Arlo Hotels attract modern travelers with the help of advanced connectivity

Customer Spotlight

Arlo Hotels is a fast-growing chain anchored by three popular Manhattan hotels located in distinctive, world-renowned neighborhoods. To ensure they are employing the latest in hospitality technology to create optimal guest experiences, Arlo Hotels partners with Spectrum Enterprise.

People come to New York City expecting a dazzling parade of culture and modernity; the last thing they expect to encounter are issues with bandwidth, latency or dead spots. In fact, in a recent survey, “slow, unreliable WiFi” was the leading guest complaint, reported by over half (51.6%) of hotel managers.  

Furthermore, “The one hotel amenity that guests can’t live without is WiFi.” That’s a direct quote from the J.D. Power 2022 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study. In that same study, J.D. Power reports that a large majority (81%) of guests access the internet during their hotel stays, bringing more devices with them and subsequently using them for more resource-intensive online activities. As a result, some existing hotel networks are being stretched to their breaking points.

Arlo Hotels is aware of this reality and capitalizes on this opportunity by providing seamless connectivity. They have optimized existing network service and gained meaningful enhancements of overall guest experiences, delivered via Spectrum Enterprise Dedicated Fiber Internet and managed WiFi solutions.

As a rising star in the independent hospitality industry, Arlo Hotels seeks to implement only the best in current technology innovations. For Darren DeSilva, Arlo Hotels Head of Technology, that mission began by choosing a technology partner. “It’s easier to engage when you have one option that provides you with different functionality and different platforms that are all-inclusive, and gets me help when I need it,” DeSilva explains. “The fact that Spectrum Enterprise is embedded in New York and has a great reputation here counts for a lot. So does the way our relationship grew as Arlo Hotels went from one New York site to three.”

Innovative solutions building a bright future

Arlo Hotels became one of the first hotel chains to install the Managed Wi-Fi solution, a success that has spurred many other connectivity improvements. Always an innovator, DeSilva says he is eager for the next new thing in Arlo Hotels technology partnership with Spectrum Enterprise.

“We want to push the envelope,” explains DeSilva. “That’s always the goal. I push it as much as I can.”

To provide Arlo Hotels with scalable connectivity at all three Manhattan locations, Spectrum Enterprise installed Dedicated Fiber Internet (DFI). For in-room television service offering well over a hundred channels and limitless video content without the need for in-room equipment, Arlo Hotels opted for Fiber Connect Plus TV. Better communications service with scalability features, connectivity options and Primary Rate Interface (PRI) is achieved with Enterprise Trunking. Finally, to ensure against possible signal issues at Arlo Midtown, Managed WiFi was installed, raising the level of access and mobility for guests and staff operations.

DeSilva regards Spectrum Enterprise as a leader both in connectivity technology and in its ability to drive client success by focusing on their unique individual needs. 

“It’s the range of folks you have,” DeSilva says. “That in-person contact is crucial. Also, that mindset, being proactive and not relaxing until the client is satisfied. Someone with a New York mentality and that business mindset, I think that’s why we are so aligned.”

Partnering for continued growth

As Arlo Hotels seeks to replicate its experience in other urban locations, DeSilva looks forward  in two ways: opening new hotels that incorporate connectivity lessons he’s learned, and exploring new service options at his existing hotels, like building out the Arlo Hotels app to allow for reservations.

“We are at that level where we can always try something new out, and that’s what I love,” he notes. “Our relationship is growing still, and there is a lot to learn.”

No longer is a virtual, contact-free hotel experience seen as a novelty; today it has become expected. The dependability of connectivity is critical to keeping guests happy, and therefore more likely to check back in the next time they are in the Big Apple. As Arlo Hotels expands into other locations, they see their partnership with Spectrum Enterprise as a valuable foundation on which to build.

Still, DeSilva emphasizes simplicity as a means to growth. “We don’t want to overcomplicate a guest experience to the point where they need to use an app to open a curtain,” he says. “At the end of the day, what they want is a simple formula, like WiFi, TV, a good shower and a good bed. But at the same time, there are a lot of young folks that are clicking on phones and we need to think about what works for them, as well as all our other guests.”

To learn more about how Arlo Hotels partners with Spectrum Enterprise to enable growth, read the case study.