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Firmdale Hotels recently implemented VoSKY’s (News - Alert) system, which allows Skype to be used in conjunction with an existing standard telecom system to make cheaper long distance calls. The PBX-to-Skype Gateway (News - Alert) enables customers to make overseas calls using Skype, and as a result is making Firmdale Hotels more popular among its guests.

 

The chain of hotels currently owns seven properties in London and is scheduled to soon open another in New York. Firmdale hotels are boutique hotels in London and have installed the new system to provide additional service guests. Using VoSKY’s system, customers can now contact the hotels via the Internet, with no charges, thereby making a significant reduction in international calling costs.

“Being present on Skype (News - Alert), the fastest growing network, is a must these days and VoSKY’s Exchange Pro VIS8 is the best hardware solution around to enable this,” said  Mark Rupert Read, group IT manager at Firmdale Hotels, in a statement. “It was also extremely easy to integrate with our existing infrastructure, as it’s literally plug and play.”

 

Rupert Read added: “Our priority is to give our customers the very best service possible and to make doing business with us as easy as possible. Since installing the Exchange we have been receiving up to 50 Skype calls per day, and our customers and partners themselves have remarked on the positive difference it has made to them. The Gateway has definitely improved our market presence.”

The system works first by establishing a connection between the Digium (News - Alert) SwitchVox IP PBX phone system, which is currently installed in the hotel’s head office, and the Skype callers that ring through. These calls, made using Skype, are totally free of charge. Calls made without Skype are not far behind, with those charges being equivalent to a local call.

The advantage of this system is that it allows the implementers, like hotels and hospitality organizations, to offer their customers special service. It is possible to link hotel phone numbers to Skype online numbers, and provides the functionality of Skype Global Direct Inward Dial (DID). This feature allows hotels to create a local market presence anywhere in the world, with a local-rate phone number allowing customers to call cheaply via Skype using a number close to home — cutting their 800-number costs.