Hotel Phone Systems

A hotel phone system is not that much different than your average business telephone network. The key differences arise when you start to look at the features available for hotel phone systems and how they expand beyond the provision of a simple telephone handset.

In the hospitality sector, hotel telephone systems can use specially designed handsets to be used in guest rooms. These handsets have a limited set of features and only allow internal calls.

Many phone systems within the hotel industry today will either use PBX or VoIP technology. A PBX system is a more traditional telephone solution and they're thought to be more reliable, but costs can soon add up.

Best Hotel Phone Reviews

If you manage a business in the hospitality sector, you need to know which phone is most suited to your hotel. In this section of our guide, we reveal the best phone systems for hospitality businesses, taking a look at features, ease of use, and cost.

Hospitality businesses often have a variety of specialist needs — phones that can be used while moving around the building and dedicated handsets and base stations for customers, for example. We've taken all these requirements into account, and here's our top five phones for hospitality businesses:

1. Ericsson iPECS LIP-9071
2. Mitel MiVoice Office 400 Hospitality
3. Cisco Hospitality Phone Systems
4. NEC Hospitality Solutions
5. Polycom VVX 601
6. AT&T 1080
7. VTech CM18445

Different Types of Hospitality & Hotel Phone Systems

The type of phone system you choose will depend on the demands of your business and the available budget. This means you'll want to take a careful look at the many options before deciding for yourself. There are several systems regularly used in the hospitality industry, including:

Key Service Unit (KSU) Telephones

Best for traditionalists

As specialist systems, these units are only used by a small selection of businesses. They require professional installation because they are hardwired into the network. This type of system is also connected to a central unit somewhere on the premises which has a connection to the external services supplied by the telephone provider.

These systems are quite demanding, requiring regular maintenance and servicing by a company who specialize in KSU systems.

The KSU telephone network can support between 5-40 telephone lines which is great if you need multiple extensions to different areas of a hotel or restaurant.

Non KSU Telephone Systems

Best for 5 phones or less

Many telephones in domestic properties function through a non-KSU system. Businesses can also use these phones, provided that a property has a working phone system and the business doesn’t have demanding communication requirements.

Sometimes used by small restaurants, these phone systems are most suited to businesses that only need five lines or less and have a very tight budget.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Phone Systems

Best for large businesses (e.g. Hotels with 100+ rooms)

Larger hotels and restaurants can benefit from a private branch exchange system. Very similar to KSU phones, they rely on a connected network to operate and must be professionally installed and serviced.

However, with a PBX solution, you only need install one system to cover multiple business locations or over 40 lines.

Physical landline PBX setups are quickly becoming outdated, but can offer great reliability for the largest on-premise businesses, who don't need the flexibility of modern IP-PBX phones (VoIP).

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Phone Systems

Best overall choice

With modern IP-PBX phones (also known as VoIP) you can get set up in minutes, and save a significant amount of money too. This is the best choice for almost all small, medium and large hospitality businesses.

A big benefit of VoIP systems is that they're cloud-based and can be hosted externally, meaning you don't have to worry about telecom services taking up space. To function correctly, VoIP phone systems do require a reliable internet connection, however this should already be a necessity for modern hotels and restaurants.

Restaurant Phone Systems

A restaurant is not the easiest of businesses to run and a good telephone system is crucial. There are numerous systems and technologies that can be used to streamline your communications, whether you are a small restaurant or a large establishment.

Some useful restaurant-specific features include:

• Ability to set up menu selections using the telephone keypad or deliver an automated service.
• Booking and reservations are also often handled over the phone meaning crystal clear sound quality is a huge benefit.
• Ability to put customers on hold while you check reservations or transfer the call
• Automated message for when your line is busy
• Automated table reservation without human interaction

With many different types of phones available ensuring you choose the right system is crucial.

If you are a formal, fine dining establishment, you would probably benefit from more than one telephone line so you can take reservations. Or perhaps you have a delivery service, in which case a multi-line phone system may be best, as you'll need different lines for reservations, payments, and customer concerns.

Choosing a Hospitality Phone System

Choosing the right phone system for your hotel, restaurant or other business in the hospitality sector, will require you to consider a number of factors about your business and its future. Some of the factors you should take into account when choosing your hospitality phone system are:

• Number of calls: Telephone systems should be able to comfortably handle all calls during your busiest times. If they are struggling, you may need to upgrade your system.
• Business expansion: If you have plans for growth you should select a telephone system which is capable of changing easily as demand for your business expands (such as a VoIP one).
• Accessories: Some hospitality businesses may need a fully functioning telephone system with a range of accessories integrated into the system such as point of sale features, headsets for processing bookings or voicemail.
• Protection: Phones in busy working environments should have guards for the keypad and handset to protect the equipment.
• Staff training: Often overlooked, this is a key consideration. You need to consider whether staff will need training on any new phone system and how this is to be delivered. Sometimes phone suppliers offer free training, so it’s always worth asking on installation.
• Ongoing maintenance: As with any piece of equipment, phones do require regular servicing, maintenance and occasionally repair. You should ascertain who is responsible for maintaining the systems once they are installed. Cloud-based VoIP systems will require the least maintenance.
• Cost: This is always a deciding factor when purchasing any new equipment and your telephone systems are no different. Choose a phone system that is within your budget- but that will also meet your future requirements. Invest wisely and choose a system that you know will adequately support your business.

Restaurants and hotels have very specific requirements when it comes to installing a phone system and there are a range of options which can be used to tailor the systems to meet the communication requirements of your business.

Next Steps in Getting a Hotel Phone System

As you can see, not all phone systems are created equal, and not all phone systems are right for every business — even within the hospitality sector.

If you're running a hotel, your biggest decisions will be whether you want a VoIP or PBX system. If you're running a restaurant, you'll need at least one phone handset will a large feature set.

But the most important thing is to get the right phone system at the right price. There's no point in trying to get a one-size-fits-all solution — every business needs a bespoke set-up — and you can get started using the form below.