, president of InterCam Systems, installation was a one-step process completed within five days. The hotel was still in its construction phase when the system was installed during the first week of August. It opened Aug. 24.

“We installed the cameras to cover entrances and exits in the lobby, the parking garage and the staircases,” Kadoch says. Installation points were determined with guests' privacy in mind. “We have to give the customer who comes into the hotel a sense of security without infringing on his or her right to privacy,” he says. Eventually, Kadoch says, the hotel will have a total of 50 cameras installed that will include coverage of its restaurant.

To manage the system, the hotel installed IP video management software from Milestone Systems, Beaverton, Ore. “Some staff training on the software was involved, and the hotel's IT staff was on-hand for the major programming,” Kadoch says. “But the software is very user-friendly. Anybody who can pull up a Web page is able to use this system.” Access privileges to the camera views are determined on a need-to-know basis, with the hotel's general manager and security staff having full access to the video. Other hotel employees, such as the maintenance staff, have limited access. The system's remote-viewing capability is especially useful for managers working out of Aquilini Investment Groups' Vancouver headquarters, who are able to log in and monitor video in real-time at any time of day.

“Video is stored on the system's hard drive for 60 days,” says Daniel Cannucci, regional director for IT for Aquilini Investment Groups. “That way, we can go back and review video if necessary.”

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