987 Hotels Integrates VoSKY’s Exchange to Let Customers Reserve Rooms Through Skype
Spanish hotel chain installs PBX-to-Skype gateway to facilitate free or low-cost calls for customers calling to book a room from anywhere in the world
[UKPRwire, Wed Nov 12 2008] Spanish hotel chain 987 Hotels has installed VoSKY’s PBX-to-Skype gateway to facilitate free or low-cost calls for customers wanting to make a reservation from anywhere in the world, improving customer relations and gaining access to a wider global market.
With three locations in Europe, 987 Hotels installed the VoSKY Exchange 9040 gateway to bridge the gap between Skype and their existing IP PBX phone system, establishing a worldwide local market presence by allowing its overseas customers to contact them with Internet-based Skype calls for free or for the price of a local call.
As well as reducing calling costs for 987 Hotels’ customers the VoSKY Exchange puts Skype’s features at the disposal of all employees, reducing costs for the hotel chain itself.
Skype trunking between 987 Hotel’s Salou office and its different hotels in Barcelona and Prague means each site can call the other for free; they will also be able to call any partners or business contacts who have Skype for free.
Sonia Ribas, director of 987 Soho Hotel said: “The best thing about the VoSKY solution is that there was no need to change any of our existing setup – neither the PBX nor the telephones located in each room. It allows us to take advantage of the many economic benefits of Skype as well as the superior sound quality it delivers, and all while using the phone in the same way as we have always done.
“Furthermore thanks to the significant cost savings the VoSKY gateway brings we have calculated that within just a few months we will have offset the cost of our investment, and each month thereafter we will save 20% of the total cost of our usual monthly telephone bill.”
The 9040 Exchange gateway lets staff make and receive Skype calls on their regular office phones instead of having to use a PC and headset. It can be installed in under half a day and staff training is negligible – users just need to dial ‘8’ for a Skype line.
Additionally as the gateway can be added without updating the current PBX there is no need to change the hotel’s existing communications infrastructure, this minimises the burden on IT support.
David Tang, global marketing VP for VoSKY, said: “VoSKY’s Exchange opens the door of 987 Hotels to the 338 million users who use Skype to communicate via the Internet. If we bear in mind that people are increasingly using the Internet to make their hotel reservations, the use of VoSKY’s solution is the next natural step for this type of business.”
With the VoSKY Exchange, Web Click-to-Call via Skype can be seamlessly integrated into a hotel’s communications, linking the company’s website and phone system to provide real-time interaction with website visitors. By clicking on a “Call Me” button on the hotel website, customers can call reservations or make enquiries for free. The call goes directly through the VoSKY Exchange and onto the office telephone system, enhancing the customer experience while reducing free-phone number expenses.
As the only enterprise-grade PBX-to-Skype application gateway that has earned Skype certification and Skype's co-brand, VoSKY Exchange ensures seamless interoperability with Skype features and services. The plug-and-play appliance is also fully certified and endorsed by key PBX vendors.
