Been doing some research and just want to get some input regarding a FreePBX setup for a 16 room hotel. Right now, we have a Comdial system and over the years, before purchasing the place, wires have been run, and re-run, and left behind so in an effort to clean up all of the crawl spaces and what not, the phone system immediately comes to mind. Ideally, I’d like to scrap the whole Comdial system in favor of a wireless solution so I have been looking into FreePBX as an option. I’ve got solid WIFI setup throughout the place and have plenty of remote server resources that I can use to deploy a VM with the PBX software. My question to those of you whom are well versed, do you you think this is a viable solution? From what I have read, seems like this would be perfect. Anyways, just to recap:
Scrap old wired, digital Comdial system
Deploy remote VM with FreePBX server
Purchase some inexpensive WIFI SIP phones and provision 1 per room with room # as extension (ie, 101, 102…)
The room phones will only be able to dial internal extensions, primarily 0 just to get to the front office
The primary office phone will be the ONLY phone to have multiple lines, internal and external, as it will also connect to the primary public facing numbers
Yeah, I actually have a few on hand from old deployments, figured I’d test them out in the rooms farthest from the access points. Again, its really only internal calls so I can’t imagine it being too problematic.
You need to keep in mind you’re about to install a MLTS (Multi-Line Telephone System) and that means per the new laws going into affect nearly next year requires that each of the phones in the hotel will have the ability to dial 9-1-1 and those calls must go to a destination that is always answered by a LIVE person.
Ideally that would be the PSAP but in this case it could be the front desk. However, that means the person on call at the front desk must always answer calls.
Hmm, very good to know. Thanks! So speaking of, could I set up a rule for the phones allowing ONLY 911 calls to process through an external line? My only experience with PBX’s is with a UC560, and I know that can be achieved there so I’d have to imagine that shouldn’t be an issue here.
Also remember that the phones will need to be able to identify the exact location of the caller, so the e911 information for that call should include the room number. That’s going to make the wireless phone thing a challenge in the customer side.