The Ascott Limited has chosen Wifirst to provide comprehensive connectivity solutions for its Crest Collection and Citadines brands throughout Europe. As a leading international operator of serviced apartments, The Ascott is committed to modernising its properties and has selected Wifirst to deliver a robust connectivity foundation for 50 European residences.
// HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP
A trusted partnership with The Ascott for all connectivity needs
Our partnership with The Ascott began nearly eight years ago with The Cavendish in London’s Mayfair. Tasked with delivering a complete connectivity solution within a defined budget and just one month, Wifirst met the challenge. Building on this success, The Ascott selected Wifirst for a large-scale upgrade across 40 European properties. Three years later, The Ascott renewed its trust in Wifirst, further extending and enhancing connectivity across the portfolio with expanded radio coverage and cutting-edge technology—allowing The Ascott to focus on delivering guests their “home away from home.”
The Wifirst solution has now been deployed in all the group's European establishments, guaranteeing guests free high-speed WiFi access to their rooms, suites, apartments and all common areas.
The partnership in figures
// WIFI AS A SERVICE: EMPOWERING THE GROUP'S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Driving digital modernisation & innovation
As hotels embrace digital transformation, reliable WiFi has become essential. Wifirst’s flexible, multiservice WiFi solutions support this evolution by streamlining management, offering a single point of contact, reducing costs, and improving both service quality and productivity—resulting in an enhanced experience for guests and staff alike.
For The Ascott, Wifirst has established a secure technology backbone in every residence, allowing a wide range of devices and services to connect seamlessly. Chromecast enriches in-room entertainment, while digital signage in common areas elevates the guest experience.
Wifirst has expanded radio coverage on the 5GHz spectrum, delivering faster and more reliable WiFi for all connected devices. This upgrade ensures seamless connectivity throughout each property, enabling staff to work efficiently from anywhere. This robust network foundation also unlocks new opportunities to increase revenue across Ascott’s residences.
Reinvented in-room TV experience
A multi-service solution to meet business challenges and enhance the customer experience
Connectivity is now vital for both guests and staff at The Ascott. As part of their digital transformation, The Ascott adopted a cloud-based management system in 2019 to unify customer and booking data across all locations. In 2020, they launched the "Discover ASR" mobile app for loyalty members, enabling an intuitive experience—from managing reservations and digital check-in/check-out to accessing digital room keys and requesting housekeeping directly from a smartphone.
To strengthen digitalisation, Wifirst has segmented each network type. Guest and staff networks, for example, are isolated within separate virtual LANs, ensuring that users cannot access back-office systems. Additional security measures such as network encryption and hidden wireless networks can be implemented to deliver maximum protection and connectivity.
The Ascott - connected building
Customer satisfaction: No. 1 for WiFi
The Ascott consistently receives outstanding customer feedback, especially for Chromecast, which is highly valued by guests. Excellent Booking and TripAdvisor ratings reflect the results of our investment in delivering connectivity that meets the Citadines brand standard.
"With Wifirst we have succeeded in setting up a network for every need on the same infrastructure, guaranteeing security and quality for our customers and staff at all our European properties. Our partnership goes far beyond WiFi; we rely on the Wifirst teams for everything to do with connectivity."
Stéphane Mayere
Information Security Officer & Digital Innovation Director EU
