In line with the business model of Wifirst, an innovator in the field of digital hospitality, the numa group offers short- and medium-term accommodation for travellers in European capitals – an authentic home away from home.
With its motto of ‘simplicity and enjoyment,’ numa is an apart-hotel chain like no other. The company is breaking new ground and bringing technology and taste to some of the world's largest cities. With a business model that has so far focused mainly on major European cities, it offers its customers a first-class experience with full-stack software and 80% digitisation of internal business processes. The customer experience is 100% digital with self-check-in/check-out and app-based communication. This has enabled numa to significantly reduce its operating costs and become more agile and efficient, allowing it to focus entirely on customer satisfaction.
With the high level of digitisation of numa's internal processes (80%) and guest experience (100%), many different technologies have to be used. However, the network had previously been installed in such a way that the company had many different technologies at its disposal, but worked with several different providers, each with their own layer in the infrastructure. Unfortunately, the lack of a unified network meant that when problems arose with one of the digital solutions, a complex scenario involving multiple providers had to be managed. This also posed a challenge for the plan for hyper-scalability across Europe, as different WiFi partners were used at the various locations.
Wifirst's ‘Network as a Service’ model offers comprehensive WAN, LAN and WiFi solutions that support the rapid expansion of brands such as numa across Europe. By commissioning Wifirst at European level, numa's information systems department has chosen an experienced provider capable of offering a one-stop shop service with multi-technology and multi-operator solutions. Due to its provision of first-class managed WiFi with complete cabling and hardware throughout Europe, numa saw Wifirst as a trusted partner that can support the company in projects in all European cities, always offering the same quality of service and support regardless of location.
Thanks to peering agreements with numerous major operators, the Wifirst network offers unrivalled opportunities and an unmatched availability rate. numa now has a fully unified infrastructure and a smoother network configuration that includes third-party IPTV, Chromecast, CCTV and door lock technologies in Wifirst-equipped properties, allowing numa's operational staff to focus exclusively on the customer experience and brand.
Working with a service provider that specialises in the large-scale provision of WiFi infrastructure for businesses can be a huge advantage for many companies looking to digitise on a large scale. Wifirst's technical and project management teams were able to meet the demanding short lead time (2–3 months) for numa's latest properties across Europe. The Wifirst Deployment Factory worked with building managers in multiple languages during the complex renovation work and completed the project with great success. Wifirst was able to plan, implement and deliver WiFi solutions for all new numa properties in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Portugal last year. Looking ahead, implementations in Spain, France and the Netherlands are not far off.
This European deployment project is proof of our ability to deliver scalability and consistency in our solutions. Thanks to the MSA between numa and Wifirst, this is just the beginning of our partnership, with more locations in the pipeline and further innovations on the horizon. All of this has been made possible by Wifirst's flexible management model, which demonstrates our commitment to working in line with customer requirements, whether budgetary or technical!
