SIP Trunks for Hotels
and Hospitality

Trapped by Technology

The telephony needs of hotels are rather unique. Despite the fact that many customers are using cell phones these days, easy access to hotel services through the in-room phone and dialing between rooms are expected by guests and important to their satisfaction.

Many hotels have made a significant investment in legacy phone systems and integrated technologies. Since the majority of these aging phone systems are TDM-based, hotels are forced to pay a large phone bill each month for many analog lines, or a T1/PRI circuit which has a relatively low amount of usage.

New phone systems with IP technology might resolve the issue by routing calls over the internet, rather than traditional telephone lines, but many hoteliers and lodgers are reluctant to do a forklift upgrade of their existing analog phone system due to the high costs of the equipment and handsets.

To complicate matters, there is often existing technology which integrates in-room phone usage with hotel the check-in/check-out billing system and other services.

What is SIP Trunking

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is an alternative to traditional physical telephone lines. It allows for communications capabilities using the existing high-speed internet connection without the need for PRI lines. With a SIP trunk connected to a compatible PBX system, guest and staff can make calls to any phone number. Each SIP trunk supports a number of SIP channels. The number of channels determines how many calls can be active at one time.

The terms SIP and VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. SIP is the technology that makes a VoIP call possible, but SIP channels can handle more than just voice traffic.

The Benefits of SIP Trunking for Hotels and Hospitality

There are a number of compelling reasons that SIP trunking is so popular with everyone in the business of accommodating guests.

Low Up-Front Cost and Huge Savings

There is a small initial investment required to move to SIP, but it is dwarfed by the possible savings. A gateway box is required. A gateway box is simply a router or proxy server that routes between networks. Gateways range from several hundred dollars for a multi-analog line box to $1000 for a Digital SIP-to-T1 device.

Depending on the protocol used,each call consumes between 32 and 85 kilobyte per second. For some, there may be an investment required in improving the overall Internet bandwidth to the facility.

These investments are small compared to the overall savings, which can be 40-50% of the monthly telecom bill.

Flexibility

Unlike PRI lines which are sold in increments of 23, SIP trunks can be purchased one at a time and more can be easily added when additional capacity is needed. This means that SIP clients don’t pay for more than they need and don’t have to anticipate future demand.

Pricing Based on Channels, Not Phones

Legacy systems require one phone line for every extension, requiring payment for lines that are infrequently used. SIP trunking changes the equation by requiring just one channel for every simultaneous call. This is perfect for businesses like hotels that have more phones than employees.

SIP calling typically includes local calls and long distance charges to the 48 contiguous US states and can be accompanied by attractive international long distance rates. This helps the hotel save money on its own business calls as well as reducing down costs for customers.

10-Digit Direct Numbers

With SIP.US, you can provision separate 10-digit phone numbers for different employees or areas. This increases the flexibility of the call flow for your location. If you already have DID numbers or main numbers that you’d like to keep, we can port them to your new SIP trunks.

No PRI Lines Needed

SIP trunking eliminates the need for Primary Rate Interface or PRI lines. PRI lines are how calls were traditionally delivered to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The are no needed when SIP trunking is utilized. The cost of a SIP channel is much less than that of a PRI line, so savings are substantial and immediate.

Why SIP.US is the Perfect Fit for Hotels and Lodging

As you can see, there are a lot of advantages of SIP trunking in the hotel and hospitality sector. Of course, not all SIP services are the same. SIP.US has geared our business to meet the needs of businesses like hotels that need to provide outstanding service while keeping costs in check.

Simple Pricing

We are completely transparent about our pricing so you know exactly what you will pay each month. We charge a low monthly fee for each SIP channel with no hidden set up fees. (A channel is equivalent to a phone line.) We also offer low rates for local and toll-free direct dial numbers. Everything you need to know about what we charge is right here.

Self Service

Our online control panel is intuitive and easy to use even if you aren’t a telecommunications expert. You are in control and can make moves adds and changes at any time. You review call data records to track the communications habits of your staff and guests. Self-service doesn’t mean no service. If you need help, our team of experts is standing by.

Broad Compatibility

Our SIP trunking service can be used with almost any internet-ready PBX system, whether it is at your location or hosted by a third party. We support the many free, open-source PBX systems on the market and the legacy systems that many hotels have already installed. If your phone system isn’t internet ready, we still may be able to help.

On-Demand Provisioning

With SIP.US you get and pay for exactly the number of SIP trunk channels you need. If you want to add more or cancel a few, you can do it on-demand anytime you like. There are no contracts and there's no need to predict the future telecommunications needs of your business.

Easy to test

Not sure that your internet network will support SIP trunking? Want to make sure that you’ll get the same call quality that your staff and guests enjoy with traditional phone lines? You’ve come to the right place. We offer 60 minutes of free calling for you to try out our solution in your environment.

Trusted Networks

SIP.US utilizes only Tier-1 upstream providers to route our SIP traffic. We do this to ensure that you get the highest quality voice experience and a redundant network for outstanding reliability and performance.

We’ll even assist in porting over all of the numbers away from the current phone carrier.

FAQs

Will SIP trunking work with my current phone system?

With SIP Trunking and a digital or analog converter box, hotels can completely leave in place their existing infrastructure and simply ‘unplug’ the telephone trunk lines away from the carrier and into the gateway box. The gateway box then converts the calls to VoIP (voice over internet protocol) running over the SIP protocol, passing them through a single Ethernet data jack and out the existing Internet connection.

Do I have to sign a contract to use SIP.US?

Will my staff and guests notice a difference in call quality?

What types of companies are using SIP today?

Find out how you can benefit from SIP trunking by getting your free trial today.

We are able to get our Switchvox systems up and running with SIP.US in a matter of minutes using the simple online interface.

Mike Crockett, BITS Technology

I don’t have any experience with SIP trunking, but connecting my Asterisk PBX to SIP.US was fast and easy.

Eddy Pareja, Sangfroid Web Design

The SIP.US Control Panel gives me all the tools I need to add, change and delete phone numbers. I can even order all the DIDs I need and set them up instantly. I love having access to these self-service tools, but I know the support team is also there if I need additional help.

Colin Cook, Thimble River

I wasn’t sure how to configure my Asterisk system to work with SIP.US. The SIP team was able to remotely access my system and set it up for me. I didn’t expect that level of support for such a low price.

Greg Galvin, The Galvin Law Group

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SIP Trunks for Hotels and Hospitality