Guests at The Sutton Place Hotel, 21 E. Bellevue Place, can now skip the return trip to their room for Internet access by utilizing the new high-speed wireless technology. The high-style hotel is the first hotel in Chicago to debut Wayport's high-speed wireless accessibility in public spaces, and also the first hotel in Chicago to offer T-1 line speed connectivity in every guest room and meeting facility.
Without the need for wires, they can check their e-mails or surf the web at T-1 speeds while taking a break from a meeting, sipping a beverage at The Whiskey Bar & Grill, or while waiting in the lobby for associates to arrive. For wired access in-room, a fee of just $9.95 per day use (24 continuous hours), guests can log on and surf the net at speeds of up to 50 times faster than traditional 56K modem connections.
"We viewed this service as an absolute necessity for the business travelers that choose The Sutton Place Hotel as their 'home' away from home," said David Sowell, general manager for the 246-room luxury hotel. "Meeting planners that find themselves trying to produce flashy and appealing high-tech presentations will also appreciate the hotel's technology additions," he adds.
The wireless-networking technology uses the 802.11b (WiFi) wireless Ethernet cards. These Ethernet cards cost $99-$250 and are said to provide connections with speeds of up to 11 Mbps (megabits per second). The wireless access service also supports appropriately equipped Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) users' accessibility needs. Wayport's Portable Internet Access subscriptions are normally available for 10 connections (midnight to midnight) for $35 and can be purchased through the Wayport website at www.wayport.net. Currently, Wayport has a promotion of 50 free connects until January 1, 2001.
The new technology at The Sutton Place Hotel offers an added benefit for travelers working together. "With our system, we have the ability to provide guests with a 'virtual network' should guests need to share data and printers during their visit," said Alex Domingo, MIS manager for the hotel. "We also have the ability to serve both wired and wireless meeting attendees for events held in the sophisticated Boardroom," he adds.
Online users can participate in the "Race To Chicago" game that begins in October by visiting www.suttonplace.com. Learn about The Sutton Place Hotel while you enter to win a laptop computer, a PDA or an Ethernet card for wireless connection.
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